How much salary is needed to live comfortably in Australia?

A comfortable salary in Australia covers around $4,340 per person per month at the country average, or roughly AUD 78,000 to 87,000 a year before tax, based on CostLiving’s comfortable lifestyle benchmark. The country-level figure undersells what most people mean by “living in Australia”: almost everyone moves to a capital city, where costs run higher. Sydney sits at $4,730, Melbourne at $4,225, Brisbane at $4,380, and Perth at $4,070 per person per month. For comfortable city living, target a pre-tax salary of AUD 85,000 to 114,000 in Sydney, AUD 76,000 to 101,000 in Brisbane, AUD 76,000 to 101,000 in Melbourne, and AUD 73,000 to 98,000 in Perth. Australia’s progressive income tax tops out at 45 percent above AUD 190,000. For the full breakdown, see our Australia cost of living page.