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Seafood Process Worker salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a seafood process worker is $59,800 per annum, before tax, up $12,300 since 2018.
DerivedIndicative estimate, not yet verified against official Jobs and Skills Australia / ABS data · Estimate
- Pay usually follows the food processing award or an enterprise agreement covering the site, so shift and weekend penalties and how the roster falls across a season do a lot of the work.
- Employers pay more for speed and clean knife work, which means an experienced filleter can earn above the entry rate on the same line.
- Rates also vary with the local agreement, since processing happens in regional ports and aquaculture centres as well as in the cities.
The median salary rose by $12,300 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 seafood process worker
The largest typical pay rise is $6,800 a year, moving into Fishing Hand.
- Fishing Hand+$6,800/yr
- Meat Process Worker+$4,900/yr
- Slaughterer+$2,600/yr
How to negotiate a higher seafood process worker salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time seafood process worker salary is $59,800; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Use demand as leverage. Seafood Process Workers are on the skills shortage list for regional areas, 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 Food safety and hygiene and Food preparation and cooking tend to command a premium over general seafood process worker experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- Bring a real alternative to the table. Fishing Hand pays a typical $6,800 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."
Seafood Process Worker salary questions
How much do seafood process workers earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a seafood process worker is $59,800 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is seafood process worker pay rising or falling?
The median seafood process worker salary is up $12,300 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.
What pays more than seafood process worker?
Fishing Hand pays a typical $6,800 a year more and draws on similar skills to seafood process worker.
Related salaries
- Meat Process Worker salary
- Food Factory Worker salary
- Meat Boner and Slicer salary
- Slaughterer salary
- Fishing Hand 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.