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General Australian Wage Information
- Wages in Australia are often paid fortnightly.
-
The employer has to pay an extra 9% into a compulsory Superannuation
scheme of the employees choice, as long as they earn more than $450 per month.
On a wage of about $50,000 per year, this can be effectively increased by
$4,500, although this extra money is tied up until the relevant retiring date.
When quoting Salaries, some employers may
quote
a Salary Package of $54,500, meaning $50,000 + super, whilst another may quote;
$50,000 Salary, which
would then have the 9% super in addition, therefore totalling $54,500.
Ensure that you compare apples with apples, and that you know if the super has
been included in the figure or not. I would prefer them to always say
"Salary package of $xx + Super" That way, if the government increases it
further from 9%, then there would be no questioning that they would have to pay
the extra, instead of reducing the salary to accommodate the extra cost.
Minimum Wage in Australia
- As at 1 October 2008, the Federal Minimum Wage will increase to
$14.31 per hour.
- As at Oct 2007 the Federal Minimum Wage was $13.74 per hour.
http://www.fairpay.gov.au
- The Federal Minimum wage is for the whole of Australia and cannot be lower
in any of the individual States.
- The compulsory 9% Superannuation contributions by the employer are on top
of that minimum wage payment.
Some Example Actual Wages
- August 2008
- ALDI Supermarket vacancies
- Area Manager $79,600 (inc Super) = $73,000 + super
- Assistant Store Manager $49,450 to $65,000
- Retail Assistant Permanent Part Time $19.40 per hour
- Limited Roster Retail Assistant Permanent Part Time $18.45 per hour
-
Local Council Vacancy S.E. QLD
- Budget & Management Reporting Officer $53,030 to $56,820 + up to 12%
super
- Budget & Management Reporting Officer
Brisbane | Redland City Council. | $53,030 to $56,820 + up to 12% super
- Psychologist (Dementia Care Program)
Brisbane | QLD Health | $48,216 - $70,870 FTE (Full Time Equivalent)
- Visiting Medical Specialist.
Paediatric Services, Brisbane Southside Health Service District.
Remuneration rates: $146.54 - $160.31 p.h., plus employer contribution to
superannuation (up to 12.75%),
Australian Average Wage
The Australian Bureau of Statistics, ABS, publishes the average annual
wage figures every quarter. These figures are quoted in three formats: Original,
Trend and Seasonally Adjusted. They also quote these figures as "Full-time
adult ORDINARY TIME earnings" and "Full-time adult TOTAL earnings", as well as
splits between male and female.
May 2008 Average Weekly Earnings, Australia.
ATO
TREND ESTIMATES
Full-time adult ordinary time earnings $1,132.20 pw
Full-time adult total
earnings $1,183.10 pw (Male $1,273.70 Female $1,010.00)
I think that about 37% of full time workers in
Australia earn ABOVE the average wage. (see my figures further down
the page for my reasoning)
February 2008 Average Weekly Earnings, Australia.
TREND ESTIMATES
Full-time adult ordinary time earnings $1,123.30 pw
Full-time adult total
earnings $1,173.50 pw
In the twelve months to Feb 2008, full-time adult total earnings rose by 4.4%
for males and 5.2% for females
These averages varied in different industries between $821.00 for the
Accommodation, Cafes and Restaurants industry to $1,861.40 for the Mining
industry.
Source:
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6302.0
and:
Feb 2008 UK Average Wage comparison being £23,700, (£455.77pw)
according to
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7252504.stm
Some historic Australian National Average wages, based on "Full-time
adult total earnings", have been:
Feb-1998 $39,577.20
Feb-1999 $40,856.40
Feb-2000 $42,239.60
Feb-2001 $44,096.00
Feb-2002 $46,607.60
Feb-2003 $49,082.80
Feb-2004 $51,558.00
Feb-2005 $54,298.40
Feb-2006 $56,378.40
Feb-2007 $58,281.60
Feb-2008 $61,022.00
State
Award Web Sites
Salary Surveys
- Ambit IT&T Salary Index
- The Ambit Salary Index encompasses the IT&T, Engineering, Executive and Sales & Marketing industries and is compiled by recruitment specialists based in Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney; drawing upon job offers and employment activity data in each individual city.
- Hayes Online Salary Survey - The Hays Salary Survey is compiled from information collected from over 100 branches in our network throughout Australia and New Zealand.
- Ambit Engineering Salary
Index - Ambit Engineering's Quarterly National Salary Index Survey
-
Comparison of UK & Australia Average Wages
Average Full-time adult total earnings comparisons in 2007:
Australia: Feb 2007 $58,260 :
Aus Source:
www.ausstats.abs.gov.au
UK: Feb 2007 £23,764 :
UK Source:
www.statistics.gov.uk
The highest paid of all UK full-time employees were 'Health professionals' at
£1,019 a week.
The lowest paid of all UK full-time employees were 'Sales occupations' at £264 a
week.
A breakdown of average pay in the following UK regions at Nov 2007:
£45,274 London
£31,462 South East
£31,462 Eastern England
£27,297 North West
£24,318 North East
Feb 2008
Industry breakdown of Australian Full-time adult average ordinary time earnings:
"ORIGINAL DATA"
$1,861.40 Mining
$1,396.40 Finance and Insurance
$1,338.10 Electricity, Gas and Water Supply
$1,229.50 Property and Business Services
$1,208.20 Education
$1,192.50 Communication Services
$1,181.30 Government Administration and Defence
$1,129.40 Cultural and Recreational Services
$1,091.60 Health and Community Services
$1,090.60 Construction
$1,082.80 Transport and Storage
$1,075.40 Personal and Other Services
$1,058.80 Manufacturing
$1,048.50 Wholesale Trade
$ 874.50 Retail Trade
$ 821.00 Accommodation, Cafes and Restaurants
$1,124.80 All Industries
May 2007 Australian
Average Weekly Earnings:
Full-time adult ordinary time earnings $1,088.40 per week
(Males: $1,156.00 Females: $968.20)
Full-time adult
total earnings $1,134.30 per
week (Males: $1,219.10 Females: $983.30)
In the twelve months to May 2007, full-time adult total earnings rose by 4.2%
for males and 4.0% for females.
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May 2007 Industry breakdown
of Full-time adult average ordinary time earnings:
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Industry breakdown
$1,811.00 Mining
$1,635.10 Finance and insurance
$1,400.30 Health and community services
$1,336.10 Electricity, gas and water supply
$1,296.70 Education
$1,262.30 Property and business services
$1,205.40 Government administration and defence
$1,191.20 Communication services
$1,146.60 Cultural and recreational services
$1,127.20 Transport and storage
$1,101.60 Personal and other services
$1,077.40 Construction
$1,061.50 Wholesale trade
$1,050.30 Manufacturing
$ 889.90 Accommodation, cafes and restaurants
$ 874.40 Retail trade
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State Breakdown
$1,088.40
Australia
$1,287.50
ACT
$1,164.00 WA
$1,128.00 NSW
$1,067.40 VIC
$1,042.40 NT
$1,019.90 QLD
$1,011.10 SA
$1,009.30 TAS |
2006 Wages
The following figures are taken from the 2006 Census in Australia:
13,360,665 people, over the age of 15, stated their annual income in
the 2006 Census.
Of those:
- 1,103,113 or 8.26% earned between $1-$7,799
- 2,220,044 or 16.62% earned between $7,800-$12,999
- 2,063,609 or 15.45% earned between $13,000-$20,799
- 2,171,002 or 16.25% earned between $20,800-$31,199
- 1,692,280 or 12.67% earned between $31,200-$41,599
- 1,257,550 or 9.41% earned between $41,600-$51,999
- 1,230,053 or 9.21% earned between $52,000-$67,599
- 675,681 or 5.06% earned between $67,600-$83,199
- 395,580 or 2.96% earned between $83,200-$103,999
- 551,753 or 4.13% earned over $104,000
Another 1,416,911 chose not to state their income and 1,140,500 stated
either No Income or Negative Income.
Based on the above, in 2006, 21.36% of all earners over 15 years old,
both Part and Full Time, earned over $52,000 (ie 92% of the
average wage of $56,378) or higher.
To get an approximation of the % of FULL TIME workers earning over that
figure is not easy, but if we excluded anyone earning less than $20,800
per year, and half those earning between $20,800 and $32,000*, then we
could assume that there were about 6,888,398 Full Time workers
earning over about $26,000 and then with 2,853,067 earning $52,000 or
over, that would mean 41.4% of full time workers earned 92% of the average
wage or more.
From the above, I would guesstimate 37% of
full time workers in Australia earned over the average wage.
*The cut off point then being about $26,000, as the Federal Minimum
Award Wage was $26,616 in 2006.
2005 Average Wage comparisons:
Australia
Australian average wage $53,534 a year, November 2005
Australian Capital City average wage almost $62,000
Source:
ABS
Based on: Full-time adult ordinary time earnings $1,029.50 per week = $53,534 per year
Full-time adult total earnings $1,078.60 per week = $56,087 per year
UK
UK average Wage £22,411
UK Capital City Average wage £28,912
Source:
Guardian
Guardian
Nov 2005 - The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings published this week by
the Office of National Statistics, for the year ending April 2005, shows that
the median gross annual earnings for full-time male workers is £25,100, and
£19,400 for full-time female workers. In London the average weekly wage is £556
= $28,912 per year.
In Feb 2005 the national average salary was quoted
at £22,411, but with variances such as "According to figures gathered by
Payfinder, the average salary for a company chairman is £215,000, chief finance
officers earn £101,375 and directors an average of £95,000. At the other end of
the scale are workers who take home less than a third of the London average. The
wage for general assistant in the region is just £5,651, while customer
assistants earn an average of £10,055 and cleaners £11,583"
State by State Australian average wages at Feb 2005 were quoted by
The Sydney Morning Herald on Aug 19th 2005, at the following Figures:
- NSW - $54,662
- ACT - $60,684
- QLD - $49,600
- VIC - $51,600
- TAS - $46,280
- SA -
- WA -
These figures are quoted WITHOUT Overtime or Bonuses, ie: "ordinary time earnings"
Wages even within a State can vary tremendously.
A link at the
ABS shows average wages in 2001 for each of the NSW suburbs, and some
examples are:
- Mosman: average wage of $77,943 averaged over 12,151 wage earners
- Bingara: average wage of $25,317 averaged over 495 wage earners
- Coffs Harbour: average wage of $27,655 with 18,454 wage earners
- Parramatta: average wage of $35,973 with 59,304 wage earners.
- Penrith: average wage of $34,431 with 76,727 wage earners.
Remember, these are 2001 figures where the NSW average wage was $37,191,
compared to the 2005 figure of $54,662. ie: 2005 is 47% higher than in 2001.
Current average wages can be seen at this
ABS link, although they are national figures rather than State based.
The current figures at August 2005 are quoted as:
-
Full-time adult ordinary time earnings $53,175
-
Full-time adult total earnings $55,739
-
In the twelve months to August 2005, full-time adult total earnings rose by 6.4% for
males and 5.7% for females
August 2005
Overall Australian Male full-time Average $52,856
Overall Australian Female full-time Average $44,928
GROSS HOUSEHOLD INCOMES
ABS Document: 6523.0 - Household Income and Income Distribution, Australia,
2005-06
Latest ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 02/08/2007 from:
http://www.abs.gov.au/
This document details Mean Gross "Household" Incomes in
Australia
2005/2006 Figures were:
NSW
Capital City $1,559 per week $81,068 per year
Rest of State $ 1,092 per week $56,784 per year
VIC
Capital City $1,368 per week $71,136 per year
Rest of State $1,080 per week $56,160 per year
QLD
Capital City $1,357 per week $70,565 per year
Rest of State $1,202 per week $62,504 per year
SA
Capital City $1,197 per week $62,244 per year
Rest of State $1,025 per week $53,300 per year
WA
Capital City $1,319 per week $68,588 per year
Rest of State $1,239 per week $64,428 per year
TAS
Capital City $1,141 per week $59,332 per year
Rest of State $ 945 per week $49,140 per year
NT
Capital City $1,675 per week $87,100 per year
ACT
Capital City $1,639 per week $85,228 per year
AUSTRALIA
Capital City $1,410 per week $73,320 per year
Rest of State $1,122 per week $58,344 per year
2003/2004 Figures were:
NSW
Capital City $1,360.00 per week $70,720.00 per year
Rest of State $ 974.00 per week $50,648.00 per year
VIC
Capital City $1,209.00 per week $62,868.00 per year
Rest of State $ 946.00 per week $49,192.00 per year
QLD
Capital City $1,070.00 per week $55,640.00 per year
Rest of State $1,006.00 per week $52,312.00 per year
SA
Capital City $1,058.00 per week $55,016.00 per year
Rest of State $ 961.00 per week $49,972.00 per year
WA
Capital City $1,116.00 per week $58,032.00 per year
Rest of State $1,047.00 per week $54,444.00 per year
TAS
Capital City $1,035.00 per week $53,820.00 per year
Rest of State $ 799.00 per week $41,548.00 per year
Links
Other Information
- What does FTE mean or stand for? Full Time Equivalent when
talking about Salary.
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