Last modified 01/26/2024

Australia: payments and salaries for professionals

The demand for professionals in Australia is the one which, at final instance, sets the salaries of the professional population, where the work experience and the good command of the English language, allow improving the remunerative conditions of the professional immigrant.

Australia is one of the world’s largest economies, with greater deregulation and with less state presence; however, none of these has meant to demerit the life quality of its citizens, which can be natives or immigrants, because, after evaluating the life quality in 20 of the top cities in the world, 5 of them were Australian, in which the ones who have greater income pay more taxes and the ones receiving less, also get subsidies from the different state and federal governments.

Is in this context that the Australian Work Market is developing, establishing work contracts between employers and employees, which, basically, respond to differences in the amount of worked weekly hours and in the amount of salaries perceived, because, it is important to mention that, in the type of contract known as Casual Work, the salary perceived is higher than the one obtained through the Full Time Work contract and the Part Time Work contract, due to the fact that it does not ensure continuity in the job position nor gives holiday break rights or medical care license.

In the case of workers that have contracts, the value of the worked hours depends a lot on the command they have on the English language and in the certified skills the immigrant possesses. The value of the hour is fixated by the Australian Government through a federal or state award which is mandatory and in the case of the minimum wage, it is the Award Wage or salary award; which is also the one in charge of fixating the Minimum Wage per hour in 14.50 Australian dollars. It is necessary to mention that in each state and territory a minimum wage has been set according to the salary fixated by the Federal Government.

It is estimated that the minimum that can be earned by any professional in Australia is 32 000 Australian dollars per year, but with a good experience and the proper command of the English language, it could be raised up to 45 000 Australian dollars and in the measure in which his or her experience fluctuates, his or her range of annual income fluctuates among the 48 000 and 70 000 Australian dollars per year.

For the year 2009, according to the Annual Salary Study effected by the Hays Consulter, in 12 cities of Australia, the salaries and payments vary from state to state and even among the different branches of each profession.

For example, let’s see in the following chart the salary differences in occupations related to the accountancy profession, according to the work experience and in the city in which it is practiced:

Annual Average Salary of the Occupation
Accountants with experience in the accountancy field for industrial and commercial sectors
States and Territories, Cities: from 3 to 5 years, from 5 to 10 years, from 10 or more years.
New South Wales (NSW), Sidney: 68 000, 75 000, 80 000
Victory (VIC), Melbourne: 60 000, 70 000, 75 000
Queensland (QLD), Brisbane: 60 000, 65 000, 70 000.
Southern Australia (SA), Adelaide: 60 000, 70 000, 80 000
Western Australia (WA): Pert 70 00, 80 000, 90 000
Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Canberra: 65 000, 75 000, 80 000
Tasmania (TAS), Hobart: 48 000, 54 000, 58 000
North Territory (NT), Darwin: 60 000, 72 000, 80 000

Annual Average Salary for the Accountancy Occupation with experience in the finance and intern auditory fields for industrial, commercial and financial sectors:
States and Territories, Cities. Operations Risk Analyst, Internal Auditor and Assistant Accountants graduate no experience.
New South Wales (NSW), Sidney: 95 000, 80 000, 85 000, 42 000
Victory (VIC), Melbourne: 90 000, 90 000, 95 000, 40 000
Queensland (QLD), Brisbane: 90 000, 95 000, 80 000, 45 000
Southern Australia (SA), Adelaide: 75 000, 70 000, 70 000, 45 000
Western Australia (WA), Perth: 90 00, 70 000, 85 000, 42 000
Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Canberra: 90 000, 75 000, 90 000, 40 000
Tasmania (TAS), Hobart: 75 000, 70 000, 60 000, 35 000
North Territory (NT), Darwin: 90 000, 70 000, 85 000, 40 000

The lawyer’s work experience in micro and little companies also makes the difference for effects of their annual average salaries in the principal Australian cities.

Annual Average Minimum Wage in the Lawyer Occupation with experience in the field of juridical advice for micro companies.
States and Territories, Cities. One year of experience, 2 years of experience, 3 years of experience, 4 years of experience.
New South Wales (NSW), Sidney: 59 000, 65 000, 80 000, 90 000
Victory (VIC), Melbourne: 51 000, 62 000, 70 000, 80 000
Queensland (QLD), Brisbane: 50 000, 63 000, 75 000, 85 000
Western Australia (WA), Perth: 60 00, 75 000, 85 000, 95 000
Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Canberra: 55 000, 60 000, 70 000, 75 000

In the manufacturer field we can see that the minimum salaries or payments are higher than the ones mentioned for professions that perform office work, such as the ones mentioned in the charts above.

Annual Minimum Wage Average in the Occupation of Engineers with experience in the manufacturer sector.
States and Territories, Cities. Graduate Engineers, Project Engineer, Process Engineer, Electronic Engineer.
New South Wales (NSW), Sidney: 40 000, 80 000, 70 000, 80 000
Victory (VIC), Melbourne: 40 000, 90 000, 70 000, 90 000
Queensland (QLD), Brisbane: 40 000