Pondering a career change? Or just curious to see how much Australia’s top earners make? We’ve taken a look at the 10 most lucrative jobs in Australia.
The pandemic has caused many of us to rethink our careers and our relationship to work. We’ve seen this shift most noticeably with the ‘Great Resignation’, where millions of workers have decided to call it quits on their day jobs. Many people are also facing added pressures with rising costs of living coupled with stagnating wages.
While a big pay cheque isn’t the only factor to consider when choosing a career (hello work–life balance and doing something you enjoy), it can be an important one. With that in mind, we’ve rounded up the highest paying occupations in Australia, based on data from the Australian Taxation Office’s latest Taxation Statistics report.
Unsurprisingly, jobs in the medical field make up about half of the list (so your parents may have been onto something when they told you to study medicine). Other high-paying industries include financial services, law and engineering. All of the top 10 jobs earn an average income of over $155,000 a year, before tax or the Medicare levy are factored in. This is based on the mean, rather than the median average for each job. We’ve also taken a look at the average take-home pay, based on income tax rates for the 2022-2023 financial year.
1. Surgeon – $406,068
Surgeons take the cake as the top-earning profession, making an average of $406,068 a year, or about $4,703 a week after tax. Aside from a high income, according to some reports, many surgeons generally have high overall job satisfaction (they are saving lives after all).
Average taxable income: $406,068
Average take-home income: $244,549
Number of individuals in the profession: 4,159
2. Anaesthetist – $388,814
Anaesthetists come in second place, earning an average of $388,814 a year, or around $4,527 a week after tax. According to the ATO, there were only 3,509 individuals in the job during the reporting period, making it a relatively small profession.
Average taxable income: $388,814
Average take-home income: $235,405
Number of individuals in the profession: 3,509
3. Internal medicine specialist – $310,848
Internal medicine specialists are the third highest paid occupation group, earning $310,848 per year on average, or about $3,732 per week after tax. The group includes a range of occupations – such as specialist physicians, cardiologists, endocrinologists, neurologists and paediatricians – so there can be a big difference in income. As an example, the average taxable income for a cardiologist is $464,243, while the average taxable income for an endocrinologist is $257,975.
Average taxable income: $310,848
Average take-home income: $194,083
Number of individuals in the profession: 9,906
4. Financial dealer – $279,790
After the medical field, the next highest paying industry is financial services. Financial dealers, which includes stockbrokers and people who buy and sell securities on behalf of clients, earn $279,790 on average, or about $3,416 per week after tax.
Average taxable income: $279,790
Average take-home income: $177,622
Number of individuals in the profession: 4,754
5. Psychiatrist – $252,691
Next are psychiatrists who earn $252,691 annually on average, or about $3,140 per week after tax. There are only a small number of psychiatrists in Australia and the government has previously projected that there will be a significant shortage of them by 2030.
Average taxable income: $252,691
Average take-home income: $163,260
Number of individuals in the profession: 3,030
6. Other medical practitioners – $232,903
The ‘other medical practitioners’ group includes jobs such as dermatologists, gynaecologists, ophthalmologists, pathologists, diagnostic and interventional radiologists, and radiation oncologists. This is the biggest occupation group on the list. Again, incomes can differ a lot depending on the job. On average though, the ATO says ‘other medical practitioners’ receive an average taxable income of $232,903 per year, or about $2,938 a week after tax.
Average taxable income: $232,903
Average take-home income: $152,772
Number of individuals in the profession: 28,696
7. Judicial or other legal professionals – $189,538
Next are judicial and ‘other legal professionals’ who earn $189,538 per year on average, or about $2,496 per week after tax. This occupation group includes judges and magistrates, but not barristers or solicitors. Interestingly, the ATO also includes articled clerks in this group, so the average income is skewed lower. For comparison, the average judge has a taxable income of $423,945, while the average articled clerk has a taxable income of $71,774.
Average taxable income: $189,538
Average take-home income: $129,789
Number of individuals in the profession: 3,940
8. Mining engineer – $188,083
Another high paying industry is engineering. Mining engineers earn $188,083 per year on average, or about $2,481 per week after tax. Within that group, petroleum mining engineers have a higher average taxable income of $196,156.
Average taxable income: $188,083
Average take-home income: $129,017
Number of individuals in the profession: 9,120
9. Engineering manager – $161,514
Next are engineering managers, who are responsible for planning and overseeing engineering projects. On average, engineering managers have a taxable income of $161,514 per year, or about $2,182 per week after tax.
Average taxable income: $161,514
Average take-home income: $113,457
Number of individuals in the profession: 25,728
10. Financial investment adviser or manager – $155,882
Rounding out the list are financial advisers and financial investment managers. On average, they have a taxable income of $155,882 per year, or about $2,116 per week after tax. Financial advisers have lower incomes on average at $119,606 per year, while financial investment managers earn $331,812 on average.
Average taxable income: $155,882
Average take-home income: $110,021
Number of individuals in the profession: 20,679
