A Victorian working full time earns $2,041.10 in an average week, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday morning. The national figure is $2,083.70. Victoria is $42.60 a week short of it.
Two things are worth pinning down before that number gets away from anyone. This is ordinary time earnings, so it excludes overtime, and it is gross — before tax. And it is an average rather than a median, which means the people at the top of the range are pulling it upwards.
Where the state sits
Mid-table, and only just. The Australian Capital Territory leads on $2,290.20, followed by Western Australia on $2,227.40 and New South Wales on $2,108.80 — the only three jurisdictions above the national figure. Victoria comes next on $2,041.10, ahead of Queensland by $1.40. Tasmania is lowest at $1,846.30.
That margin over Queensland is small enough to disappear in a single revision, which is a reminder not to read too much into rankings. The more durable point is that Victoria has been sitting under the national average, and it still is.
Growth has slowed
The national story in this release is deceleration. Earnings grew 1.6 per cent over the six months to May 2026 and 3.7 per cent over the year — both the weakest readings in years.
"Growth in average weekly earnings for full-time adults for the six months to May 2026 was 1.6 per cent. This was the lowest six-monthly growth since May 2022," said Sean Crick, the ABS head of labour statistics. "Annual growth to May 2026 was 3.7 per cent which was the lowest annual increase since November 2022."
The slowdown has not been even. Public sector earnings rose 2.3 per cent over the six months against 1.4 per cent in the private sector, and nationally the two sit a long way apart in level terms as well: $2,263.10 in the public sector against $2,034.10 in the private. By industry, transport, postal and warehousing grew fastest at 4.3 per cent, followed by wholesale trade at 3.2 per cent. Every state and every industry recorded a rise.
The gap between men and women
Nationally, the gender pay gap fell to 11.3 per cent, which the ABS says is its lowest recorded point, down from 11.5 per cent in November 2025.
In Victoria the underlying figures are $2,140.90 for men and $1,889.60 for women — a difference of $251.30 a week. The ABS does not publish a gap percentage state by state, so the national 11.3 per cent is the only rate on offer; the Victorian dollar figures are simply what the two columns say.
The next instalment of this series covers November 2026 and is due in February. Between now and then, the number that matters to most Victorian households is not the average at all — it is whatever appears on their own payslip, which the averages have a habit of flattering.
