Median Wages in Australia, August 2017
The figure for Median wages differs from the often produced Average figure, and is commonly about 20% lower than the average.
The Median Figure is the figure where half of the people are above and half are below.
Full-time Median Wages in Australia, August 2017
The median earnings for full-time employees was $1,261 per week in August 2017. The figure for Male employees was $1,342, with $1,187 for Females.
Part-time Median Wages in Australia, August 2017
The median earnings for part-time employees was $500 per week. The figure for Male employees was $435, with $540 for Females.
Casual employees Median Wages in Australia, August 2017
The median earnings for casual employees was $504 per week. The figure for Male employees was $688 per week with $430 for Females.
Rankings of Median Wages by Australian State & Territory in August 2017
The highest median wage was in the ACT, while the lowest was in Tasmania.
| Male | Female | State/Territory |
| Â $ 1,527.07 | Â $ 1,440.43 | Australian Capital Territory |
| Â $ 1,500.00 | Â $ 1,250.00 | Western Australia |
| Â $ 1,500.00 | Â $ 1,250.00 | Northern Territory |
| Â $ 1,333.98 | Â $ 1,200.00 | New South Wales |
| Â $ 1,327.42 | Â $ 1,150.00 | Queensland |
| Â $ 1,315.57 | Â $ 1,176.00 | Victoria |
| Â $ 1,233.95 | Â $ 1,100.00 | South Australia |
| Â $ 1,200.00 | Â $ 1,094.64 | Tasmania |
Male Full-time Median Weekly Wages in Australia 2004 to 2017
$ 850 – 2004
$ 900 – 2005
$ 950 – 2006
$1,000 – 2007
$1,025 – 2008
$1,096 – 2009
$1,134 – 2010
$1,193 – 2011
$1,200 – 2012
$1,250 – 2013
$1,299 – 2014
$1,300 – 2015
$1,300 – 2016
$1,342 – 2017
Female Full-time Median Weekly Wages in Australia 2004 to 2017
$ 729 – 2004
$ 760 – 2005
$ 800 – 2006
$ 846 – 2007
$ 900 – 2008
$ 917 – 2009
$ 962 – 2010
$1,000 – 2011
$1,040 – 2012
$1,035 – 2013
$1,100 – 2014
$1,120 – 2015
$1,144 – 2016
$1,187 – 2017
Source: ABS: 6333.0 – Characteristics of Employment, Australia, August 2017
Example of Median Calculation.
If you have eleven numbers such as: 400, 450, 500, 525, 550, 575, 600, 700, 1000, 2000 and 3000, then you remove the top 5 and the bottom 5, leaving the number 575 being the middle number, and this is the median number.
Example of Average Calculation.
If you have eleven numbers such as: 400, 450, 500, 525, 550, 575, 600, 700, 1000, 2000 and 3000, you add them all together (10,300) and divide by eleven = 936.36
Female Median Wage as percentage of Male Median Wage
The female median full time wage has ranged between 83% and 87% of the male median over these years. This might be explained by the higher numbers of lower paid employees being female, such as shop assistants, supermarket cashiers etc. These jobs are normally paid at the same rate for both male and female, but with more being females, it causes a lower median rate for the female median figure.