Truck Driver Pay and Take-Home Pay in Australia
The award floor for a rigid vehicle driver is $54,366 a year, but the representative median is $101,920, which nets $78,786 after tax for 2026-27. That $47,554 gap is overtime and long-distance work, not a higher base rate, and this page explains how it is actually earned.
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 |
Road Transport Award Grades and Take-Home, 2026-27
Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020 (MA000038), transport worker stream, operative from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. Ordinary-hours minimums before overtime, penalties or distance-based pay.
| Award grade | Hourly | Weekly | Annual (38h) | Take-home pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 Entry transport worker | $26.87 | $1,021 | $53,092 | $45,786 |
| Grade 2 Typical rigid vehicle driver | $27.51 | $1,046 | $54,366 | $46,633 |
| Grade 5 Higher grade, heavier vehicle classes | $28.67 | $1,090 | $56,659 | $48,158 |
Australian resident, super paid on top of salary, no HECS-HELP debt, private hospital cover assumed so no Medicare levy surcharge. Annual figures are the weekly award rate over 52 weeks of ordinary hours and exclude overtime, penalties, allowances and distance-based pay. Grades above 5 apply to articulated vehicles and B-doubles. Source: Fair Work Ombudsman, Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020 (MA000038) pay guide, operative 1 July 2026.
How the $47,554 Gap Is Actually Earned
On most of our profession pages, the distance between the award floor and the real median is explained by enterprise agreements paying above the award. Truck driving is different. The gap here is mostly a function of how many hours are worked and how far the vehicle travels.
Three things drive it. Overtime, because long-haul work routinely runs well past 38 ordinary hours. Penalty rates, for night, weekend and public holiday driving. And distance-based pay, where long-distance work is paid per kilometre rather than per hour under the award.
It also means the headline median flatters the job in one specific way: reaching it generally requires substantially more than a standard working week. A driver on ordinary hours at grade 2 earns $54,366, and that is the honest comparison against a 38-hour job in another industry.
On the median the marginal rate is 30% against an average of 22.7%. Extra overtime is taxed at the marginal rate as it is earned, which is why a big week can look heavily taxed on the payslip. See marginal vs average tax rate, or model a specific roster with the overtime calculator.
Take-Home on $101,920
Cents-Per-Kilometre Long-Distance Pay
The Road Transport and Distribution Award allows long-distance work to be paid by distance instead of by time. Almost no pay calculator accounts for this.
Under a cents-per-kilometre arrangement your earnings are a function of kilometres run, not hours worked. That breaks the assumption every hourly calculator makes, including the one at the top of this page: there is no hourly rate to multiply out, and a slow run in heavy traffic pays the same as a fast one over the same distance.
Two practical consequences follow. First, you cannot verify award compliance by comparing your hourly earnings to a grade rate, because the award sets the per-kilometre rate separately. Second, income varies week to week with the work available, which makes an annual figure a poorer guide for a long-distance driver than for a rigid vehicle driver on a depot run.
If you are paid this way and want to check your take-home, work out your actual gross for the period first, then enter that figure in the calculator above rather than trying to derive an hourly rate. The weekly pay calculator and fortnightly pay calculator handle irregular gross amounts the same way.
Owner-Drivers and ABN Work
A large part of this industry does not work as an employee at all.
An owner-driver operating under an ABN is generally a contractor. Award minimums do not apply, no employer pays superannuation, and there is no entitlement to annual leave, sick leave or notice. Gross earnings also have to cover fuel, maintenance, tyres, registration, insurance and vehicle finance before the number is comparable to an employee wage at all.
That makes a headline contract rate close to meaningless without the cost side. Use the contractor pay calculator to work from a contract rate to a real position, or contractor vs employee to compare an ABN arrangement against a wage on equivalent terms. The distinction is also a legal one, not just a labelling choice: see casual loading explained for how employee entitlements are compensated when they are not provided directly.
Common Mistakes With Truck Driver Pay
Where the numbers mislead in this industry specifically.
Reading the median as a 38-hour wage
$101,920 generally reflects long hours and distance work. Ordinary hours at grade 2 is $54,366.
Checking cents-per-kilometre pay against an hourly rate
Long-distance rates are set per kilometre in the award. Deriving an hourly figure will not tell you whether you have been paid correctly.
Using the wrong vehicle grade
Articulated vehicles and B-doubles sit above grade 2. Check the classification on your payslip against what you actually drive.
Comparing an ABN rate to a wage
An owner-driver funds fuel, maintenance, registration, insurance, finance and their own super out of the gross rate.
Assuming overtime is taxed at a penalty rate
Overtime is taxed at your marginal rate like any other income. A big week can push more of that week into a higher bracket, but the rate itself is not special.
Counting super inside the rate
For employees the 12% is paid on top and goes to your fund. On the median that is $12,230 a year you never see in your account.
Truck Driver Pay FAQ
Common questions about truck driver pay and take-home pay in Australia.
Sources
The documents behind every figure on this page.
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020 (MA000038) pay guide, operative from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026: transport worker grade 1 $1,021.00 a week ($26.87 an hour); grade 2 $1,046 a week ($27.51 an hour, about $54,366 a year); grade 5 $1,090 a week ($28.67 an hour). Higher grades apply to articulated vehicles and B-doubles. Award pay guide.
- Long-distance driving is often paid on a cents-per-kilometre basis under MA000038 rather than an hourly rate, per research/salaries-professions.md.
- ABS, Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025 (catalogue 6306.0), via Jobs and Skills Australia, ANZSCO 7331 Truck Drivers: representative full-time median $1,960 a week, about $101,920 a year, median hourly about $42. JSA occupation profile.
- Fair Work Commission, Annual Wage Review 2026: a 4.75% increase to modern award minimum rates, operative from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
- Australian Taxation Office, Superannuation Guarantee, 12% from 1 July 2025, and individual income tax rates and the 2% Medicare levy for 2026-27.
Take-home figures are calculated live on published ATO rates for 2026-27. Award figures are legal minimums for 38 ordinary hours and exclude overtime, penalties, allowances and distance-based pay. The ABS median reflects total earnings including those components, which is why it sits well above every award grade shown. Owner-drivers operating under an ABN are generally contractors and are not covered by award minimums. Last verified 31 July 2026.