Theatre technician salary vs the national average
If you work as a theatre technician in Australia, your pay is likely to sit below the national full-time average but above the typical earnings of all employees. The national full-time adult ordinary-time average, as measured by the ABS Average Weekly Earnings (May 2026), is $2,083.70 a week, or about $108,352 a year. That is the line this site uses as a reference.
For theatre technicians, the most reliable figure is a median. Jobs and Skills Australia, drawing on the ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (May 2025), reports median full-time weekly earnings of $1,844 for performing arts technicians. That translates to roughly $95,888 a year before tax. This is a median for full-time non-managerial adult employees, so it excludes part-time workers, juniors, and managers. It gives a clearer picture of what a typical theatre technician earns than an average would, because averages can be pulled up by a small number of very high earners.
What the data shows
The median theatre technician salary of $95,888 is about $12,500 below the national full-time average of $108,352. But it is above the all-employees median of $74,100 (ABS Employee Earnings, August 2025), which includes part-time and casual workers. It is also above the full-time median for all occupations of about $90,532. So theatre technicians tend to earn more than the typical Australian worker, but less than the average full-time worker.
Men in theatre technician roles earn a median of $1,844 per week (the same as the overall median, as the data does not break it down by gender for this occupation), but the occupation is only 21% female, according to Jobs and Skills Australia. The national full-time average for men is $2,180.20 a week ($113,412 a year) and for women $1,934.50 a week ($100,594 a year). Theatre technicians' median sits between those two averages.
A take-home pay sketch
To see how the theatre technician median stacks up in your pocket, we can run a quick tax calculation for 2026–27. The resident tax rates are: nil on the first $18,200, 15% on the next $26,800, 30% on the next $90,000, 37% on the next $55,000, and 45% above $190,000. Plus a 2% Medicare levy.
On $95,888:
- Tax on $18,200–$45,000: $4,020
- Tax on $45,000–$95,888: $15,266.40
- Total tax: $19,286.40
- Medicare levy (2%): $1,917.76
- Total deductions: $21,204.16
- Take-home: $74,683.84 per year, or about $1,436 per week.
Compare that to the national average of $108,352:
- Tax on $18,200–$45,000: $4,020
- Tax on $45,000–$108,352: $19,005.60
- Total tax: $23,025.60
- Medicare levy (2%): $2,167.04
- Total deductions: $25,192.64
- Take-home: $83,159.36 per year, or about $1,599 per week.
So a theatre technician on the median takes home about $163 less per week than someone on the national full-time average. That difference narrows if you earn above the median in your theatre technician role, or if you have deductions or a lower taxable income.
How the occupation compares
Theatre technicians work an average of 45 hours per week full-time, slightly above the all-occupations average of 44 hours. The median hourly earnings are $45, compared to $47 for all occupations. That means theatre technicians earn a bit less per hour but work similar hours.
The occupation is classified under ANZSCO 3995 – Performing Arts Technicians. It includes lighting, sound, stage, and audiovisual technicians. The median age is 34, younger than the all-occupations median of 39, suggesting many technicians are early to mid-career.
If you want to see how your own theatre technician salary compares, you can place a salary on the line and see where it sits against the national average. You can also explore job medians for other roles or industry medians to see how theatre and performing arts stack up against other sectors.
Where to find more
The figures in this article come from the ABS and Jobs and Skills Australia. The national full-time average is from the ABS Average Weekly Earnings survey, released twice a year for May and November. The most recent at the time of writing is May 2026. The occupation median is from the ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, August 2025, as compiled by Jobs and Skills Australia. The minimum wage and award rates are from Fair Work.
For a deeper look at how the figures are set, see How the figures are set. For more on the site's approach, visit About this site. And if you want to understand how your state compares, check States and territories.