Midwife salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a midwife is $109,900 per annum, before tax, up $22,600 since 2018.
- In public hospitals, pay follows the enterprise agreement, so shift loadings, night and weekend penalties and on-call allowances lift the total, while agency and casual midwives usually earn a higher hourly rate with no paid leave.
- Senior clinical, education and management classifications raise the range further, and a postgraduate qualification is what opens most of them.
- Before you weigh up competing offers, ask how the roster works: whether the advertised salary already folds in the shift loadings, and how often you would be on call.
The median salary rose by $22,600 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 midwife
The largest typical pay rise is $28,300 a year, moving into Nurse Manager.
- Nurse Manager+$28,300/yr
- Director of Nursing+$25,300/yr
- Registered Nurse+$4,100/yr
How to negotiate a higher midwife salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time midwife salary is $109,900; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Use demand as leverage. Midwifes 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 midwife experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- Bring a real alternative to the table. Nurse Manager pays a typical $28,300 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."
Midwife salary questions
How much do midwifes earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a midwife is $109,900 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is midwife pay rising or falling?
The median midwife salary is up $22,600 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.
What pays more than midwife?
Nurse Manager pays a typical $28,300 a year more and draws on similar skills to midwife.
Related salaries
- Nurse Educator salary
- Nurse Manager salary
- Registered Nurse salary
- Nurse Practitioner salary
- Director of Nursing salary
- Enrolled Nurse 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.