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Food Factory Worker salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a food factory worker is $57,200 per annum, before tax, up $12,200 since 2018.
DerivedIndicative estimate, not yet verified against official Jobs and Skills Australia / ABS data · Estimate
- Pay is usually set by the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Manufacturing Award or a site enterprise agreement, so the rate depends more on your employer than on the job title.
- Shift loadings are the main difference between people on the same line: afternoon and night shifts, weekend work and overtime all attract penalty rates.
- Moving from general hand to machine operator or team leader is the other route to a higher rate.
The median salary rose by $12,200 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 food factory worker
The largest typical pay rise is $23,400 a year, moving into Butcher.
- Butcher+$23,400/yr
- Smallgoods Maker+$7,800/yr
- Meat Process Worker+$7,500/yr
How to negotiate a higher food factory worker salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time food factory worker salary is $57,200; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Lead with what's scarce, not just tenure. Skills like Food safety and hygiene and Food preparation and cooking tend to command a premium over general food factory worker experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- Bring a real alternative to the table. Butcher pays a typical $23,400 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."
Food Factory Worker salary questions
How much do food factory workers earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a food factory worker is $57,200 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is food factory worker pay rising or falling?
The median food factory worker salary is up $12,200 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.
What pays more than food factory worker?
Butcher pays a typical $23,400 a year more and draws on similar skills to food factory worker.
Related salaries
- Seafood Process Worker salary
- Meat Process Worker salary
- Slaughterer salary
- Smallgoods Maker salary
- Butcher salary
- Fruit and Vegetable Packer 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.