How much will I earn?

It can be difficult to determine the salary you should command in Australia, as salaries aren’t always stated in job advertisements, except for public sector employees (who are paid according to fixed rates). Salaries may vary considerably for the same job in different parts of the country. In general, wages are highest in NSW (particularly Sydney, which has the highest cost of living) and Canberra, and lowest in Queensland and South Australia. However, salary variations aren’t uniform across Australia and those living in areas with a low cost of living can sometimes earn as much as those in cities with a much higher cost of living. Australia has a similar cost of living to most Western European countries and higher than the US. However, although Australians have traditionally been highly paid, some analysts believe that Australia’s future may be low-tech, low-pay. In recent years, salary growth hasn’t kept pace with inflation (Queensland has had the highest salary growth in recent years).

   Australia has a federal minimum wage which was increased to $14.31 per hour from 1st October 2009 ($543.78 for a 38-hour week), although most job sectors are bound by workplace agreements. Overtime rates are usually one and a half times the normal hourly rate but can be twice the normal rate for weekend work. In 2007, the task of setting the minimum wage was passed from the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) to the newly created Australian FairPay Commission/AFPC (www.fairpay.gov.au).

   Many analysts believe that the relatively high federal minimum wage is partly responsible for unemployment, although it’s undercut by employers hiring part-time and casual workers (many employers, particularly restaurant owners, pay below the legal rate of pay). Many people think that there should be a lower federal minimum wage for unskilled workers, who are currently priced out of jobs.

   Government surveys of average weekly earnings are published regularly for a wide range of trades and professions, both nationally and for individual states and cities. The Workplace Authority website (www.workplaceauthority.gov.au/rates-of-pay) provides information about rates of pay for most industries.

   Real wages for many workers have fallen over the last decade and many families receive social security payments (e.g. a ‘family payment’) to top up their incomes. Government employees earn more on average than employees in the private sector (an average of over $60,000 per year for federal government employees and almost as much for local government workers) and receive bigger wage increases. The highest paid private-sector jobs are generally in finance, insurance and mining, while the lowest are in catering, retailing and tourism. As in most other countries, the self-employed are generally the worst off, with an average salary of just over $40,000 in 2009. Under a scheme called ‘leave loading’, full-time employees are paid an extra 17.5 per cent of their normal wage when they’re on holiday (usually paid in December).

   Not surprisingly, the highest average salaries are in Sydney, followed by Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide; bottom of the table is the inappropriately named Gold Coast. There are allowances (called ‘tropical loading’ or ‘remote area allowances’) for work in remote parts of the Northern Territory and Western Australia (above the Tropic of Capricorn).

   Usually, salaries are negotiable, and it’s up to you to ensure that you receive a level of salary and benefits commensurate with your qualifications and experience (in other words, as much as you can get!). If you have friends or acquaintances working in Australia or who have worked there, ask them what an average or good salary is for your trade or profession. Salaries paid by some foreign companies (e.g. American or Japanese companies) may be higher on average than those paid by Australian companies, particularly for executives and managers imported from overseas.

   Pay increases are often linked to improved productivity and performance, and pay generally rises in line with inflation. A deal between workers, management and the government in recent years generally heralded the end of massive pay rises for workers in return for better working conditions and fringe benefits. Women have fallen behind in the pay stakes in recent years, particularly those employed in part-time and temporary jobs, where wage growth has been minimal.

For more information see Living and Working in Australia by David Hampshire