Specialty Doctor Salary Australia 2026. What Doctors Really Earn.

New for 2026.

A couple of years ago I wrote this post which was an update of this post. Both of which reflected the fact that according to the Australian Taxation office doctors are extremely well paid in Australia. This blog is both an update to both of those posts, with a focus on specialty doctor salary Australia. For an overview of trainee doctors salary please check out this post.

First for the overview:

Just like 2 years ago if we look at things at a macro level not much has changed and doctors still maintain their high rankings in the Australian Tax Office (ATO) data, with Surgeons sitting at number 1 on an average taxable income of $472,475 AUD. Followed by Anaesthetists at number 2 on $447,193 AUD, Internal Medicine Specialists at number 4 on $342,457 AUD and Psychiatrists at $286,146 and Other Medical Specialists at $259,802 at 5th and 6th. These top ten occupation groups have been largely the same for over a decade now.

But the situation becomes more complex if we look at both overall income verus wage and salary income and if we to a more granular level and look at subclassifications which better represent actual specialties. In these situations we see that Ophthalmologists (who are technically not surgeons in Australia) beating out a list of Surgical specialties for the overall title of top Average Income. And if we look at just Salary and Wages, the dominance of procedural specialties gives way to more of a mix of procedural and non-procedural (or less procedural) specialties that is led by Diagnostic and Interventional Radiologists, still includes many surgical specialties, but also includes specialties such as Emergency Medicine and Intensive Care.

So read on further for some further a more in depth analysis and discussion about medical specialist salary in Australia.

Australia’s Highest Paid Doctors Still Do Very Well in Comparison to Other Occupation Groups

Here’s a list of the top ten occupation groups by Average Taxable Income for 2022 to 2023 (the most up to date figures). You have probably seen something like this on the news or in newspapers before. The media tend to pick up on this quite a bit but misinterpret its meaning.

Surgeons sit at number 1 on the list on an average taxable income of $472,475 AUD. Followed by Anaesthetists at number 2 on $447,193 AUD, Internal Medicine Specialists at number 4 on $342,457 AUD and Psychiatrists ($286,146 AUD) and Other Medical Specialists ($259,802 AUD) at 5th and 6th. Just squeezed out for number 4 by Financial Dealers. This is in fact the same as it was 2 years ago.

In fact, according to the ATO Surgeons have been topping the list (for occupation groups) since 2010.

According to the ATO: Your taxable income is “the income you have to pay tax on” (d’oh!).

More precisely.

The taxable amount is the amount left after you claim a deduction for all the expenses you can. These amounts reduce the amount of assessable income you pay tax on.

Australian Taxation Office

Assessable income − allowable deductions
= taxable income

So we have average taxable income and median taxable income. If we recall our statistics from high school average generally refers to the mean.

We calculate the mean by adding up all the values (in this case taxable incomes of Surgeons) and divide the sum by the total number of values (the number of Surgeons who completed a tax return). The median is calculated by listing all numbers (taxable incomes) in ascending order and then locating the number in the centre of that distribution.

Now. I’m only speculating here. But the most likely answer to why the big difference is variance.

And this is borne out when you look at some of the more detailed tables below.

Whilst the ATO doesn’t help us out with confidence intervals or ranges. It’s most likely that the statistics for Surgeons are more skewed by a small but significant group of Surgeons doing particularly well as some of the highest paid doctors in the country.

Another way to look at it is. Working in Anaesthetics you can make some really good but steady income. But you are probably less likely to be declaring $1million per annum. Whereas as a Surgeon you are more likely to have that opportunity.

And of course, we need to also account for the fact that the ATO does not collect statistics on hours of work. So it’s a safe bet that many doctors are doing more than 40 hours a week. But there will be a number who will also be working part-time. We know that different occupations in medicine tend to have different percentages of doctors who work full time versus part-time. So this will have some impact as well.

For example in a fairly recent Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Report average weekly hours worked across 20 specialties varied from 38.2 hours per week (Psychiatrists) to 54.1 hours per week (Intensive Care Physicians).

When We Look Even Further as Specialty Doctor Salary Australia – Doctors Are Almost Universally Well Paid

As I said the last time I blogged about these statistics I had lots of questions about different scenarios. Like what if I am this particular type of Surgeon? Or you haven’t talked about Pathologists. Or what about if I work privately versus publicly.

So let me attempt to address as many of your questions as possible.

Of the top 51 occupations for average salary or wage income in Australia, 32 of these are medical practitioner occupations.

In fact there are only 2 medical practitioner occupations who sit outside of this top 51. These are general practitioners and resident medical officers (which covers all trainee doctors).

The list is of occupations is over 3,500 by the way. So even if you are a Medical Officer – Resident you are already sitting in the top 12% or so.

And if you are a specialist you are doing very well in comparison to most other occupations.

So if you have a particular thesis that a certain occupation in medicine is poorly done by. Then I’m sorry to burst your bubble. But the data doesn’t support you. At least if you are comparing doctors to the rest of the Australian population.

Another way of putting it would be that the highest paid doctors in Australia are doctors. But clearly to paraphrase George Orwell. Some doctors are more well paid doctors than other doctors.

Specialty Doctor Salary Australia – All the Medical Specialties + Trainees

Specialty Doctor Australia Income – The Real Top Ten List

This is what I consider to be the real top ten list. What do the top ten all have in common? Whilst there maybe some in each of these specialties who do not or do minimal procedures, for e.g. some cardiologists, overall the doctors who work in these specialties have a heavy focus on performing operations or procedures. There is a common conception that if your medical specialty includes significant procedural work (for which you can bill) you will do better from a monetary perspective. And here is some evidence that supports that idea, i.e. the highest paid doctors by income are procedural doctors.

You will also notice that many on this list earn comparatively very little salary compared to total income, for e.g. Ophthalmologists earn only 26% of their income as salary or wages.

So, where does the rest of the income come from? Well most likely this comes from either billing of public health services for services provided under contract as what is called a Visiting Medical Officer and/or income derived from direct billing of patients and Medicare for activities performed in private rooms and private hospital. Some will also likely come from profits taken from ownership of businesses (many specialists set up a company for their health services or might have shares in private hospitals) as well as other general income from things like property rental and shares etc…

Specialty Doctor Salary Australia – The Real Top Ten List

Compare the previous to the below which is a list of the top ten specialties by average salary or wage income. There are 6 new specialties making this list compared to the one above. The first thing to notice is that average taxable income is lower overall. But also the gap between average salary or wage income and total income is much closer.

The likely explanation for the difference is complex. Its probably a combination of factors:

1. In general the specialties on this list are working in the public sector under an employment contract and therefore being paid wages or salary.
2. Some specialties are deriving high amounts of salary or wage income from working for public health services. For example, Emergency Medicine specialists and Intensive Care Physicians are generally required to work more time after hours and so will generate more income from this activity.
3. Some specialties that work in the private sector may still derive the majority of their income from salary or wages. For example, Diagnostic and Interventional Radiologists tend to work for either Radiology Departments in public hospitals and/or large Radiology services/groups both of which will pay wages or salary.

As an aside, I am often asked by specialist international medical graduates which specialties are hard to get into in Australia. I think a combination of the 2 lists above is a good reflection of where SIMGs may struggle to find posts here.

What is missing from these 2 lists are psychiatrists (completely) as well as other medical practitioners, with the exception of Ophthalmologists.

Which Doctor Occupation Am I In?

Now you may be wondering what is covered by these doctor groups. I get a lot of questions about this.

Unfortunately, the ATO does not classify specialist doctors the same as the Medical Board of Australia.

To understand the way the ATO classifies occupations we need to refer to the ANZSCO classification system.

The Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (2013 version 1.3) is a joint collaboration between the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and its New Zealand counterpart, StatsNZ.

According to the ABS:

ANZSCO provides a basis for the standardised collection, analysis and dissemination of occupation data for Australia and New Zealand. The use of ANZSCO has resulted in improved comparability of occupation statistics produced by the two countries. 

ABS

ANZSCO has a 5 level hierarchy starting with Major Groups, Sub-Major Groups, Minor Groups, Unit Groups and finally Occupations.

So when the media claims that Surgeons are the highest-paid occupation in Australia they are technically not correct. They should be referring to Neurosurgeons (see below).

There are 8 Major Groups

• Managers
• Professionals
• Technicians and Trade Workers
• Community and Personal Service Workers
• Clerical and Administrative Workers
• Sales Workers
• Machinery Operators and Drivers
• Labourers

This brings me to an important point. The ATO doesn’t audit (as far as I know) what occupation you put down on your tax return. So there is an element of discretion here. So its possible some doctors put themselves down under different occupation groups or even more likely in a different occupation. For example, those in management or university academics.

But returning to our classification systems, doctors sit under Professionals > Health Professionals > Medical Practitioners. Medical Practitioners is the Minor Sub Group.

The Occupational Groups below this Minor Sub Group with their Occupation Sub Set are:

Occupation Group	Occupations	Other Titles or Specialisations
2531 General Practitioners and Resident Medical Officers	253111 General Practitioner 253112 Resident Medical Officer	General Medical Practitioner Medical Intern
2532 Anaesthetists	253211 Anaesthetist	Intensive Care Anaesthetist Obstetric Anaesthetist Pain Management Specialist
2533 Specialist Physicians	253311 Specialist Physician (General Medicine) 253312 Cardiologist 253313 Clinical Haematologist 253314 Medical Oncologist 253315 Endocrinologist 253316 Gastroenterologist 253317 Intensive Care Specialist 253318 Neurologist 253321 Paediatrician 253322 Renal Medicine Specialist 253323 Rheumatologist 253324 Thoracic Medicine Specialist 253399 Specialist Physicians nec*	Intensive Care Medicine Specialist & Intensivist are alternative for Intensive Care Specialist The only specialisation options for paediatrician are Neonatologist and Paediatric Thoracic Physician Occupations in the nec group include:  Clinical Allergist Clinical Geneticist Clinical Immunologist Clinical Pharmacologist Geriatrician Infectious Diseases Physician Musculoskeletal Physician (NZ) Occupational Medicine Physician Palliative Medicine Physician Public Health Physician Rehabilitation Medicine Physician Sexual Health Physician Sleep Medicine Physician
2534 Psychiatrists	253411 Psychiatrist	Specialisations:  Adolescent Psychiatrist Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Child Psychiatrist Forensic Psychiatrist Geriatric Psychiatrist Medical Psychotherapist
2535 Surgeons	253511 Surgeon (General) 253512 Cardiothoracic Surgeon 253513 Neurosurgeon 253514 Orthopaedic Surgeon 253515 Otorhinolaryngologist 253516 Paediatric Surgeon 253517 Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon 253518 Urologist 253521 Vascular Surgeon	Alternative Titles for Otorhinolaryngologist are Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist Head and Neck Surgeon
2539 Other Medical Practitioners	253911 Dermatologist 253912 Emergency Medicine Specialist 253913 Obstetrician and Gynaecologist 253914 Ophthalmologist 253915 Pathologist 253917 Diagnostic and Interventional Radiologist 253918 Radiation Oncologist 253999 Medical Practitioners nec	Specialisations for Pathologists are: Clinical Cytopathologist Forensic Pathologist Immunologist Occupations under Medical Practitioner nec are: Nuclear Medicine Physician Sports Physician

Specialty Doctor Salary The Highest Paid Doctors in Australia Are Men

You may not be all that shocked to know that male doctors do better than their counterparts.

What shocked me however was the extent to which this occurs. Try clicking on ‘M’ and ‘F’ and leaving ‘Total’ off on the main table.

Whether you are looking at total income or salary or wage income you initially see a wall of blue. I sorted through the entire table and there is not one instance where female specialists make more income on average than their male counterparts.

Female Paediatric Surgeons are the only ones to make either of the top ten lists.

In general, female specialist doctors also appear to make more income through salary or wages than in other ways. So the explanation for the above is not simply to do with different amounts of hours worked between the genders but also the ways in which male specialist work compared to female specialists.

How Does this Specialty Doctor Salary Australia Compare to Overall Income Information?

Most general practitioner specialists and trainees work in the private sector in Australia. As do a significant number of other specialists. So the ATO data will reflect that many doctors are working for themselves on a fee for service or contractual basis. If a doctor wants to earn a more regular income or salaried wage then they will generally opt to find employment in the public hospital system as a Staff Specialist.

As a point of reference to the ATO data, a full-time employed Staff Specialist in the NSW Health system will generally be earning between $278,355 and $376,068 depending on year’s of experience and level of seniority. Although they may earn as much as $548,432 if they opt to split their private billings with the health service.

For what it’s worth one Australian Medical Recruitment company estimates the following salaries for various specialties (again presumably on a full time basis).

Medical Recruitment Company Salary Estimate for 2026

Specialty	Permanent Annual Salary (AUD)
Emergency Medicine	$250,000 – $450,000
General Medicine	$200,000 – $550,000
Psychiatry	$200,000 – $400,000
Intensive Care	$250,000 – $450,000
Surgery	$250,000 – $500,000
Anaesthetics	$250,000 – $600,000
Paediatrics	$200,000 – $400,000
Obstetrics & Gynaecology	$200,000 – $450,000
General Practice (GP)	$400,000 – $650,000+
Radiology	$350,000 – $500,000
Oncology	$250,000 – $450,000
Geriatrics	$200,000 – $450,000
Cardiology	$300,000 – $500,000
Gastroenterology	$300,000 – $500,000
Rural Hospital GPs	$150,000 – $350,000+
Rural Generalists	$150,000 – $450,000+

I think would have to be working fairly hard and well in excess of 40 hours a week to earn the rate estimated for general practice.

So whilst you clearly need to be doing some private practice to hit the top of the income tables. You can see that for most specialties you can actually do better than the average amongst your peers purely by working in public on a full time basis.