Average Youth Care Specialist Salary in Australia for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Youth Care Specialist 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 Youth Care Specialist Make in Australia?

A Youth Care Specialist working in Australia will typically earn around 70,500 AUD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 35,400 AUD to the highest average salary of 114,900 AUD.

Average Annual Salary
70,500 AUD
Average Monthly Salary
5,875 AUD

Lowest Annual Salary
35,400 AUD
Lowest Monthly Salary
2,950 AUD

Highest Annual Salary
114,900 AUD
Highest Monthly Salary
9,575 AUD

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

Youth Care Specialist 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 Youth Care Specialist Salaries in Australia

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

Salary ranges

We already know that a Youth Care Specialist can earn between 35,400 AUD and 114,900 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 Youth Care Specialist in Australia is 75,900 AUD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 75,900 AUD, and 50% of the population earn more than 75,900 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 Youth Care Specialist salary in Australia, 25% of the population are earning less than 48,300 AUD while 75% of the population earn more than 48,300 AUD.

75% of the population earn less than 100,700 AUD, and 25% of the population earn more than 100,700 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.

Youth Care Specialist 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 youth care specialist 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 Youth Care Specialist in Australia that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 38,000 AUD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Youth Care Specialist salary would increase to 55,400 AUD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Youth Care Specialist, the average salary would be 75,800 AUD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 95,300 AUD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Youth Care Specialist with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 97,300 AUD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Youth Care Specialist with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 109,000 AUD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
38,000 AUD
2-5 Years +38%
55,400 AUD
5-10 Years +42%
75,800 AUD
10-15 Years +22%
95,300 AUD
15-20 Years +6%
97,300 AUD
20+ Years +9%
109,000 AUD

Youth Care Specialist 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 Youth Care Specialist in Australia based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Youth Care Specialist in Australia with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 55,400 AUD.

  • Master's Degree. A Youth Care Specialist in Australia with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 97,300 AUD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
55,400 AUD
Master's Degree +83%
97,300 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.

Youth Care Specialist 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 youth care specialist will earn an average of 68,500 AUD, while a female youth care specialist will earn around 74,100 AUD.

This means that a male youth care specialist earns approximately 8% less than a female youth care specialist for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Australia

Male
68,500 AUD
Female +8%
74,100 AUD

Youth Care Specialist 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 Youth Care Specialist in Australia is around 11% every 16 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 ÷ 16 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that a Youth Care Specialist 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%

Youth Care Specialist 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 Youth Care Specialist is a moderate bonus based job, with 59% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

41% 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 2% to 7%.

Received Bonus
59%
No Bonus
41%

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 Youth Care Specialist

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Youth Care Specialist in Australia.

Job Title Category Salary
Adoption Services Director Counseling 128,200 AUD
Alcohol and Drug Counselor Counseling 100,200 AUD
Assistant Instructor Counseling 45,000 AUD
Career Counselor Counseling 111,700 AUD
Consultant Counseling 114,300 AUD
Director of Rehabilitation Services Counseling 146,900 AUD
Disability Consultant Counseling 90,900 AUD
Employment Counselor Counseling 114,900 AUD
Family Advocate Counseling 78,200 AUD
Family Services Specialist Counseling 83,400 AUD
Family Support Specialist Counseling 118,900 AUD
Family Youth Worker Counseling 38,000 AUD
Guidance Counselor Counseling 114,300 AUD
Guidance Director Counseling 138,700 AUD
Mental Health Counselor Counseling 130,500 AUD
Mental Health Therapist Counseling 109,000 AUD
Programs Coordinator Counseling 61,600 AUD
Psychologist Counseling 153,800 AUD
Supervising Counselor Counseling 115,600 AUD
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Counseling 118,900 AUD
Youth Advocate Counseling 64,800 AUD
Youth Care Counselor Counseling 112,700 AUD
Youth Development Manager Counseling 148,300 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 71,200 AUD
Brisbane 78,500 AUD
Canberra-Queanbeyan 71,000 AUD
Gold Coast-Tweed 67,200 AUD
Gosford 65,100 AUD
Melbourne 74,300 AUD
Newcastle 66,400 AUD
Perth 72,800 AUD
Sunshine Coast 66,700 AUD
Sydney 73,300 AUD
Wollongong 63,000 AUD

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