Electrician Salary and Take-Home Pay in Australia
See what qualified electricians earn in Australia, and what that really pays after income tax, the 2% Medicare levy and 12% super for the 2026-27 financial year. Enter your own salary or day rate to see your exact take-home.
Australian Take-Home Pay Calculator 2026-27
Tax bracket progress
Where your money goes
Income vs deductions
Your pay, every way
| Component | Daily | Weekly | Fortnightly | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $346 | $1,731 | $3,462 | $7,500 | $90,000 |
| Income tax | −$67 | −$337 | −$674 | −$1,460 | −$17,520 |
| Medicare levy | −$7 | −$35 | −$69 | −$150 | −$1,800 |
| Super (12%) | +$42 | +$208 | +$415 | +$900 | +$10,800 |
| Take-home pay | $272 | $1,359 | $2,718 | $5,890 | $70,680 |
Electrician Pay and Take-Home, 2026-27
Award floors from the Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2020 (MA000025) and the typical electrician median from the ABS, with income tax and the 2% Medicare levy for an Australian resident. Super is paid on top and is not counted in take-home.
| Electrician pay level | Annual salary | Income tax | Medicare levy | Take-home pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualified electrician, Grade 5 Electrical Award floor, $1,182.82/week | $61,507 | $8,895 | $1,230 | $51,382 |
| Qualified electrician, Grade 6 Electrical Award floor, $1,218.02/week | $63,337 | $9,471 | $1,267 | $52,599 |
| Electrician, typical (ABS / JSA) Median full-time, $2,191/week | $113,932 | $24,700 | $2,279 | $86,954 |
Australian resident, super paid on top of salary, no HECS-HELP debt, private hospital cover assumed so no Medicare levy surcharge. Award rates operative from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026 (Electrical Award MA000025). Median from ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (May 2025) via Jobs and Skills Australia. Sources: Fair Work Ombudsman; ABS; Australian Taxation Office.
Award Floor vs What Electricians Actually Earn
The Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2020 (MA000025) sets the legal minimum for a qualified electrician, $1,182.82 a week on Grade 5, about $61,507 a year, or $1,218.02 a week on Grade 6, about $63,337 a year. Both are operative from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
Almost nobody in the trade is actually paid the bare award. The ABS/JSA representative median sits at $113,932, a gap of about $52,425 above the Grade 5 floor. Enterprise agreements, site allowances, overtime and a self-employed electrician's own contracting margin all sit on top of the award, and most working electricians see one or more of them.
Whatever your actual pay is built from, award wage, agreement or ABN rate, the tax works the same way. Enter it in the salary calculator, or read marginal vs average tax rate to see why the gap between those two rates matters.
Take-Home on $113,932
Why Electricians Have Their Own Award
Unlike carpenters and most other building trades, electricians are covered by a dedicated modern award, not a shared construction-industry one.
The Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2020 (MA000025) covers electrical trade work specifically. Carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers, tilelayers and stonemasons are instead grouped together under the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 (MA000020), each sitting on the same generic tradesperson pay band. Electricians sit apart from that grouping entirely.
MA000025 also builds in the electrician's licence allowance, $40.29 a week, about $2,095 a year, on top of the Grade 5 or Grade 6 base rate. That allowance exists because a state-issued electrical licence is a legal requirement to do electrical work in Australia. Most trades require a Certificate III qualification but not a separate government licence, which is why this allowance is specific to the electrical award rather than a general construction one.
This research did not confirm a published apprentice electrician pay schedule with specific dollar figures. Apprentice rates are set as a percentage of the qualified rate and rise each year of the apprenticeship, but the exact percentages for MA000025 were not itemised in current sources. Check the Fair Work Pay and Conditions Tool or the current MA000025 pay guide for the exact apprentice figures.
Self-Employment and Contracting
A large share of the trade is not paid a wage at all.
Many electricians, especially in residential and small commercial work, operate as sole traders or run their own small electrical contracting business rather than working as an employee. They invoice a builder or client for a job, rather than being paid a wage under MA000025, which covers employees only.
That distinction matters more than it looks. An ABN electrical contractor's quoted day rate is a business figure, before their own expenses, insurance, tools, vehicle costs and GST are deducted, and before they pay their own tax as a sole trader rather than having PAYG withheld. It is not the same number as an equivalent award wage or salary, and comparing the two directly overstates what a contracting rate is actually worth in the hand.
If you are weighing up an ABN rate against an employee wage for similar electrical work, run both through the contractor vs employee calculator, which puts them on the same basis. If you already have an ABN day rate and want to know what it is worth after tax as a sole trader, the contractor pay calculator converts it to a comparable take-home figure.
Overtime, Penalty Rates and Allowances
Base award pay is rarely the whole story for a working electrician.
Casual electricians receive a 25% loading on top of the base hourly rate, the standard casual loading applied across modern awards, paid instead of paid leave, notice and redundancy entitlements. Saturday, Sunday, evening and public holiday work commonly attracts a penalty rate on top of the base, and overtime beyond ordinary hours is paid at a higher multiple again. This research did not itemise the exact overtime and penalty multiples specific to MA000025, so treat any general figure as indicative and check the current pay guide or your enterprise agreement for the exact rate that applies to your shift.
Site and travel allowances can also add to the base rate on top of the licence allowance already built into MA000025, though the exact amounts vary by employer, site and enterprise agreement, and this research did not confirm a single standard figure for them. Work out what your own overtime or penalty hours actually add with the overtime calculator, or see the full loading on a casual rate with the casual loading calculator.
Common Mistakes With Electrician Pay
Where people misjudge what an electrician's pay is actually worth.
Quoting the award as the market rate
The Grade 5 award floor is $61,507 a year. The ABS/JSA median is $113,932. Compare an offer to the median, not the bare award.
Treating the licence allowance as optional extra pay
The $40.29 weekly licence allowance under MA000025 is a built-in part of award pay, not a discretionary bonus, because the licence itself is a legal requirement.
Comparing an ABN quote to a wage
A contracting day rate is a business figure before expenses, insurance and GST. It is not directly comparable to an award wage or salary without adjusting for those costs.
Assuming a fixed apprentice percentage
Apprentice electrician rates rise each year of the apprenticeship as a percentage of the qualified rate, but this research could not confirm the exact MA000025 schedule. Check the current pay guide.
Forgetting the HECS-HELP step
An electrician income at or above the median sits above the 2026-27 repayment threshold, so a study loan takes a further slice from every pay. The HECS-HELP repayment calculator shows how much.
Budgeting on the marginal rate
At $113,932 the marginal rate is 30%, but the average rate is 23.7%. People quote the first and budget with the second.
Electrician Pay FAQ
Common questions about electrician salaries and take-home pay in Australia.
Sources
The documents behind every figure on this page.
- Jobs and Skills Australia, Electricians (3411) occupation profile, sourced from the ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (May 2025): representative full-time median $2,191/week, about $113,932 a year.
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2020 (MA000025) pay guide: qualified electrician Grade 5 $1,182.82/week ($31.13/hour), Grade 6 $1,218.02/week ($32.05/hour), plus an electrician’s licence allowance of $40.29/week. Rates reflect the Annual Wage Review 2026 (4.75%), operative from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
- SEEK Career Advice, Electrician salary page (accessed 19 July 2026): indicative advertised band roughly $75,000 to $131,000 (SEEK band about $95,000 to $115,000), used as a cross-check only.
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 (MA000020) and Apprentice and Trainee Pay Rates fact sheet, for the award-sharing and apprentice-rate context.
- Australian Taxation Office, individual income tax rates and the 2% Medicare levy for 2026-27, including the 15% first marginal rate.
Take-home figures are calculated live on published ATO rates for 2026-27. Award and median figures are gross and exclude the 12% super paid on top. Awards set a floor; many electricians are paid above them through an enterprise agreement or their own contracting rate. Last verified 30 July 2026.