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Paediatric Surgeon salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a paediatric surgeon is $218,400 per annum, before tax, up $45,100 since 2018.
Public hospital surgeons are paid under state enterprise agreements, so pay moves with your seniority level, the on-call and recall loadings you carry, and whether you work full time. Income from private practice depends on your fee schedule and case mix rather than a set scale. Subspecialty matters too, since fetal and neonatal work concentrates in the tertiary children's hospitals.
How to negotiate a higher paediatric surgeon salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time paediatric surgeon salary is $218,400; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Use demand as leverage. Paediatric 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 paediatric 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."
Paediatric Surgeon salary questions
How much do paediatric surgeons earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a paediatric surgeon is $218,400 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is paediatric surgeon pay rising or falling?
The median paediatric surgeon salary is up $45,100 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.