Understanding Salary Packaging in Australia
Salary packaging is a common way to structure your remuneration, especially in the public and not-for-profit sectors. It allows you to exchange part of your salary for benefits that are generally tax-free up to certain caps. This can boost your take-home pay, but the national full-time average line on this site is based on your gross salary before any packaging.
Where the National Full-Time Average Sits
The national full-time adult ordinary-time average is $2083.70 a week, about $108,352 a year, from the ABS Average Weekly Earnings, May 2026. This is the line the tool uses. The full-time median is about $90,532, and the all-employees median is about $74,100, from the ABS Employee earnings, August 2025. Men’s full-time average is about $113,412, women’s about $100,594. The national minimum wage from 1 July 2026 is $26.44 an hour, $1004.90 a week, about $52,255 a year on a 38-hour week.
How Salary Packaging Relates to These Figures
When you salary package, your employer provides a benefit instead of cash salary. The packaged amount is generally not included in your assessable income for tax purposes, but it may still be reported as part of your gross earnings to the ATO. The ABS average earnings figures are based on gross ordinary-time earnings reported by employers, which typically include the value of salary packaging. However, the line on this site uses the ABS average, which is a gross figure before any tax treatment. So if your base salary before packaging is below the average, packaging can help your net pay approach or exceed what someone earning the average takes home after tax.
State and Territory Differences
State full-time averages vary. New South Wales full-time average is about $109,658; Victoria about $106,137; Queensland about $106,064; South Australia about $102,450; Western Australia about $115,825; Tasmania about $96,008; Northern Territory about $103,173; Australian Capital Territory about $109,090. These are also gross figures before any packaging.
Tax Considerations
Resident tax rates for 2026–27 are: nil to $18,200; 15% to $45,000; 30% to $135,000; 30% to $190,000; 45% above $190,000. Medicare levy is 2% before reductions. Salary packaging can reduce taxable income, so your net pay may be higher than the gross average would suggest. The ATO sets caps for cars and other items.
Using the Tool
The tool accepts a yearly salary before tax. It shows a week and an hour on a 38-hour week, plus distance from the full-time average. If you salary package, your base salary is the figure you enter. The line remains the national full-time average.
More Information
For more on how the figures are set, see How the figures are set. For guides on salary packaging and other topics, see Guides.