Psychiatrist salary: reading the same pay as a year, a week, and an hour
When you search for a psychiatrist salary, you want to know where this profession sits against the national full-time average. The short answer is that the Australian Bureau of Statistics does not publish a reliable median weekly earnings for psychiatrists because the survey sample is too small. But we can still place the role in context using the national benchmarks.
The national full-time average
The ABS Average Weekly Earnings, May 2026, gives the full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings as $2,083.70. Multiplied by 52 weeks, that is about $108,352 a year. On a 38-hour week, that works out to roughly $54.83 an hour before tax. This is the line on this site. Every salary you enter is compared to this figure.
Psychiatrists are a medical specialty with high training requirements. According to Jobs and Skills Australia, the median age of psychiatrists is 46, and 52% are female. The average full-time hours worked per week is 44 hours, which is the same as the all-occupations average. The share of psychiatrists working full-time is 66%, slightly below the all-occupations figure of 69%.
Why the median is not published
The ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, August 2025, reports median weekly earnings for full-time non-managerial employees. For many detailed occupations, including psychiatrists (ANZSCO 2534), the relative standard error is 25% or higher, so the ABS suppresses the figure. This means we cannot give you a precise dollar amount for the typical psychiatrist salary. However, the all-occupations median is $1,852 per week, or about $90,532 a year. Psychiatrists, as senior medical professionals, are almost certainly earning above that median.
Reading the same pay as a year, a week, and an hour
Even without a precise psychiatrist figure, you can use the national average to understand how any salary translates across time periods. The site shows your yearly salary, then calculates the weekly amount (divide by 52) and the hourly amount (divide by 52 and then by 38). For example, if a psychiatrist earns $150,000 a year, that is about $2,885 a week and $75.92 an hour. That would be well above the national full-time average of $2,083.70 a week.
State and territory differences
The national average masks big differences across Australia. The full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings by state and territory (from the ABS May 2026 release) are:
- New South Wales: $2,108.80 a week ($109,658 a year)
- Victoria: $2,041.10 a week ($106,137 a year)
- Queensland: $2,039.70 a week ($106,064 a year)
- South Australia: $1,970.20 a week ($102,450 a year)
- Western Australia: $2,227.40 a week ($115,825 a year)
- Tasmania: $1,846.30 a week ($96,008 a year)
- Northern Territory: $1,984.10 a week ($103,173 a year)
- Australian Capital Territory: $2,290.20 a week ($119,090 a year)
Psychiatrists working in the ACT or Western Australia may earn more than those in Tasmania, reflecting both the cost of living and the demand for services. You can compare your salary against your state or territory using our tool.
How the figures are set
The national full-time average comes from the ABS Average Weekly Earnings survey, which is published twice a year (May and November). The May 2026 release shows a 3.7% annual increase in seasonally adjusted ordinary time earnings. The all-employees average weekly total earnings (including part-time and casual) is $1,579.20, or about $82,118 a year. The minimum wage from 1 July 2026 is $26.44 an hour, $1,004.90 a week, or $52,255 a year on a 38-hour week. Award minimums rose by 4.75% from that date.
Using the site to place your salary on the line
If you are a psychiatrist and you know your annual salary, you can [place it on the line](/line] to see how it compares to the national full-time average, the median, and the minimum wage. The tool will show you the distance above or below the line in dollars and percentage terms. You can also explore [job medians for other occupations where the ABS does publish a figure.
Tax and take-home pay
For the 2026–27 income year, the resident tax rates are:
- Nil on the first $18,200
- 15% on income from $18,201 to $45,000
- 30% on income from $45,001 to $135,000
- 37% on income from $135,001 to $190,000
- 45% on income above $190,000 Plus a 2% Medicare levy (reductions may apply for low-income earners).
A psychiatrist earning $150,000 a year would pay about $37,267 in tax plus Medicare, leaving about $112,733 after tax. The site does not calculate tax; it only shows gross pre-tax figures.
Summary
While the ABS does not publish a precise psychiatrist salary, you can be confident that the typical psychiatrist earns well above the national full-time average. The all-occupations median is $90,532 a year, and the full-time average is $108,352 a year. The site's line is that average. For more details on how the figures are set, see how the figures are set.