Average Interior Designer Salary in Australia for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Interior Designer salary for 2024 in Australia and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Australian dollar. To keep things simple, we are using the AUD currency code instead of the currency symbol $.

How Much Does an Interior Designer Make in Australia?

An Interior Designer working in Australia will typically earn around 92,100 AUD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 48,300 AUD to the highest average salary of 140,700 AUD.

Average Annual Salary
92,100 AUD
Average Monthly Salary
7,675 AUD

Lowest Annual Salary
48,300 AUD
Lowest Monthly Salary
4,025 AUD

Highest Annual Salary
140,700 AUD
Highest Monthly Salary
11,725 AUD

These are average salaries for an Interior Designer in Australia and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for an Interior Designer to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Interior Designer salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Interior Designer Salaries in Australia

So we've looked at the average salaries an Interior Designer will earn in Australia. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that an Interior Designer can earn between 48,300 AUD and 140,700 AUD on average in Australia. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for an Interior Designer in Australia is 86,400 AUD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 86,400 AUD, and 50% of the population earn more than 86,400 AUD.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Interior Designer salary in Australia, 25% of the population are earning less than 58,800 AUD while 75% of the population earn more than 58,800 AUD.

75% of the population earn less than 102,700 AUD, and 25% of the population earn more than 102,700 AUD.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Interior Designer Salary by Experience Level in Australia

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average interior designer salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. An Interior Designer in Australia that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 56,900 AUD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Interior Designer salary would increase to 74,000 AUD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as an Interior Designer, the average salary would be 94,800 AUD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 114,600 AUD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. An Interior Designer with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 123,800 AUD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For an Interior Designer with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 132,000 AUD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
56,900 AUD
2-5 Years +26%
74,000 AUD
5-10 Years +32%
94,800 AUD
10-15 Years +18%
114,600 AUD
15-20 Years +11%
123,800 AUD
20+ Years +6%
132,000 AUD

Interior Designer Salary by Education Level in Australia

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for an Interior Designer in Australia based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • High School. An Interior Designer in Australia with a high school education can earn an average salary of 68,500 AUD.

  • Certificate or Diploma. An Interior Designer in Australia with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 81,200 AUD.

  • Bachelor's Degree. An Interior Designer in Australia with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 105,200 AUD.

  • Master's Degree. An Interior Designer in Australia with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 130,500 AUD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School
68,500 AUD
Certificate or Diploma +13%
81,200 AUD
Bachelor's Degree +32%
105,200 AUD
Master's Degree +24%
130,500 AUD

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in Australia is around 37,800 to 114,000 AUD and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Interior Designer Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Australia, a male interior designer will earn an average of 95,300 AUD, while a female interior designer will earn around 91,700 AUD.

This means that a male interior designer earns approximately 4% more than a female interior designer for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Australia

Male
95,300 AUD
Female -4%
91,700 AUD

Interior Designer Average Pay Raise in Australia

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for an Interior Designer in Australia is around 11% every 17 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Australia is around 8% every 16 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 11 ÷ 17 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that an Interior Designer in Australia can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 8% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Australia for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in Australia.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
4%
Energy
8%
Information Technology
3%
Healthcare
7%
Travel
2%
Construction
6%
Education
1%

Interior Designer Bonus and Incentive Rates in Australia

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

An Interior Designer is a moderate bonus based job, with 52% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

48% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 4% to 5%.

Received Bonus
52%
No Bonus
48%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in Australia earn approximately 5% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
92,500 AUD
Private Sector -5%
87,900 AUD

Salaries for Jobs Similar to an Interior Designer

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to an Interior Designer in Australia.

Job Title Category Salary
Architect Architecture 109,700 AUD
Architectural Designer Architecture 105,800 AUD
Architectural Drafter Architecture 44,500 AUD
Architectural Manager Architecture 169,700 AUD
Architectural Technician Architecture 60,100 AUD
Architectural Technologist Architecture 63,500 AUD
Architecture Consultant Architecture 156,200 AUD
Architecture Estimating Manager Architecture 124,500 AUD
Architecture Specifications Writer Architecture 41,500 AUD
Assistant Architectural Manager Architecture 151,800 AUD
CAD Drafter Architecture 46,900 AUD
CAD Manager Architecture 109,700 AUD
Design and Decoration Assistant Architecture 50,800 AUD
Design Manager Architecture 158,900 AUD
Drafter Architecture 45,200 AUD
Drafting Supervisor Architecture 78,900 AUD
Facilities and Project Manager Architecture 153,800 AUD
Facility Planner Architecture 83,300 AUD
Interior Architect Architecture 89,900 AUD
Interior Decorator Architecture 83,000 AUD
Interior Design Assistant Architecture 41,500 AUD
Kitchen Designer Architecture 58,200 AUD
Landscape Architect Architecture 134,100 AUD
Landscape Artist Architecture 73,700 AUD
Landscaper Architecture 65,100 AUD
Mapping Technician Architecture 41,700 AUD
Mechanical Drafter Architecture 54,700 AUD
Photogrammetrist Architecture 45,000 AUD

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in Australia, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Adelaide 91,700 AUD
Brisbane 95,500 AUD
Canberra-Queanbeyan 86,600 AUD
Gold Coast-Tweed 88,600 AUD
Gosford 80,200 AUD
Melbourne 98,800 AUD
Newcastle 85,400 AUD
Perth 92,500 AUD
Sunshine Coast 83,800 AUD
Sydney 100,100 AUD
Wollongong 79,500 AUD

Link To or Reference This Page

We spend a lot of time collecting, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site to be as useful to you as possible.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference World Salaries as the source. We appreciate your support!

  • "Average Interior Designer Salary in Australia for 2024". World Salaries. Accessed on March 28, 2024. https://worldsalaries.com/average-interior-designer-salary-in-australia/.

  • "Average Interior Designer Salary in Australia for 2024". World Salaries, https://worldsalaries.com/average-interior-designer-salary-in-australia/. Accessed 28 March, 2024

  • Average Interior Designer Salary in Australia for 2024. World Salaries. Retrieved from https://worldsalaries.com/average-interior-designer-salary-in-australia/.