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Emergency Physician salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for an emergency physician is $202,800 per annum, before tax, up $42,300 since 2018.
DerivedIndicative estimate, not yet verified against official Jobs and Skills Australia / ABS data · Estimate
- Emergency physicians are paid under state and territory hospital enterprise agreements, so the base rate and loadings differ depending on where you work.
- Shift penalties, overtime and on-call allowances make up a large part of take-home pay because the department runs around the clock.
- Pay also rises with seniority and specialist registration, and locum work through an agency is common enough that rates vary widely.
The median salary rose by $42,300 between 2018 and 2024; the dashed line shows a projection to 2028 based on the real ABS Wage Price Index growth rate, not a role-specific forecast.
Roles that pay more than emergency physician
The largest typical pay rise is $20,800 a year, moving into Intensive Care Specialist.
- Intensive Care Specialist+$20,800/yr
How to negotiate a higher emergency physician salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time emergency physician salary is $202,800; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Use demand as leverage. Emergency Physicians are on the national skills shortage list, so employers are more likely to move on price to keep or attract someone in a role they're struggling to fill.
- Lead with what's scarce, not just tenure. Skills like Clinical assessment and treatment and Patient care and support tend to command a premium over general emergency physician experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- Bring a real alternative to the table. Intensive Care Specialist pays a typical $20,800 a year more and draws on similar skills, even mentioning you're weighing it up is a legitimate data point in a pay conversation.
- Time it deliberately. Reviews, the end of a project you delivered, or taking on responsibility beyond your job description are stronger moments to ask than an arbitrary date on the calendar.
- Ask for a number, not a raise. "Based on the market rate and [specific contribution], I'd like to move to X" gets a clearer answer than "I think I deserve more."
Emergency Physician salary questions
How much do emergency physicians earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for an emergency physician is $202,800 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is emergency physician pay rising or falling?
The median emergency physician salary is up $42,300 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.
What pays more than emergency physician?
Intensive Care Specialist pays a typical $20,800 a year more and draws on similar skills to emergency physician.
Related salaries
- General Practitioner salary
- Intensive Care Specialist salary
- Resident Medical Officer salary
- Intensive Care Paramedic salary
- Ophthalmologist salary
- Paramedic salary
Pay advice
- How to ask for a pay rise, and back it up with real numbersWhat national wage growth looks like right now, how to work out a figure for your own role, wording you can adapt for the conversation, and what to do if the answer is no.
- The average salary in Australia (2026)Full-time adults in Australia averaged $2,083.70 a week in May 2026. Several measures get called the average salary, and this explains which one fits your situation.
- Overtime pay, time in lieu and what your award saysOvertime rates come from your award or agreement, not one national rule. How rates work, what happens on a salary, and how time off in lieu works.