Whether it’s the beach you’re after, the barbecues or the party lifestyle, Australia’s got it all. Before you get carried away stocking up on your suntan lotion and swimsuit, have you considered what your new lifestyle will cost you? It’s a good idea to have an indication of how much it costs to live in Australia – and what you could potentially be earning. Then you can work out how much of your salary goes on the essentials and what’s left over for the fun stuff.
Let’s start at the beginning.
All of the below is quoted in Australian dollars. For up to date currency exchange, click here.
What you can expect to get paid
Have a look at the salary ranges across Australian industries and see what sort of salary you can expect. Get a head start on your financial budgeting:
| Classification | Minimum | Mid-range | Maximum |
| Mining, resources and energy | $118,454 | $134,009 | $149,564 |
| Engineering | $98,598 | $111,620 | $124,641 |
| Consulting and strategy | $96,240 | $109,023 | $121,806 |
| Construction | $96,419 | $109,013 | $121,607 |
| Information and communication technology | $86,158 | $97,663 | $109,168 |
| Legal | $82,475 | $96,444 | $110,413 |
| Human resources and recruitment | $76,101 | $85,701 | $95,302 |
| Healthcare and medical | $76,150 | $84,953 | $93,756 |
| Marketing and communications | $74,983 | $84,052 | $93,121 |
| Science and technology | $73,888 | $84,014 | $94,140 |
| Accounting | $74,112 | $83,464 | $92,815 |
| Government and defence | $73,675 | $81,806 | $89,937 |
| Banking and financial services | $71,891 | $81,714 | $91,537 |
| Sales | $71,445 | $80,852 | $90,259 |
| Insurance and superannuation | $67,558 | $77,000 | $86,442 |
| Manufacturing, transport and logistics | $67,020 | $74,890 | $82,760 |
| Advertising, arts and media | $65,527 | $73,745 | $81,963 |
| Design and architecture | $62,748 | $71,003 | $79,259 |
| Education and training | $60,842 | $68,269 | $75,696 |
| Farming, animals and conservation | $59,955 | $67,420 | $74,885 |
| Real estate and property | $57,769 | $65,868 | $73,967 |
| Community services and development | $57,930 | $63,856 | $69,783 |
| Sport and recreation | $56,869 | $63,567 | $70,266 |
| Trades and services | $56,339 | $63,562 | $70,785 |
| Retail and consumer products | $50,782 | $57,179 | $63,576 |
| Hospitality and tourism | $50,377 | $56,063 | $61,748 |
| Call centre and customer service | $48,000 | $53,584 | $59,169 |
| Administration and office support | $46,567 | $51,939 | $57,311 |
The big stuff: housing
- Rental prices vary massively across the country. Average weekly rentals for houses as of January 2012 are: Darwin $550; Sydney $500; Canberra $500; Perth $400; Brisbane $380; Melbourne $360; Adelaide $340; Hobart $320
- If you’re happy to rent an unit, it can be a bit cheaper as these average weekly rental prices from January 2012 show: Darwin $460; Sydney $460; Canberra $440; Brisbane $365; Melbourne $350; Perth $350; Adelaide $280; Hobart $258
- If you’re considering buying, the average house price in Australia is $470,000 (averaged over the eight capital cities, as of June 2012)
- Broken down here are the average house prices: Sydney $555,000; Canberra $495,000; Melbourne $490,000; Darwin $472,000; Perth $460,000; Brisbane $415,000; Adelaide $370,000; Hobart $350,000
The big stuff: healthcare
- If you have Australian citizenship, a permanent resident visa, have applied for certain permanent resident visas and hold a valid visa with permission to work in Australia or a valid visa with a parent, spouse or child who is an Australian citizen or holds permanent resident status then you’re eligible for Medicare.
- Medicare offers free treatment as a public patient in a public hospital and free or subsidised treatment by doctors in a general practice.
- Example costs: Doctor (GP) – standard consultation cost: AUS$67.00, Medicare paid: AUS$34.90, out-of-pocket payment: AUS$32.10
- Doctor (specialist) – consultation cost: AUS$155.00, Medicare paid: AUS$69.00, out-of-pocket payment: AUS$86.00
- Dentist – six-monthly examination and clean cost: AUS$135.00, health fund* paid: AUS$135.00, out-of-pocket payment: nil
- Dentist – quick examination and one restoration (filling) cost: AUS$175.00, health fund* paid AUS$97.80, out-of-pocket payment: AUS$81.20
*A health fund is not Medicare – it’s private health insurance. Medicare doesn’t cover dental treatment.
The other stuff: transport and food
Transport average costs:
- One-way ticket (local transport): AUS$4.00
- Monthly transport pass (without a student or other discount): AUS$113.00
- Petrol (one litre): AUS$1.47
Food average costs:
- Milk (regular – one litre): AUS$1.50
- Loaf of fresh white bread (500g): AUS$3.00
- A meal at an inexpensive restaurant: AUS$17.00
- A three-course meal for two at a mid-range restaurant: AUS$80.00
- A combo meal at McDonalds or similar: AUS$8.00
- A cappuccino (regular): AUS$4.00
All stats current as of April 2013.
