Link: “Other Australians earn nothing like what you think. If you're on $59,538, you're typical”
$200,000 is unusual. I’ve never quite understood why politicians were so keen to tell us such incomes are normal. It might be because they are on them. Each backbencher gets $211,250 plus a $32,000 electorate allowance (boosted by $19,500 if they turn down the use of a private-plated vehicle) plus home internet and travel allowances.
Good article breaking down income distribution in Australia, based on 2018-19 tax data (wages haven’t gone up in years so nothing much will have changed since then – except the rich getting richer). The median taxable income is $60,000; the 75th percentile is $90,000. Earning a six-figure income is very uncommon indeed.
Addendum: Hmm, except according to this ABS page, the median income is actually just under $50k, not just under $60k as the article says 🤔 I wonder if there are different definitions of “income” at play.
Jessica Smith is a left-wing feminist who loves animals, books, gaming, and cooking; she’s also very interested in linguistics, history, technology and society.