Youth worker salary and the national full-time average
If you are looking at a youth worker salary in Australia, the first thing to know is that there is no single published average for this occupation. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) does not break down earnings by every job title. Instead, youth workers fall under the broad category of Community and personal service workers. To get a clear picture, we need to look at award minimums, industry averages, and how they compare to the national full-time average.
Youth worker pay under the award
Most youth workers are covered by the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award (MA000100). This award sets minimum rates that increase with experience and responsibility. The lowest rate for a full-time youth worker (Level 1, pay point 1) is $1,046.90 per week, or $27.55 per hour, as of December 2026. That works out to about $54,439 per year before tax, assuming a 38-hour week and 52 weeks.
Higher classifications pay more. For example, a Level 2 youth worker might earn around $1,100 to $1,200 per week, depending on the pay point. But even at the top of the award scale, weekly rates are still well below the national full-time average. The award also includes penalty rates for Saturday, Sunday, and public holiday work, which can boost take-home pay for those who work non-standard hours.
Youth worker pay in the broader data
The ABS Employee Earnings and Hours survey (May 2025) gives average weekly total cash earnings for Community and personal service workers as $1,048.10. That is very close to the award minimum, suggesting many workers in this field are paid at or near award rates. The average hourly rate for this occupation was $41.20, but that includes part-time and casual workers, so the full-time figure would be higher.
It is important to note that the $1,048.10 figure is an average across all employees in that category, not just youth workers. It includes aged care workers, disability support workers, and other community service roles. Still, it gives a useful benchmark: the typical earnings in this sector are around $54,500 per year, or roughly half the national full-time average.
How it compares to the national full-time average
The national full-time adult ordinary-time average is $2,083.70 per week, or about $108,352 per year (ABS Average Weekly Earnings, May 2026). This is the figure we use as the line on this site. A youth worker at the award minimum earns about $54,400 per year, which is 50% of the national average. Even a youth worker at a higher award level, say $1,200 per week, would earn about $62,400 per year, still only 58% of the national average.
For context, the median full-time median earnings for all employees were about $90,900 per year (ABS Employee Earnings, August 2025). The all-employees median is about $74,100 per year. Youth workers typically fall below both these medians. The community services average is about $54,500, which is below the all-employees median of $74,100. So youth worker pay sits well below the national full-time average and below the median for all employees.
State comparisons
If you are a youth worker in a particular state, you can compare your salary to the full-time average for that state. For example, the full-time average for New South Wales is about $109,658 per year. A youth worker earning the award minimum of $54,400 would be 50% of that state average. In the Australian Capital Territory, the full-time average is about $119,090 per year, so the gap is even wider.
Conclusion
There is no single published average for youth workers, but the data we have shows that youth worker salaries are significantly below the national full-time average. The award minimum is about $54,400 per year, and the community services average is about $54,500 per year. This is roughly half the national full-time average of $108,352. If you are a youth worker, you can Place a salary on the line to see how your pay compares to the national average and to Job medians for other occupations.