Average Post Doctoral Researcher Salary in Australia for 2026
A post doctoral researcher in Australia earns about 127,600 AUD a year. That's 39% above 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 60,000 AUD a year, while the very top stretches to 204,900 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 a post doctoral researcher make in Australia?
A typical post doctoral researcher working in Australia brings home around 10,633 AUD a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 60,000 AUD, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 204,900 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 post doctoral researcher 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 post doctoral researcher 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 post doctoral researchers in Australia earn less than 137,100 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 88,000 AUD (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 177,200 AUD (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of post doctoral researchers sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.
The very lowest reported salaries sit around 60,000 AUD. The highest stretch to 204,900 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.
Post doctoral researcher pay by experience in Australia
Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a post doctoral researcher 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 post doctoral researcher salary changes as you move through the career ladder.
- 0-2 Years68,200 AUD
- 2-5 Years+43% from previous97,200 AUD
- 5-10 Years+41% from previous137,100 AUD
- 10-15 Years+21% from previous165,900 AUD
- 15-20 Years+6% from previous175,200 AUD
- 20+ Years+9% from previous190,400 AUD
The single largest jump on the ladder is from 0 - 2 Years to 2 - 5 Years, where pay rises by about 43%. That is the point at which a post doctoral researcher 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.
Post doctoral researcher pay by education in Australia
Education lifts pay across almost every role, but the size of the lift varies enormously. The biggest premiums show up in licensed professions like medicine, law and accounting, where extra years of formal study open up seniority that isn't available without the qualification. The smallest premiums show up in skilled trades and creative work, where practical experience often beats academic credentials.
As a rough cross-industry guide for Australia: a post-secondary certificate or diploma adds around 17% over a high-school-only baseline. A bachelor's degree typically adds another 25% on top of that. A master's lifts pay a further 30%, and a PhD adds about 22% more in fields that value research-level qualifications. These are averages across many different professions, so the real number for your specific job could easily be twice as high or close to zero. The per-job pages below have the real numbers for individual roles.
Post doctoral researcher gender pay gap in Australia
The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Australia is no exception. Male post doctoral researchers in Australia earn an average of 130,400 AUD a year, while female post doctoral researchers earn around 123,800 AUD. That works out to a 5% 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.
Post Doctoral Researcher gender pay gap
5%
Men earn this much more than women on average in Australia.
Pay raises for a post doctoral researcher 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 11% every 18 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
Post doctoral researcher 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.
60% of post doctoral researchers in Australia reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a post doctoral researcher a moderate-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 2% to 7% of base salary. The remaining 40% of post doctoral researchers 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
Post doctoral researcher: 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.
Post doctoral researcher salary by city in Australia
Post doctoral researcher pay is not even across Australia. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities in the dataset, followed by the full location table.
- Brisbane
- Sydney
- Melbourne
- Adelaide
- Gold Coast-Tweed
- Perth
- Canberra-Queanbeyan
- Sunshine Coast
- Gosford
- Newcastle
| Location | Type | Average | Median | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane | City | 134,100 AUD | 141,000 AUD | 64,600-210,400 AUD |
| Sydney | City | 130,500 AUD | 125,400 AUD | 68,900-197,600 AUD |
| Melbourne | City | 130,400 AUD | 130,400 AUD | 67,600-205,700 AUD |
| Adelaide | City | 127,700 AUD | 118,900 AUD | 67,200-192,600 AUD |
| Gold Coast-Tweed | City | 127,600 AUD | 127,700 AUD | 65,400-197,600 AUD |
| Perth | City | 125,400 AUD | 134,100 AUD | 57,900-195,500 AUD |
| Canberra-Queanbeyan | City | 124,500 AUD | 128,400 AUD | 56,900-193,400 AUD |
| Sunshine Coast | City | 116,400 AUD | 111,700 AUD | 59,100-175,200 AUD |
| Gosford | City | 114,900 AUD | 114,900 AUD | 55,300-175,100 AUD |
| Newcastle | City | 114,300 AUD | 117,100 AUD | 58,100-182,400 AUD |
| Wollongong | City | 109,000 AUD | 98,300 AUD | 58,200-163,500 AUD |
Post Doctoral Researcher in Australia: FAQs
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How much does a post doctoral researcher make per month in Australia?
A post doctoral researcher in Australia earns about 10,633 AUD a month before tax, based on an annual average of 127,600 AUD.
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What's the salary range for a post doctoral researcher in Australia?
Entry-level post doctoral researchers in Australia start near 60,000 AUD. Top-end pay reaches around 204,900 AUD. The middle 50% of earners sit between 88,000 and 177,200 AUD.
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Is the median post doctoral researcher salary in Australia higher or lower than the average?
The median is 137,100 AUD, higher than the average of 127,600 AUD. Half of post doctoral researchers in Australia earn below the median, half earn above it.
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What's the gender pay gap for post doctoral researchers in Australia?
Men working as a post doctoral researcher in Australia earn around 5% more than women on average (130,400 vs 123,800 AUD a year).
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Do post doctoral researchers in Australia get bonuses?
About 60% of post doctoral researchers in Australia reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 2% to 7% of base salary.
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Do post doctoral researchers earn more in the public or private sector in Australia?
In Australia, the public sector pays a post doctoral researcher 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 post doctoral researchers in Australia get a pay raise?
A post doctoral researcher in Australia sees a raise of around 11% every 18 months, equivalent to roughly 7% a year.