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Social Worker salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a social worker is $112,900 per annum, before tax, up $24,000 since 2018.
- Your employer's enterprise agreement or award sets the scale, and the classification you are appointed at decides where you sit on it, so two people doing similar work can be several steps apart.
- Crisis and child protection teams often add on-call or after-hours load, so ask whether that is paid as an allowance or returned as time off.
- If a figure is quoted to you, check whether it covers a full-time week and whether the role is permanent or fixed term.
The median salary rose by $24,000 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 social worker salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time social worker salary is $112,900; 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 Casework and client support and Counselling and support work tend to command a premium over general social worker 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."
Social Worker salary questions
How much do social workers earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a social worker is $112,900 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is social worker pay rising or falling?
The median social worker salary is up $24,000 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.
Related salaries
- Child Protection Practitioner salary
- Family Violence Practitioner salary
- Counsellor salary
- Community Development Officer salary
- Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner salary
- Welfare Worker salary
Pay advice
- Salary sacrificeSalary sacrifice is an agreement with your employer to give up part of your future pre-tax pay in exchange for benefits of similar value, such as extra super, a car through a novated lease, or everyday expenses if you work for a charity or public hospital.
- 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.