Highest paying jobs in Australia 2026: top 20 by income

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Highest paying jobs in Australia 2026: top 20 by average income

Published on July 23, 2026

Updated 29 September 2026

Most people guess medicine when they think about the highest paying jobs in Australia, and the tax data proves them right. If you are trying to work out what jobs pay well in Australia, this guide gives you the full top 20 from official tax office figures, what a typical earner in each role takes home, how people get into these jobs, and which ones pay well without a degree.

Quick answer

Surgeons earn the most of any occupation in Australia. In the latest ATO taxation statistics, covering the 2023/24 income year and published in June 2026, the 4,280 people who listed surgeon as their job had an average taxable income of $519,998. Anaesthetists ($475,455), internal medicine specialists ($362,120), financial dealers ($347,375) and psychiatrists ($305,282) make up the rest of the top five. Ten occupation groups averaged more than $200,000. The average across all taxpayers was $78,127.

How to read these numbers

Every figure in the ranking below comes from the Australian Taxation Office. The ATO publishes average and median taxable income for each occupation, built from millions of individual tax returns. That makes it the most complete public source on what Australians in each job actually earn, rather than what job ads promise.

A few things are worth knowing before you compare. Taxable income is what is left after deductions, and it includes investment and business income as well as wages. It also counts everyone who reported the job, including part timers, people easing into retirement and people who only worked part of the year. The median, the middle earner, is usually the better guide to what a typical person in the role takes home. Where the average and median sit far apart, a small group of very high earners is pulling the average up.

Top 20 highest paying jobs in Australia

These are the top paying jobs in Australia by average taxable income, ranked using the ATO occupation groups, which also makes this the most reliable list of the highest paid occupations in Australia. Medicine dominates, but finance, law, mining, engineering and management all make the list. The median is shown alongside so you can see how typical earners compare.

Occupation	Average taxable income (median)	Typical pathway
1. Surgeon	$519,998 median $403,069	Medical degree, hospital years, then surgical training with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
2. Anaesthetist	$475,455 median $457,287	Medical degree, then specialist training with ANZCA
3. Internal medicine specialist (cardiologists, gastroenterologists and other physicians)	$362,120 median $316,410	Medical degree, then physician training with the RACP
4. Financial dealer (traders and stockbrokers)	$347,375 median $187,416	Finance, economics or commerce degree, then a graduate trading or broking role
5. Psychiatrist	$305,282 median $276,453	Medical degree, then specialist training with the RANZCP
6. Other medical practitioners (radiologists, ophthalmologists, emergency specialists and more)	$277,728 median $179,192	Medical degree, then training with the relevant specialist college
7. Judicial and other legal professionals (judges, magistrates, tribunal members)	$217,127 median $140,912	A long legal career as a barrister or solicitor before appointment
8. Mining engineer (includes petroleum engineers)	$216,080 median $186,519	Mining or petroleum engineering degree, then graduate roles on site, often fly in fly out
9. Financial investment adviser or manager	$202,840 median $125,281	Approved degree, the national adviser exam and a professional year for advisers; fund managers usually start as analysts
10. Chief executive or managing director	$200,418 median $93,895	Years of senior management, or running your own business
11. Engineering manager	$195,037 median $165,743	Engineering degree and several years as an engineer before moving into management
12. Financial investment consultant	$184,276 median $110,371	Experienced finance professionals, often working as independent consultants
13. Dental practitioner (dentists and dental specialists)	$173,525 median $133,248	Dentistry degree and AHPRA registration, plus further study for specialists
14. IT manager (includes chief information officers)	$172,805 median $148,548	IT degree or strong technical experience, then team and project leadership
15. General practitioner	$171,734 median $138,205	Medical degree, then GP training with the RACGP or ACRRM
16. Barrister	$171,715 median $59,209	Law degree, admission to practice, then the bar exam and reading programme
17. Air transport professionals (pilots, air traffic controllers)	$170,869 median $147,237	CASA commercial pilot licence and flight hours, or air traffic control training
18. Geologist or geophysicist	$169,841 median $145,502	Geology or geophysics degree, then exploration or mine site work
19. Production manager (manufacturing and mining)	$169,250 median $131,752	Operations experience, often starting from a trade or engineering role
20. Importer, exporter or wholesaler	$168,171 median $83,525	No set qualification; most are business owners with trade experience

Source: ATO, Taxation statistics 2023/24, Individuals Table 15B (average and median taxable income by occupation unit group, all individuals who reported each occupation). Pathways are a general guide only, so check with the relevant college, regulator or licensing body.

The highest paid professions in Australia, up close

Medicine takes six of the top 10 spots

If you want the single highest paid profession in Australia, it is surgery. The ATO says surgeons have been the top earning occupation for the last 15 years, and their average rose by $47,523 on the year before, from $472,475 in 2022/23. Break the numbers down to individual specialties and neurosurgeons come out on top at $678,611 on average across 176 people, followed by plastic and reconstructive surgeons ($660,492) and ophthalmologists ($655,245).

Anaesthetists are interesting because their median ($457,287) is almost as high as their average, so pay is consistently strong across the group. General practitioners sit at 15th with an average of $171,734. The catch across all of these roles is time: most specialists spend many years in hospital and college training after their medical degree before they reach these incomes. You can browse current surgeon jobs, anaesthetist jobs and GP jobs, or the full list of healthcare and medical jobs on Workinitiatives.

Finance and law pay well, but unevenly

Financial dealers are the best paid group outside medicine at $347,375 on average. Their median is $187,416, which tells you bonuses and a handful of very large incomes make a big difference. Financial investment advisers and managers average $202,840, with a median of $125,281. Current roles sit under financial adviser jobs and the wider banking and financial services category.

Law shows the same pattern. Judges, magistrates and other judicial professionals average $217,127. Barristers average $171,715, yet their median is just $59,209, so the bar rewards a small number of people very well. Solicitors, a much larger group of 73,929 people, average $162,065 and sit just outside the top 20. If law is your field, browse solicitor jobs or all legal jobs.

Mining, engineering and resources

Mining engineers average $216,080, and petroleum engineers, counted within that group, average $231,614 on their own. Engineering managers ($195,037) and geologists and geophysicists ($169,841) also make the top 20. The ABS backs this up at industry level: in May 2026, full time adults in mining earned $3,224.20 a week on average in ordinary time, the highest of any industry and well above the $2,083.70 average across all industries. You can see what is open now under mining, resources and energy jobs.

These are high paying careers in Australia that often mean remote sites or fly in fly out rosters, which is part of why they pay so well. Look at mining engineer jobs, engineering manager jobs and geologist jobs, or read our guide to careers in Bunbury for a regional WA example.

Management and technology

Chief executives and managing directors average $200,418, but there are 237,168 of them and the median is only $93,895. The group includes plenty of people running small businesses, so the title alone does not guarantee a big salary. IT managers are more consistent: 83,788 people with an average of $172,805 and a median of $148,548. Chief information officers, counted within that group, average $246,909.

Software and applications programmers, the biggest professional group near the top at 151,272 people, average $139,606. Unlike medicine, you do not need a decade of specialist training to get there. See software engineer jobs, the wider ICT jobs category, or our guide to software engineer roles in Brisbane.

Highest paying jobs without a degree

Almost every job in the top 20 needs a university degree, or years of experience that usually starts with one. Go a little further down the ATO list, though, and there are plenty of jobs that pay well through an apprenticeship, a licence or on the job training. These trade and operator roles all averaged well above the national average of $78,127 in 2023/24:

Chemical, gas, petroleum and power generation plant operators, $150,551
Electrical distribution trades workers (line workers), $139,301
Drillers, miners and shot firers, $139,062
Train and tram drivers, $135,137
Practice managers, $128,216
Crane, hoist and lift operators, $128,177
Aircraft maintenance engineers, $122,249
Police, $121,000
Fire and emergency service workers, $120,660
Electricians, $117,385
Metal fitters and machinists, $114,653

Most of these start with a Certificate III apprenticeship, a high risk work licence or a service academy. If you searched for easy jobs with high salary, go in with open eyes. These roles pay well because of shift work, remote rosters, licensing or physical risk, not because they are easy. Location matters too: electricians in Western Australia averaged $139,710, well above the national figure. Start with electrician jobs, crane operator jobs or the wider trades and services category, and read what to know before a career change if you are switching fields.

Highest paying jobs by state and territory

The ATO does not publish income by occupation for individual cities, but the 2023/24 release split occupation data by state and territory for the first time. That gives a good picture of where each job pays best. The ABS adds a wider view: in May 2026, full time adults earned the most in the ACT ($2,290.20 a week) and Western Australia ($2,227.40), and the least in Tasmania ($1,846.30).

Western Australia is where resources money shows up most clearly. Surgeons there averaged $609,719, engineering managers $242,710 (against $195,037 nationally) and geologists $189,449. Start with jobs in Perth, then narrow down to mining engineer jobs in Perth or mining, resources and energy roles in Perth.

New South Wales leads for finance and corporate roles, so it is the place to look for high paying jobs in Sydney. More than half of Australia’s 5,148 financial dealers lodged in NSW, where they averaged $393,928. Chief executives there averaged $222,134, solicitors $176,983 and software programmers $152,384. Start with jobs in Sydney or narrow it down to banking and financial services jobs in Sydney, and read our guide to finding a job in Sydney before you apply.

In Victoria, anaesthetists averaged $519,317 and electrical distribution trades workers $157,779, well above the national average for that trade. Browse jobs in Melbourne or go straight to anaesthetist jobs in Melbourne.

Queensland surgeons averaged $567,453 and mining engineers $224,805. See jobs in Brisbane or mining engineer jobs in Brisbane.

South Australian surgeons averaged $519,666 and judicial and legal professionals $213,113. Our Adelaide job market guide covers salaries there in more detail, and jobs in Adelaide lists what is open now.

In the ACT, IT sales professionals averaged $213,804 and engineering managers $208,858, so ICT jobs in Canberra are worth a look. The Northern Territory stands out for energy work, with power and gas plant operators averaging $208,429 (see mining, resources and energy jobs in Darwin). In Tasmania, anaesthetists averaged $426,781, and healthcare and medical jobs in Hobart is the place to start.

How to move into a high paying role

Very few people land in the top 20 by accident. The ones who get there usually picked a pathway early and stuck with it. A few practical steps help, whatever stage you are at:

Choose the pathway, not just the job title. Check the college, licence or registration each role needs and how long it takes
Compare the median as well as the average, especially for barristers, CEOs and financial dealers
Be open to location. Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory pay a premium for many resources and trade roles
Keep your registration and licences current, whether that is AHPRA, CASA or a high risk work licence
Tailor your resume to each application with these resume tips

If you are moving from overseas, most of these jobs need a skills assessment and the right visa before an employer can hire you. Our guides to finding a job in Australia from overseas and the skilled visa points test walk through the process. For the bigger picture, read our overview of the Australian job market and our explainer on Australia's unemployment rate.

When you are ready to apply, Workinitiatives lists roles across Australia and matches Jobseekers with employers by skills. It sits alongside the legitimate job websites we recommend using together.

FAQs

What is the highest paying job in Australia?

Surgeon. In the ATO’s 2023/24 taxation statistics, surgeons had an average taxable income of $519,998, the highest of any occupation group for the 15th year running. At the individual specialty level, neurosurgeons averaged $678,611.

What jobs pay over $200,000 in Australia?

Ten occupation groups averaged more than $200,000 in 2023/24: surgeons, anaesthetists, internal medicine specialists, financial dealers, psychiatrists, other medical practitioners, judicial and legal professionals, mining engineers, financial investment advisers and managers, and chief executives or managing directors.

What are the highest paid professions in Australia outside medicine?

Financial dealers lead at $347,375, followed by judicial and other legal professionals ($217,127), mining engineers ($216,080), financial investment advisers and managers ($202,840) and chief executives ($200,418).

Which jobs pay well in Australia without a degree?

Plant operators in chemical, gas, petroleum and power generation averaged $150,551 in 2023/24. Line workers ($139,301), drillers and miners ($139,062), train drivers ($135,137) and crane operators ($128,177) also earn well above the national average.

Is average taxable income the same as salary?

No. Taxable income is income after deductions, and it can include investment and business income as well as wages. It also covers part time workers, so it is not the same as an advertised full time salary.

What is a good salary in Australia?

The average taxable income across all taxpayers was $78,127 in 2023/24, and the median was $58,739. For full time adults, the ABS put average weekly ordinary time earnings at $2,083.70 in May 2026, roughly $108,000 a year.

Which state has the highest paying jobs?

The ACT has the highest average full time earnings, followed by Western Australia, according to the ABS. ATO data shows Western Australia pays a clear premium for mining, engineering and trade roles.