Software engineer salary Melbourne: what the official data shows
If you are looking for a precise figure for a software engineer salary in Melbourne, the short answer is that no official source publishes one. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) provide earnings data at the national and state level, but they do not break down earnings by occupation for individual cities. This article explains what the available data does tell us, and how you can use the national full-time average as a benchmark.
The national full-time average as a reference
The ABS Average Weekly Earnings survey for May 2026 reports that full-time adult ordinary-time earnings (seasonally adjusted) are $2,083.70 per week, which works out to about $108,352 per year (multiplying by 52). This is the figure that Average line uses as its central reference – the ‘line’ that other salaries are measured against. It is an average across all industries and all full-time adult employees, not a median and not specific to any occupation.
For context, the full-time median (from the ABS Employee Earnings and Hours survey, August 2025) is about $90,532 per year, and the all-employees median is about $74,100. The national minimum wage from 1 July 2026 is $26.44 per hour, or $52,255 per year on a 38-hour week.
Victoria and Melbourne
Victoria’s full-time average ordinary-time earnings are $2,041.10 per week, or about $106,137 per year. That is slightly below the national average, but still a useful benchmark for anyone working in Melbourne. The state average covers all full-time adult workers in Victoria, including those in Melbourne and regional areas.
What about software engineers specifically?
Jobs and Skills Australia’s occupation profile for Software Engineers (ANZSCO 261313) shows that median weekly earnings are listed as ‘N/A’. The explanation is that median weekly earnings figures are not produced for ANZSCO 6-digit occupations (the most detailed level) because the sample size is too small to produce reliable estimates. The profile also notes that the data source (ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025) excludes managers, part-time employees, and juniors, so the figure would be for full-time non-managerial adult employees. But even that is not available.
The profile does tell us that 92% of software engineers work full-time, the average full-time hours are 41 per week, and the median age is 37. The female share of employment is 16%. These are useful demographic details, but they do not give a salary figure.
Take-home pay sketch using the national average
Even though we cannot give a software engineer salary for Melbourne, we can illustrate what take-home pay looks like for someone earning the national full-time average. This is a useful exercise for anyone trying to understand how tax and the Medicare levy affect their income.
For the 2026–27 financial 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 Medicare levy of 2% (before any reductions or surcharges).
On a salary of $108,352:
- Tax on the first $18,200: $0
- Tax on $26,800 ($18,201 to $45,000): $4,020
- Tax on $63,352 ($45,001 to $108,352): $19,005.60
- Total tax: $23,025.60
- Medicare levy: $2,167.04
- Total deductions: $25,192.64
- Take-home pay: approximately $83,159 per year, or $1,599 per week.
This is a simplified calculation – it does not include the low-income tax offset, the Medicare levy surcharge for those without private hospital cover, or any deductions or offsets. But it gives a rough idea of what a resident earning the national average would keep after tax.
How to use this site
If you have a specific salary in mind, you can place a salary on the line to see how it compares to the national full-time average. You can also explore states and territories to see how Victoria’s average compares to other parts of Australia. For occupation-specific medians where they are available, visit the job medians page.
Summary
- No official figure exists for a software engineer salary in Melbourne.
- The national full-time average is $108,352 per year; Victoria’s is $106,137.
- Jobs and Skills Australia does not publish a median for Software Engineers.
- The take-home pay on the national average is about $83,159 per year after tax and Medicare.
Use the national average as a starting point, and remember that individual salaries vary widely based on experience, employer, and industry.