In Australia, doctors are subject to the same progressive income tax rates as other residents, plus a 2% Medicare levy. Because most doctors are high-income earners, they generally fall into the highest marginal tax brackets, with top specialists potentially facing an overall tax rate of around 47% on their highest earnings.
GPs working as employees in clinics or hospitals receive a salary and are taxed under the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) system. The employer deducts tax and superannuation contributions directly from the GP's salary.
If you make $100,000 a year living in Australia, you will be taxed $24,967. That means that your net pay will be $75,033 per year, or $6,253 per month. Your average tax rate is 25.0% and your marginal tax rate is 34.5%. This marginal tax rate means that your immediate additional income will be taxed at this rate.
How to avoid paying higher-rate tax
Superannuation is still the most tax-effective means for medical professionals. Regardless of your employment arrangements, contributing money into superannuation pre-tax reduces your tax liability. Otherwise known as salary sacrificing all doctors should make pre-tax contributions to reduce their tax rate.
Yes, $130k is a very good salary in Australia, placing you well above the median income and in the top earnings bracket, but whether it's "comfortable" depends heavily on your location (high-cost cities like Sydney/Melbourne vs. regional areas) and lifestyle, as high rents can still strain finances, though it generally allows for a solid middle-class life with budgeting.
A first-year doctor in Australia earns about £47,530, according to the BMA's calculations. The most highly qualified resident doctors in Australia earn £83,532 — 23 per cent higher than they could earn in the NHS.
Superannuation: Your Best Friend for Tax Savings
Salary sacrificing to super is one of the simplest ways to reduce taxable income. By contributing up to $27,500 per year (including employer contributions) at a 15% tax rate instead of 47%, you save thousands while growing your retirement fund.
For amounts between £1,048.01 - £4,189 per month, you will pay 20% Income Tax. For amounts between £4,189.01 - £12,500 per month, you will pay 40% Income Tax. Over £12,500 per month, you will pay 45% Income Tax.
To be in Australia's top 1% of individual taxpayers, you generally need an annual income of around $375,000 to $390,000, though figures vary slightly by source and year, with higher thresholds for households (around $530,000). For context, the median individual income is much lower (around $55,000), and while top earners often include surgeons and anaesthetists, reaching the top 1% of net worth requires significantly more wealth, often exceeding $7 million.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the average full-time wage in 2025 is around $108,000. That figure is heavily skewed by high-income earners — executives, specialists, and senior tech workers. A more accurate measure is the median full-time income, sitting closer to $90,000.
Jobs paying $500k+ in Australia are primarily in highly specialized fields like Medical Specialists (surgeons, anaesthetists), Senior Finance/Executive Roles (CFO, Head of Treasury, Investment Directors), and high-end Sales & Construction Management (Elite Stockbrokers, Senior Project Managers/Estimators in complex sectors). While roles like Neurosurgeon and Ophthalmologist average well over $500k, achieving this in other sectors often involves performance-based bonuses or leading major projects, with opportunities listed on job boards like SEEK and Jora.
Advantages: In addition to respectable pay, doctors can look forward to advantages including superannuation (similar to the pension plans in the UK and New Zealand), generous yearly leave, and, in some cases, housing or vehicle allowances.
1. Surgeon. Surgeons have one of the highest salaries in Australia among healthcare professionals, with salary packages upwards of $500,000 due to their extensive education and training, and the critical nature of their work.
Jobs paying $200k+ in Australia are common in specialized fields like Medicine (Surgeons, Anaesthetists, Specialists), Technology (Data Scientists, Cloud Engineers), Engineering, Executive Management (C-Suite, Directors), Law, and high-end Sales, with significant opportunities also in the Mining sector, alongside specialized roles in Finance, Construction Management, and Healthcare Administration, often requiring significant experience or niche skills.
Only 9,144 of the 14,467 Australians on taxable incomes of more than $1 million worked. Only 17,883 of the 222,813 Australians on more than $250,000 worked.
Referred to as tax-paid investments, insurance bonds in Australia are taxed by the fund manager at the corporate tax rate of 30% subject to being held for a minimum of 10 years and do not need to be reported on an investor's tax return. So, the tax is paid before you as an investor receive a profit.
In 2025/26, to be among the top 1% of UK earners, an annual income of at least £201,000 before taxes is required (based on HMRC tax year 2022-23 data, published March 2025). This elite group of approximately 340,000 individuals earns 13.3% of the UK's total income and pays 28.2% of all income tax.
Your marginal tax rate or tax bracket refers only to your highest tax rate—the last tax rate your income is subject to. For example, in 2025, a single filer with taxable income of $100,000 will pay $16,914 in tax, or an average tax rate of 16.9%. But your marginal tax rate or tax bracket is 22%.
On a £70,000 salary, your take home pay will be £51,157.40 after tax and National Insurance. This equates to £4,263.12 per month and £983.80 per week. If you work 5 days per week, this is £196.76 per day, or £24.59 per hour at 40 hours per week.
The following are the best countries that offer lucrative job opportunities for doctors and allow them to grow professionally.
GP salaries in Australia vary significantly but typically range from $200,000 to over $350,000 annually for experienced, full-time doctors, with some rural roles or high-billing practices reaching $400,000+; registrar earnings are lower ($85k-$130k), while locums earn per day ($2k-$3k), influenced by location (rural pays more), billing (private higher), experience, and practice type. Full-time GPs (8+ sessions) average around $345k, while part-timers average $240k.