Average Automotive Test Engineer Salary in Australia for 2026
An automotive test engineer in Australia earns about 58,400 AUD a year. That's 36% below the national average of 91,900 AUD.
Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in Australia sit around 26,400 AUD a year, while the very top stretches to 92,100 AUD. Everything on this page is in Australian dollar (AUD, symbol $), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.
The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in Australia, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.
How much does an automotive test engineer make in Australia?
A typical automotive test engineer working in Australia brings home around 4,866 AUD a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 26,400 AUD, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 92,100 AUD for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.
The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior automotive test engineer working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.
How automotive test engineer pay ranges in Australia
A good way to think about salary in Australia is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all automotive test engineers in Australia earn less than 62,500 AUD a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".
Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 41,700 AUD (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 79,000 AUD (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of automotive test engineers sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.
The very lowest reported salaries sit around 26,400 AUD. The highest stretch to 92,100 AUD, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.
Automotive test engineer pay by experience in Australia
Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for an automotive test engineer in Australia, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical automotive test engineer salary changes as you move through the career ladder.
- 0-2 Years32,900 AUD
- 2-5 Years+48% from previous48,600 AUD
- 5-10 Years+27% from previous61,600 AUD
- 10-15 Years+25% from previous77,300 AUD
- 15-20 Years+3% from previous79,800 AUD
- 20+ Years+12% from previous89,300 AUD
The single largest jump on the ladder is from 0 - 2 Years to 2 - 5 Years, where pay rises by about 48%. That is the point at which a automotive test engineer typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.
Automotive test engineer pay by education in Australia
Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving automotive test engineer pay in Australia. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.
Below is the average automotive test engineer salary in Australia broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.
- Bachelor's Degree51,300 AUD
- Master's Degree+46% from previous75,000 AUD
Automotive test engineer gender pay gap in Australia
The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Australia is no exception. Male automotive test engineers in Australia earn an average of 62,100 AUD a year, while female automotive test engineers earn around 58,600 AUD. That works out to a 6% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.
A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.
Automotive Test Engineer gender pay gap
6%
Men earn this much more than women on average in Australia.
Pay raises for an automotive test engineer in Australia
Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.
A typical worker doing this role in Australia sees a raise of about 10% every 17 months, which works out to roughly 7% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.
Across all jobs in Australia, the national average raise is around 8% every 16 months.
By industry
Industries with the highest pay raises in Australia:
- Banking
- Energy
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
- Travel2%
- Construction
- Education1%
By experience level
Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.
- Junior Level3% - 5%
- Mid-Career
- Senior Level
- Top Management
Automotive test engineer bonus rates in Australia
Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.
32% of automotive test engineers in Australia reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes an automotive test engineer a low-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.
Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4% of base salary. The remaining 68% of automotive test engineers reported no bonus at all over the same period.
Which careers pay bonuses in Australia
Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.
- Finance
- Architecture
- Sales
- Business Development
- Marketing / Advertising
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
- Insurance
- Customer Service
- Human Resources
- Construction
- Transport
- Hospitality
Automotive test engineer: public vs private sector pay
Public-sector pay in Australia is about 5% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.
Public vs private pay gap
5%
Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in Australia on average.
Automotive test engineer salary by city in Australia
Automotive test engineer pay is not even across Australia. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities in the dataset, followed by the full location table.
- Sydney
- Perth
- Melbourne
- Brisbane
- Adelaide
- Gold Coast-Tweed
- Canberra-Queanbeyan
- Gosford
- Wollongong
- Newcastle
| Location | Type | Average | Median | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | City | 70,100 AUD | 68,200 AUD | 34,000-107,300 AUD |
| Perth | City | 64,800 AUD | 69,600 AUD | 30,700-105,200 AUD |
| Melbourne | City | 63,500 AUD | 61,400 AUD | 34,700-99,600 AUD |
| Brisbane | City | 63,100 AUD | 63,100 AUD | 29,400-95,200 AUD |
| Adelaide | City | 61,800 AUD | 62,600 AUD | 30,200-97,200 AUD |
| Gold Coast-Tweed | City | 59,200 AUD | 61,200 AUD | 29,600-94,800 AUD |
| Canberra-Queanbeyan | City | 58,800 AUD | 63,500 AUD | 27,300-94,200 AUD |
| Gosford | City | 57,800 AUD | 50,100 AUD | 29,600-85,400 AUD |
| Wollongong | City | 56,100 AUD | 51,300 AUD | 30,100-83,300 AUD |
| Newcastle | City | 56,100 AUD | 54,300 AUD | 29,300-86,100 AUD |
| Sunshine Coast | City | 55,700 AUD | 54,200 AUD | 27,100-84,600 AUD |
Automotive Test Engineer in Australia: FAQs
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How much does an automotive test engineer make per month in Australia?
An automotive test engineer in Australia earns about 4,866 AUD a month before tax, based on an annual average of 58,400 AUD.
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What's the salary range for an automotive test engineer in Australia?
Entry-level automotive test engineers in Australia start near 26,400 AUD. Top-end pay reaches around 92,100 AUD. The middle 50% of earners sit between 41,700 and 79,000 AUD.
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Is the median automotive test engineer salary in Australia higher or lower than the average?
The median is 62,500 AUD, higher than the average of 58,400 AUD. Half of automotive test engineers in Australia earn below the median, half earn above it.
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What's the gender pay gap for automotive test engineers in Australia?
Men working as an automotive test engineer in Australia earn around 6% more than women on average (62,100 vs 58,600 AUD a year).
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Do automotive test engineers in Australia get bonuses?
About 32% of automotive test engineers in Australia reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4% of base salary.
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Do automotive test engineers earn more in the public or private sector in Australia?
In Australia, the public sector pays an automotive test engineer about 5% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.
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How often do automotive test engineers in Australia get a pay raise?
An automotive test engineer in Australia sees a raise of around 10% every 17 months, equivalent to roughly 7% a year.