Average Research Officer Salary in Australia for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Research Officer 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 a Research Officer Make in Australia?

A Research Officer working in Australia will typically earn around 54,900 AUD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 28,800 AUD to the highest average salary of 86,100 AUD.

Average Annual Salary
54,900 AUD
Average Monthly Salary
4,575 AUD

Lowest Annual Salary
28,800 AUD
Lowest Monthly Salary
2,400 AUD

Highest Annual Salary
86,100 AUD
Highest Monthly Salary
7,175 AUD

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

Research Officer 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 Research Officer Salaries in Australia

So we've looked at the average salaries a Research Officer will earn in Australia. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Research Officer can earn between 28,800 AUD and 86,100 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 a Research Officer in Australia is 58,600 AUD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 58,600 AUD, and 50% of the population earn more than 58,600 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 Research Officer salary in Australia, 25% of the population are earning less than 36,700 AUD while 75% of the population earn more than 36,700 AUD.

75% of the population earn less than 71,400 AUD, and 25% of the population earn more than 71,400 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.

Research Officer 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 research officer 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. A Research Officer in Australia that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 32,600 AUD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Research Officer salary would increase to 41,000 AUD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Research Officer, the average salary would be 57,100 AUD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 69,700 AUD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Research Officer with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 76,600 AUD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Research Officer with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 81,000 AUD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
32,600 AUD
2-5 Years +29%
41,000 AUD
5-10 Years +38%
57,100 AUD
10-15 Years +24%
69,700 AUD
15-20 Years +7%
76,600 AUD
20+ Years +7%
81,000 AUD

Research Officer 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 a Research Officer 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. A Research Officer in Australia with a high school education can earn an average salary of 40,300 AUD.

  • Certificate or Diploma. A Research Officer in Australia with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 46,100 AUD.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Research Officer in Australia with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 63,700 AUD.

  • Master's Degree. A Research Officer in Australia with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 79,000 AUD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School
40,300 AUD
Certificate or Diploma +15%
46,100 AUD
Bachelor's Degree +35%
63,700 AUD
Master's Degree +26%
79,000 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.

Research Officer 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 research officer will earn an average of 57,900 AUD, while a female research officer will earn around 55,400 AUD.

This means that a male research officer earns approximately 5% more than a female research officer for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Australia

Male
57,900 AUD
Female -5%
55,400 AUD

Research Officer 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 a Research Officer in Australia is around 12% every 14 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 = ( 12 ÷ 14 ) × 12  = 10%

What this means is that a Research Officer in Australia can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 10% 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%

Research Officer 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.

A Research Officer is a moderate bonus based job, with 56% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

44% 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 3% to 6%.

Received Bonus
56%
No Bonus
44%

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 a Research Officer

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Research Officer in Australia.

Job Title Category Salary
Assistant Business Development Manager Business Planning 125,400 AUD
Assistant Merchandise Planner Business Planning 74,000 AUD
Business Advisor Business Planning 124,500 AUD
Business Analyst Business Planning 111,700 AUD
Business Consultant Business Planning 108,200 AUD
Business Continuity Associate Business Planning 66,400 AUD
Business Developer Business Planning 75,000 AUD
Business Development Analyst Business Planning 81,000 AUD
Business Development Associate Business Planning 61,400 AUD
Business Development Coordinator Business Planning 60,600 AUD
Business Development Director Business Planning 160,700 AUD
Business Development Engineer Business Planning 88,500 AUD
Business Development Executive Business Planning 119,700 AUD
Business Development Manager Business Planning 146,700 AUD
Business Development Specialist Business Planning 107,300 AUD
Business Manager Business Planning 127,600 AUD
Business Operations Specialist Business Planning 107,300 AUD
Business Process Writer Business Planning 64,200 AUD
Business Systems Analyst Business Planning 117,100 AUD
Capacity Planner Business Planning 81,000 AUD
Capacity Planning Supervisor Business Planning 109,700 AUD
Change Communications Analyst Business Planning 111,700 AUD
Change Control Analyst Business Planning 105,200 AUD
Change Impact Analyst Business Planning 107,700 AUD
Contracts Executive Business Planning 108,200 AUD
Corporate Strategy Analyst Business Planning 114,300 AUD
Cost Control Engineer Business Planning 73,500 AUD
Cost Controller Business Planning 83,200 AUD
Cost Estimator Business Planning 79,800 AUD
Data Executive Business Planning 62,600 AUD
Data Manager Business Planning 87,700 AUD
Data Processing Manager Business Planning 99,700 AUD
Development Researcher Business Planning 86,100 AUD
Director of Business Development Business Planning 167,100 AUD
Director of Production Planning Business Planning 142,300 AUD
Due Diligence Analyst Business Planning 127,600 AUD
Estimating Manager Business Planning 128,200 AUD
General Manager Business Planning 142,100 AUD
Incident Handler Business Planning 76,900 AUD
Incident Specialist Business Planning 94,300 AUD
Lean Consultant Business Planning 90,600 AUD
Manager Business Planning 158,700 AUD
Marketing and Business Development Manager Business Planning 134,700 AUD
Materials Planner Business Planning 52,000 AUD
Merchandise Assistant Business Planning 51,800 AUD
Merchandise Controller Business Planning 47,600 AUD
Merchandise Planner Business Planning 51,300 AUD
Operations Analyst Business Planning 102,700 AUD
Operations Manager Business Planning 123,000 AUD
Operations Research Analyst Business Planning 66,100 AUD
Planning and Reporting Manager Business Planning 124,500 AUD
Planning Director Business Planning 142,300 AUD
Project Administrator Business Planning 74,100 AUD
Project Manager Business Planning 114,300 AUD
Project Planner Business Planning 73,100 AUD
Research Assistant Business Planning 61,400 AUD
Research Engineer Business Planning 71,900 AUD
Risk Management Specialist Business Planning 109,000 AUD
Scholarship Coordinator Business Planning 60,500 AUD
Store Planner Business Planning 58,200 AUD
Strategy Director Business Planning 158,700 AUD
Top Research and Development Executive Business Planning 172,100 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 56,800 AUD
Brisbane 57,400 AUD
Canberra-Queanbeyan 57,000 AUD
Gold Coast-Tweed 57,800 AUD
Gosford 54,300 AUD
Melbourne 64,900 AUD
Newcastle 55,700 AUD
Perth 56,400 AUD
Sunshine Coast 55,700 AUD
Sydney 64,200 AUD
Wollongong 54,600 AUD

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