Home Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon Salary
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for an oral and maxillofacial surgeon is $234,000 per annum, before tax, up $49,000 since 2018.
DerivedIndicative estimate, not yet verified against official Jobs and Skills Australia / ABS data · Estimate
- How the week is split matters more than the headline figure.
- Salaried public hospital posts sit on state health enterprise agreements with on-call and overtime loading, while private work is fee for service, so a surgeon doing mostly day surgery and rooms will usually earn more than one in a full-time hospital role.
- Sub-specialty counts too, with head and neck cancer and complex reconstruction attracting higher fees than routine extractions.
The median salary rose by $49,000 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.
How to negotiate a higher oral and maxillofacial surgeon salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time oral and maxillofacial surgeon salary is $234,000; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Use demand as leverage. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons 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 Patient care and support and Clinical assessment and treatment tend to command a premium over general oral and maxillofacial surgeon experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- 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."
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon salary questions
How much do oral and maxillofacial surgeons earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for an oral and maxillofacial surgeon is $234,000 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is oral and maxillofacial surgeon pay rising or falling?
The median oral and maxillofacial surgeon salary is up $49,000 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.
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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.