Australia expects demand for skills in the digital transformation arena and many industries in Australia drive their growth through technical specialists and knowledge expertise. As a result, starting IT salaries are expected to rise as technology continues to play a pivotal role in many organizations. The highest paying jobs include General Counsel, Head of operations, Company secretary, Medicine Specialist, Chief technology officer/Head of technology, head of compliance, Portfolio Manager, and Investment director as per a salary guide published in March 2021.
Learn more about the universities in Australia here.
The table below shows some job roles of Australian professionals. The ranges are mainly for professionals from New South Wales, and they may differ based on the territories. Please refer to the average salary for Australia on Salary Explorer for more information.
The average salary in Australia is AUD90,800 per year with AUD 23,000 being the lowest average and AUD 405,000 being the highest average. The higher average would differ and could be different depending on the industry and the profession.
English Proficiency: High Proficiency
Number of LinkedIn Users (2021): 11,000,000+
Top Local Job Portals: Seek, Indeed, Jobsearch.gov.au
More information on job portals in Australia can be found here.
Top Recruitment Agencies: Lloyd Connect Melbourne, Adecco, Randstad Australia
The minimum wage is at AUD$772.60 per week or AUS$30.33 per hour.
Employees are paid bi-weekly (every second week), bi-monthly (15th and 30th), or monthly (28th to 30th).
Not mandatory.
Employee Stock Options
It is a common practice for Australian companies that are listed on the Australian Securities Exchange to offer employee stock options to their employees. However, it is relatively difficult for employers to provide stock plans to their employees if the company is unlisted due to complexities in applicable tax and securities laws.
Share option plans are popular and are operated by companies across all sectors in Australia. Employers provide stock options as part of their short-term and long-term incentive arrangements wherein the employee receives an option or a right to an ordinary share in the business.
However, it is not mandatory for companies to provide stock options as a part of incentives.
Learn more about employee stock options in Australia here.
Standard 38 hours work week.
Each industry award and agreement has its own overtime rules. Most awards allow for overtime of 38 hours per week, or in excess of 10 hours per day.
Compensation is based on an agreement in a contract. An overtime policy is recommended, stating how overtime requests will be made, allocated, recorded, and monitored.
The public holidays differ across regions and can be found here.
Full-time employees are entitled to 4 weeks of paid leave per year. Employees who work in shifts receive 5 weeks of paid leave per year.
10 days of paid leave inclusive of leave to take care of family members.
12 months of unpaid maternity leave after working for 1 year with the employer. Employees may also apply to the Federal Government Scheme which provides 18 weeks of paid maternity leave.
Fathers are entitled to 5 days of unpaid leave at the time of birth or adoption of a child. They may also apply to the Federal Government for additional leave.
If the employee has been working for 1 year, they are entitled to unpaid leave that lasts for 1 year, and it is possible to request an additional 1 year from the employer.
Termination process depends on years of employment, company size and type of employment.
Termination Process
Severance pay or redundancy pay depends on whether it is termination with cause or without cause.
Redundancy Pay
Not mandatory. Employees on probation will receive the same entitlements as someone who isn’t in a probation period. This includes receiving notice when employment ends and having their unused accumulated annual leave hours paid out even if they fail the probation.
Providing workers’ compensation insurance benefits to employees is mandatory in Australia that ensures protection to workers if they suffer a work-related injury or disease. Each scheme has different rules in place for domestic employees, which includes changes in regulations from region to region and the state government regulates the workers’ compensation scheme in that state. The various schemes are administered in different ways and insurers may have different roles within the schemes.
Premium: The workers’ compensation premium that a business must pay is regulated by the state government of Australia that is based on a particular formula that is used in that state. It is based on the salary of the employee, the industry the business operates in, and the claims history of the business.
Australia has a Goods and Services Tax (GST) which is equivalent to a VAT. The standard GST rate is 10%
Note: All of the data is up-to-date as of 2021. Necessary links have been added to areas where I have updated the numbers or where changes have been made.