ATO reveals 10 highest paying jobs in Australia: ‘$472,475 a year'

Yahoo

a day ago

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has revealed the highest paying jobs in Australia, with the top job raking in more than $470,000 per year on average. The list is based on the tax return data of millions of Aussies and gives a sneak peek into the huge incomes some professions are banking.
Surgeons have retained the top spot, earning an average of $472,475 a year. There are only 4,247 surgeons in the country. For context, that means they are earning more than six times the average taxable income of $74,240 over the same period.
Medical professionals dominated the list, with anaesthetists taking second place with average earnings of $447,193. There are just 3,658 workers across the country.
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Financial dealers were the highest-paid non-medical role, earning an average of $355,233 a year based on 5,147 people in the profession. Financial dealers conduct financial market transactions on behalf of clients and include stockbrokers.
The highest-paying job with the most people was chief executive officers and managing directors.
There were a whopping 231,103 people in this job, earning an average of $194,987 a year.
The ATO data, released today, is based on tax returns from the 2022-23 financial year.
The list of highest paying jobs has stayed the same over previous income years, but notably, incomes have gone up for most professions.
Here are the top 10 highest-paid jobs and how much their incomes have increased since the previous year's tax statistics.
Surgeon $472,475 (up $12,119)
Anaesthetists $447,193 (up $16,000)
Financial dealer $355,233 (down $18,500)
Internal medicine specialist $342,457 (up $1,728)
Psychiatrist $286,146 (up $9,601)
Other medical practitioners $259,802 (up $4,048)
Mining engineer $206,423 (down $7,942)
Judicial or other legal professional $206,408 (up $1,474)
Chief executive officer or managing director $194,987 (down $2,733)
Financial investment advisor or manager $191,986 (up $6,152)
The fresh ATO data also revealed the average Australian income was $74,240 a year. This was up from $72,327 a year.
The median income, which is the middle point, was $55,868 for the 2022-23 income tax. This was up from $53,041 per year from the year prior.
It's worth bearing in mind that more up-to-date earnings data have been released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
It found average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults had increased 4.6 per cent annually to $1,975.80 in November 2024. That works out to $102,741.60 a year.
The ATO data found the majority of Australians (44.9 per cent) fall into the $45,001 to $120,000 tax bracket.
Only 5.3 per cent of the population fall into the $180,001 and over bracket, but are responsible for 37 per cent of net tax.
The average superannuation account balance increased to $172,834, up from $164,126. While the median went up to $60,037, up from $57,912.Sign in to access your portfolio