Top Earning Suburbs and Occupations in Australia Revealed

Australian dollars in Sydney, on Jan. 15, 2016. (AAP Image/Joel Carrett)

Australia’s top earning suburbs are out in the open, with Sydney’s eastern suburbs dominating a list released by the tax office.

Statistics released on June 17, 2024 show the Australian Tax Office (ATO) collected $530.1 billion (US$354 billion) in total tax in the 2022 financial year.

Residents in Double Bay in Sydney’s eastern suburbs reported the highest average individual taxable income of $354,308 (US$236,323).

Second on the list was the postcode 6011 in Perth, covering Cottesloe and Peppermint Grove, where the average taxable income was $295,283.

Coming in at third place was also from Sydney’s eastern suburbs—postcode 2027 covering Darling point, Edgecliff, HMAS Rushcutters, and Point Piper, where the average taxable income was $269,777.

This was followed by postcode 3142, in Melbourne’s south-east covering Toorak and Hawksburn, with an average individual income of $266,020 and then Bellevue Hill in Sydney, where the average taxable income was $245,728.

Next on the list was again from Sydney’s eastern suburbs, postcode 2030 which includes Rose Bay and Watsons Bay, followed by the seaside suburb of Portsea in Melbourne.

Postcode 2108, which includes Palm Beach in north of Sydney came in eight place, followed by Hunters Hill, NSW.

Finally, rounding up the top ten was the suburb of Woollahra in Sydney’s eastern suburbs with an average taxable income of $215,123.

The suburb of Callaghan in Newcastle had the lowest average taxable income of $20,878.

Highest Paid Jobs

Surgeons topped the list of the highest paid occupation in Australia, with an average taxable income of $460,356 in the 2022 financial year.

This was followed by anaesthetists earning $431,193, financial dealers $373,733, and internal medicine specialists $340,729, according to the ATO.

Psychiatrists, other medical practitioners, mining engineers, legal professionals, chief executive officers and managing directors and financial investment advisors, and managers made up the top 10.

The lowest paid workers were drivers, care workers, boxers, leaflet deliverers, and cooks.

What Were Other Key Statistics?

The average superannuation account balance fell to $164,000 in the 2022 financial year, down from $170,000 in 2021. Meanwhile, the median superannuation account balance fell to $58,000 from $60,000 in the same time frame.

Net capital gains reported by individuals rose from $36 billion in the 2021 financial year to $51 billion in 2022.

The luxury car tax rose by 11 percent to $978 million during the financial year, while the wine equalisation tax remained steady.

The top tax liabilities were in the mining industry, with 33 percent of company net tax taken, followed by financial and insurance services at 23.2 percent.

Out of the ATO’s total tax revenue, 50.3 percent was derived from individual income tax while 24.2 percent came from companies and 14.3 percent from GST.

Meanwhile, 5.5 percent came from super funds, 4.3 percent from excise, and 1.5 percent from fringe benefits tax, petroleum resource rent tax, luxury car tax, and wine equalisation tax.

Average Income in 2022

The average taxable income in the 2022 financial year was $72,327, up from $68,289 in 2021. Males earned an average taxable income of $84,326, while women reported $60,054.

On the other hand, median taxable income was $53,041 in the 2022 financial year, up from $50,980 in 2021. Broken down by gender, the median was $61,988 for men and $45,813 for women.

Average income is the sum of all income divided by the number of Australians reporting taxable income. Median income is the middle point when arranging all incomes in order.

The Australia Institute said the ATO statistics show “men have a higher average salary in 96 percent of all occupations.”

“The latest taxation statistics released today by the ATO reveal that while the overall gender pay gap might be closing, when we examine the gap across occupations, women continue to earn less than men in almost all occupations,” the institute said.

The think-tank said the good news is that the gender pay gap improved in 59 percent of occupations, but it worsened in 41 percent.

The taxation statistics reveal the earnings each person makes in a financial year. The figure therefore gives an honest account of how much people actually earn for their labour.

However, former MP Kevin Andrews previously scrutinised gender pay gap statistics, noting that these numbers never take into account underlying reasons such as different work hours.

Meanwhile, the Independent Remuneration Tribunal has announced federal politicians will receive a 3.5 percent pay increase (pdf) from July 1.

This is on top of a 4 percent pay rise in 2023 and 2.75 percent in 2022.

With this increase, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will earn about $607,500 a year, up from $587,000.

The minimum wage was also recently raised 3.75 percent by the Fair Work Commission, which will apply from July 1.