What is Minimum Wage in Australia?
The national minimum wage is the legal floor for pay in Australia. As of 1 July 2026, Fair Work sets it at $26.44 per hour, $1004.90 per week, or about $52,255 per year for a full-time worker on a 38-hour week. This rate applies to employees who are not covered by an award or registered agreement. Award minimums rose by 4.75% at the same time.
How It Sits Against the National Full-Time Average
The national full-time adult ordinary-time average is $2083.70 per week, about $108,352 per year (ABS Average Weekly Earnings, May 2026). That means the minimum wage is roughly 48% of the average. The gap is even wider when you consider the full-time median of about $90,532 and the all-employees median of about $74,100 (ABS Employee Earnings, August 2025).
A Resident Take-Home Sketch
Using the 2026–27 tax rates (nil to $18,200; 15% to $45,000; 30% to $135,000; 37% to $190,000; 45% above) and the 2% Medicare levy, here is what a single resident Australian might take home:
- Minimum wage ($52,255): Tax of about $6,200 plus Medicare of about $1,045 leaves roughly **$45,000 take-home pay.
- Full-time average ($108,352): Tax of about $23,025 plus Medicare of about $2,167 leaves about **$83,000 take-home.
The difference in take-home is roughly **$38,000 more per year — a significant difference that highlights the gap between the floor and the line.
State-by-State Averages
While the minimum wage is the same across the country, the full-time average varies by state. For example:
- Western Australia full-time average: $115,825**
- Australian Capital Territory full-time average: $119,090
- New South Wales full-time average: $109,658
- Victoria full-time average: $106,137
- Queensland full-time average: $106,064
- South Australia full-time average: $102,450
- Tasmania full-time average: $96,008
- Northern Territory full-time average: $103,173
These figures come from the ABS Average Weekly Earnings, May 2026. To see where your own salary sits, you can place a salary on the line or explore states and territories.
Key Distinctions
It is important to keep the minimum wage, the full-time average, and the medians separate:
- The minimum wage is a legal floor set by Fair Work.
- The full-time average is the mean ordinary-time earnings of full-time adults (ABS).
- The full-time median and all-employees median are midpoints from a different ABS survey.
These figures are published on different schedules: the average twice a year (May and November), the medians less frequently (August 2025), and the minimum wage annually from 1 July.
For more detail on how these figures are set, see How the figures are set.
Conclusion
The national minimum wage provides a baseline, but it sits well below the full-time average and the full-time median. For a resident worker, the take-home pay on the minimum is roughly half that of someone earning the average. Understanding where you stand against these benchmarks can help with budgeting and career planning.