Recruitment consultant salary in Australia
If you are looking at a career as a recruitment consultant or already work in the industry, you probably want to know how the pay stacks up against the national average. The short answer is that the Australian Bureau of Statistics does not publish a median weekly earnings figure for this occupation, so there is no single official number to point to. Instead, we can look at the legal minimums, the typical working patterns, and how the role compares with the national full-time average line.
What the official data says
Jobs and Skills Australia, which draws on ABS data, lists the median weekly earnings for recruitment consultants as not available. That is because the sample size or the way the occupation is classified means a reliable median cannot be calculated. The occupation profile does tell us that 69% of recruitment consultants are women, the median age is 36, and 83% work full time. The average full-time hours per week are 41, slightly below the all-occupations average of 44 hours.
Because there is no published median, we cannot say exactly where a typical recruitment consultant sits relative to the national full-time average of $2,083.70 per week (about $108,352 per year). But we can use the national benchmarks as a reference point.
The national full-time average line
The ABS Average Weekly Earnings survey for May 2026 puts full-time adult ordinary-time earnings at $2,083.70 per week. Multiplied by 52, that is roughly $108,352 a year. This is the figure this site uses as the line. For men the average is about $113,412 a year, and for women about $100,594 a year. The full-time median (the middle point of all full-time workers) is about $90,532, and the all-employees median (including part-time and casual) is about $74,100.
You can place a salary on the line to see how any figure compares to these benchmarks.
Award coverage and the minimum wage
Fair Work advises that recruitment consultants working for a recruitment agency are generally award free. That means their minimum pay is the national minimum wage, which from 1 July 2026 is $26.44 per hour, or $1,004.90 per week for a 38-hour week. That works out to about $52,255 per year. Award minimums rose by 4.75% from that date.
Some recruitment consultants may be covered by an award. If the employer is in the labour market assistance industry (providing job placement services under government contracts), the Labour Market Assistance Award applies. Otherwise, consultants whose duties are primarily clerical may fall under the Clerks Award, and those who are not clerical or professional may be covered by the Miscellaneous Award. Professional employees whose role requires a degree (for example in human resources) are generally not covered by an award.
Reading the same pay as a year, a week, and an hour
This site shows every salary as a yearly figure before tax, then converts it to a weekly amount based on a 38-hour week and an hourly rate. For example, the national full-time average of $108,352 a year is $2,083.70 a week and $54.83 an hour. The minimum wage of $52,255 a year is $1,004.90 a week and $26.44 an hour.
If you are a recruitment consultant earning a salary, you can enter it on the line tool to see where it sits. Because there is no official median for the occupation, the line will show your distance from the national full-time average and from the full-time median.
What influences recruitment consultant pay
Pay for recruitment consultants can vary by industry, location, and experience. Consultants who place workers in high-demand fields such as healthcare, technology, or mining may earn more than those in general office roles. Commission or bonus structures are common in the industry, which can lift total earnings well above the base salary. The ABS data on state averages shows that full-time ordinary-time earnings range from about $96,008 in Tasmania to $119,090 in the ACT. A recruitment consultant working in a higher-paying state or territory may see a premium.
You can explore job medians for other occupations that have published figures, or check industry medians for sector-level comparisons.
The bottom line
Without a published median for recruitment consultants, the best guide is the national minimum wage as a floor and the national full-time average as a benchmark. Many recruitment consultants will earn above the minimum, but how far above depends on the specific role and employer. The ABS and Fair Work provide the official sources, and this site uses them to keep every comparison consistent.
For more detail on how the figures are set, see how the figures are set.