What each specialty actually earns

Award: Public staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 to Senior $266,942 (1 Jul 2025), effective $231,962-$313,390 with the 17.4% Special Allowance; new consultants nationally $197k-$263k award, $232k-$313k with NSW/QLD loadings.

Private: Not published. AdvanceMed (2022-23) computes ENT's salaried share at ~34% - highly private-dominated. Highest ATO median of the surgical codes. Low confidence.

Caveat: Taxable income is not billings and not salary: ATO taxable income is after deductions (rooms, staff, indemnity, equipment). Never describe an ATO figure as 'what surgeons are paid'. Figures are not FTE-adjusted and include part-timers. Median < mean everywhere; the gap is the private-practice story. Grattan (2025): three-quarters of ENT specialists charge 2-3x the MBS schedule fee.

Award: Public staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 to Senior $266,942 (1 Jul 2025), effective $231,962-$313,390 with the 17.4% Special Allowance; new consultants nationally $197k-$263k award, $232k-$313k with NSW/QLD loadings.

Private: Not published. AdvanceMed (2022-23) computes neurosurgery's salaried share at ~41%. Highest mean taxable income of any ATO medical occupation code. Low confidence.

Caveat: Taxable income is not billings and not salary: ATO taxable income is after deductions (rooms, staff, indemnity, equipment). Never describe an ATO figure as 'what surgeons are paid'. Figures are not FTE-adjusted and include part-timers. Median < mean everywhere; the gap is the private-practice story.

Award: Public staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 to Senior $266,942 (1 Jul 2025), effective $231,962-$313,390 with the 17.4% Special Allowance; new consultants nationally $197k-$263k award, $232k-$313k with NSW/QLD loadings.

Private: Not published. AdvanceMed (2022-23) computes urology's salaried share at ~40%. Low confidence.

Caveat: Taxable income is not billings and not salary: ATO taxable income is after deductions (rooms, staff, indemnity, equipment). Never describe an ATO figure as 'what surgeons are paid'. Figures are not FTE-adjusted and include part-timers. Median < mean everywhere; the gap is the private-practice story.

Award: Public staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 to Senior $266,942 (1 Jul 2025), effective $231,962-$313,390 with the 17.4% Special Allowance; new consultants nationally $197k-$263k award, $232k-$313k with NSW/QLD loadings.

Private: Not published. AdvanceMed (2022-23) computes plastics' salaried share at ~35% - among the most private-dominated specialties. Low confidence.

Caveat: Taxable income is not billings and not salary: ATO taxable income is after deductions (rooms, staff, indemnity, equipment). Never describe an ATO figure as 'what surgeons are paid'. Figures are not FTE-adjusted and include part-timers. Median < mean everywhere; the gap is the private-practice story. Registrar lore: a NSW PGY3 plastics reg on 0.7 public + 0.3 private assisting reported ~$200k versus RMO peers on $130-150k.

Award: Public staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 to Senior $266,942 (1 Jul 2025), effective $231,962-$313,390 with the 17.4% Special Allowance; new consultants nationally $197k-$263k award, $232k-$313k with NSW/QLD loadings.

Private: Not published. Modelled only: ATO average salary/wage ($285,106) is ~50% of average taxable income - a more salaried mix than plastics/ENT. Low confidence.

Caveat: Taxable income is not billings and not salary: ATO taxable income is after deductions (rooms, staff, indemnity, equipment). Never describe an ATO figure as 'what surgeons are paid'. Figures are not FTE-adjusted and include part-timers. Median < mean everywhere; the gap is the private-practice story.

Award: Staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 → Senior $266,942 plus 17.4% Special Allowance ($231,962–$313,390); VIC HM33 $262,999 → HM41 $361,629. Only ~24% of ophthalmology income is salaried (AdvanceMed 2022-23: 26%) — the most private-dominated specialty in the table.

Private: Modelled from ato_median minus ato_avg_salary_wage (~$340k gap): private-practice dominated; MABEL top-quartile ophthalmologists >=$456/hr. Label as modelled.

Caveat: Taxable income is not billings and not salary — after rooms, staff, indemnity and equipment. Mean $655k vs median $497k is the private-practice tail. Not FTE-adjusted.

Award: New staff specialist award base $197,583 (NSW Yr1) – $262,999 (VIC Yr1); NSW adds a 17.4% special allowance ($231,962 Yr1 → $313,390 Senior); QLD SMO L18 $223,136 base + 50% attraction & retention allowance; SA A&R allowance for anaesthetics is 50% of base (private practice cap 45%). Community mental model: public ≈ $75–100k of annual income per day of the week worked.

Private: $400,000–1,200,000 (modelled from ATO median minus salary component plus anecdote; low confidence). Lore: WA private ≈ $200k per day-of-week worked; day billings $3–5k average, $6–10k lucrative; private FTE is 4 days, not 5.

Caveat: Taxable income ≠ billings and ≠ salary. ATO taxable income is after deductions (rooms, staff, indemnity, equipment); it is not FTE-adjusted and includes part-timers and late-year fellows. Lead with the median. Gender gap is large: anaesthetics mean $527,366 (M) vs $386,868 (F). Award figures are stamped to their instrument date; NSW rates are interim and under arbitration.

Award: Public staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 to Senior $266,942 (1 Jul 2025), effective $231,962-$313,390 with the 17.4% Special Allowance; new consultants nationally $197k-$263k award, $232k-$313k with NSW/QLD loadings.

Private: Not published. AdvanceMed (2022-23) computes orthopaedics' salaried share at ~43%, i.e. a private-dominated income mix. Low confidence.

Caveat: Taxable income is not billings and not salary: ATO taxable income is after deductions (rooms, staff, indemnity, equipment). Never describe an ATO figure as 'what surgeons are paid'. Figures are not FTE-adjusted and include part-timers. Median < mean everywhere; the gap is the private-practice story. APRA: orthopaedics is the highest-gap specialty group for private hospital episodes ($807.42 average gap).

Award: Staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 → Senior $266,942 plus 17.4% Special Allowance ($231,962–$313,390); VIC HM33 $262,999 → HM41 $361,629. Radiology's $383,218 average salary/wage is by far the highest salaried component of any specialty (~77% salaried share). Lore: VIC public $500-600k on 4 days.

Private: Modelled $600,000-$1,200,000 (income.md); lore: private $600k-$1m on 5 days, partner $1m-$1.6m, advertised starting rates $600-750k+ with $150k sign-on bonuses. Label as modelled/lore.

Caveat: Taxable income is not billings and not salary. Gender gap is the largest in the table: male median $567,330 vs female $209,418. Not FTE-adjusted.

Award: Public staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 to Senior $266,942 (1 Jul 2025), effective $231,962-$313,390 with the 17.4% Special Allowance; new consultants nationally $197k-$263k award, $232k-$313k with NSW/QLD loadings.

Private: Not published. AdvanceMed (2022-23) computes cardiothoracic's salaried share at ~60% - the most public/salaried of the surgical subspecialties, consistent with the ATO's $337,953 average salary/wage. Low confidence.

Caveat: Taxable income is not billings and not salary: ATO taxable income is after deductions (rooms, staff, indemnity, equipment). Never describe an ATO figure as 'what surgeons are paid'. Figures are not FTE-adjusted and include part-timers. Median < mean everywhere; the gap is the private-practice story.

Award: Staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 → Senior $266,942 plus 17.4% Special Allowance ($231,962–$313,390); VIC HM33 $262,999 → HM41 $361,629; NT SMO1.1 $213,380 → SMO2.3 $298,705. Locum consultant O&G $2,500–3,500/day.

Private: Modelled from ato_median minus ato_avg_salary_wage (~$130k gap) plus lore — no O&G-specific private billing data in the evidence; label as modelled.

Caveat: Taxable income is not billings and not salary — ATO taxable income is after deductions; for a private specialist it is practice revenue minus rooms, staff, indemnity, equipment. Median is well below mean (private-practice tail). Figures are not FTE-adjusted.

Award: New staff specialist award base $197,583 (NSW Yr1) – $262,999 (VIC Yr1); NSW adds a 17.4% special allowance ($231,962 Yr1 → $313,390 Senior); QLD SMO L18 $223,136 base + 50% attraction & retention allowance; SA A&R allowance for ICU is 50% of base with a 35% private practice cap. The high salary/wage share of taxable income (~74%) marks ICU as a largely salaried specialty.

Caveat: Taxable income ≠ billings and ≠ salary; ATO figures are after deductions and not FTE-adjusted. income.md does not model an ICU private range — ICU private practice is limited (SA caps it at 35% of base), so none is given. Locum context only: recruiter guides quote ICU consultants at up to $3,000/day; one new intensivist reported ~$300,000 at 0.7–0.8 FTE as a FIFO regional locum (reddit anecdote). The consultant job market, not the rate, is the constraint.

Award: Staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 → Senior $266,942 plus 17.4% Special Allowance ($231,962–$313,390); VIC HM33 $262,999 → HM41 $361,629. Lore: 'every rad onc staff specialist with 5 years' experience earns $500k+' (NSW).

Private: Modelled from ato_median minus ato_avg_salary_wage (~$50k gap) — largely salaried specialty; no rad-onc-specific private data in the evidence. Label as modelled.

Caveat: Taxable income is not billings and not salary. Small n (614). Not FTE-adjusted.

Award: New staff specialist award base $197,583 (NSW Yr1) – $262,999 (VIC Yr1); NSW adds a 17.4% special allowance ($231,962 Yr1 → $313,390 Senior); QLD SMO L18 $223,136 base + 50% attraction & retention allowance; SA A&R allowance for EM, paeds EM and MedSTAR is 67% of base with a 0% private practice cap. Reddit: NSW ED physician, public, 1.0 FTE — $341k gross. Median ≈ mean here, which is what a salaried specialty looks like.

Private: $0–150,000 (modelled; SA caps EM private practice at 0%). Locum FACEM shifts $2,500–3,500 (recruiter/anecdote) are the practical 'private' income.

Caveat: Taxable income ≠ billings and ≠ salary; ATO figures are after deductions and not FTE-adjusted — and fractional work (0.6–0.8 FTE) is the common FACEM survival strategy, which drags the median down. Shift penalties and on-call are a large share of EM income and are not visible in award base.

Award: Staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 → Senior $266,942 plus 17.4% Special Allowance ($231,962–$313,390); SA A&R allowance for EM and paeds EM is 67% of base with private practice capped at 0%; lore: NSW public ED physician 1.0 FTE $341k gross. During PEM training you are paid at registrar/top-of-reg rates even as a FACEM.

Private: Modelled $0-150,000 (income.md; SA caps EM private practice at 0%) — largely salaried specialty. 'There is no monetary advantage to PEM.'

Caveat: ATO figures are for the parent emergency medicine code, not PEM specifically. Taxable income is not billings. The PEM years themselves cost consultant-level wages.

Award: Public staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 to Senior $266,942 (1 Jul 2025), effective $231,962-$313,390 with the 17.4% Special Allowance; new consultants nationally $197k-$263k award, $232k-$313k with NSW/QLD loadings.

Private: Not published. Modelled only: ATO average salary/wage ($239,669) is ~55% of average taxable income, implying roughly $200k of non-salary (private) income at the mean. Low confidence.

Caveat: Taxable income is not billings and not salary: ATO taxable income is after deductions (rooms, staff, indemnity, equipment). Never describe an ATO figure as 'what surgeons are paid'. Figures are not FTE-adjusted and include part-timers. Median < mean everywhere; the gap is the private-practice story. Registrar lore: a gen surg SET trainee reported being on track for $280-300k with 24h on-call every second weekend, against a $140-150k baseline; a PGY4 unaccredited subspecialty reg in NSW reported ~$180k gross on 70-80h weeks.

Award: Public staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 to Senior $266,942 (1 Jul 2025), effective $231,962-$313,390 with the 17.4% Special Allowance; new consultants nationally $197k-$263k award, $232k-$313k with NSW/QLD loadings.

Private: Not published. Modelled only: ATO average salary/wage ($276,946) is ~72% of average taxable income - a predominantly public/salaried specialty with the lowest surgical median. Low confidence.

Caveat: Taxable income is not billings and not salary: ATO taxable income is after deductions (rooms, staff, indemnity, equipment). Never describe an ATO figure as 'what surgeons are paid'. Figures are not FTE-adjusted and include part-timers. Median < mean everywhere; the gap is the private-practice story.

Award: Concord Network BPT post advertised at $110,986-$139,187 p.a. NSW award: Registrar Yr1 $117,745 to Yr4 $147,664, Senior Registrar $166,025 (1 Jul 2025). Staff specialist NSW Yr1 $197,583 to Senior $266,942 (+17.4% Special Allowance = $231,962-$313,390). Lore: med reg maxes ~$150-160k.

Private: Not published. Modelled only: general physician ATO average salary/wage ($247,181) is ~72% of average taxable income - a predominantly salaried specialty; the procedural subspecialties (cardiology, gastro) carry much larger private components. Low confidence.

Caveat: Taxable income is not billings and not salary: ATO taxable income is after deductions. Never describe an ATO figure as 'what physicians are paid'. Figures are not FTE-adjusted and include part-timers. Median < mean everywhere. Subspecialty choice at AT moves the median by ~$200k (paediatrician $263k vs cardiologist $491k).

Award: New staff specialist award base $197,583 (NSW Yr1) – $262,999 (VIC Yr1); NSW adds a 17.4% special allowance ($231,962 Yr1 → $313,390 Senior); QLD SMO L18 $223,136 base + 50% attraction & retention allowance. Reddit: VIC public $400–500k; QLD public psychiatrist staff specialist $360k excluding super; QLD psych registrar $200k purely public with rostered overtime.

Private: $350,000–900,000 (modelled from ATO median minus salary component plus anecdote; low confidence). Lore: private $350–600/hr ($2,800–4,800/day); telehealth clinics take only 10–20% of billings — the lowest overhead in medicine; $1m/yr requires ~$600/hr on a full 8-hour day with zero cancellations. A life-insurance broker's dissent: 'never insured a psychiatrist who generated fees greater than $500k'.

Caveat: Taxable income ≠ billings and ≠ salary; ATO figures are after deductions and not FTE-adjusted, and psychiatry has a large part-time cohort. Lead with the median. Psychiatry taxable income grew 61% 2010–11 → 2021–22 (CPI +27%), the fastest of any specialty group in the MJA analysis. Rural locum contracts quoted at '200–250k per day of the week worked' are unverified anecdote.

Award: NSW award: Registrar Yr1 $117,745 to Yr4 $147,664, Senior Registrar $166,025 (1 Jul 2025). Staff specialist NSW Yr1 $197,583 to Senior $266,942 (+17.4% Special Allowance = $231,962-$313,390); new consultants nationally $197k-$263k award.

Private: Not published. Modelled only: ATO average salary/wage ($231,397) is ~81% of average taxable income - one of the most salaried specialist codes; Grattan lists paediatrics 'extreme fee' initial consultations at $363. Low confidence.

Caveat: Taxable income is not billings and not salary: ATO taxable income is after deductions. Never describe an ATO figure as 'what paediatricians are paid'. Figures are not FTE-adjusted and include part-timers (paediatrics has a large part-time workforce). Median < mean everywhere. Paediatrician median ($263k) is the second-lowest of the physician codes.

Award: Staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 → Senior $266,942 plus 17.4% Special Allowance ($231,962–$313,390); VIC HM33 $262,999 → HM41 $361,629. Average salary/wage component only $101,765 — heavily private.

Private: Modelled from ato_median minus ato_avg_salary_wage (~$130k gap) plus the mean/median divergence; no derm-specific private billing data in the evidence. Label as modelled.

Caveat: Taxable income is not billings and not salary. Dermatology's mean $330,967 vs median $234,005 is the textbook private-practice gap; the gender split is $510,792 (M) vs $236,349 (F). Small n (525), not FTE-adjusted.

Award: GP registrars: NTCER 2025-26 minimums GPT1 $94,018, GPT2 $109,213, GPT3&4 $116,623 (+3.5% from 2026), or 44.79% of gross billings, whichever is higher; SEM posts on hospital award (QLD $130,000+). $30,000 first-community-term incentive from semester 1 2026. Rural generalists with anaesthetics/obstetrics AST earn hospital registrar rates.

Private: Fellowed GP market norm 65-70% of billings or ~$150/hr (VR); average ~$345,000 for >=8 sessions/week, projected ~$398,448 under the tripled bulk-billing incentive; modelled $266k fully bulk-billing to $416k fully private at 40 hrs; rural WIP Doctor Stream $3,600-$48,000 by MMM. Label as modelled.

Caveat: ATO median (n=27,776) includes part-time GPs and registrars and is not FTE-adjusted. Taxable income is not billings: '$350k as a GP sole trader is closer to $262k salaried plus benefits'. Rural GP registrar on QLD MOCA plus 40% rural retention reported $376,000 on tax — lore, not typical.

Award: Staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 → Senior $266,942 plus 17.4% Special Allowance ($231,962–$313,390); VIC HM33 $262,999 → HM41 $361,629. Lore: '3 day week in public is about $260k, more in private'; 'New grad salary around $330k' in private with 40-50 cases a day.

Private: Sonic-group and other private labs; lore only ($330k new-grad claim). No modelled band — the ATO median is unusable for modelling.

Caveat: MEDIAN ARTEFACT: the ATO median of $81,090 against a $205,492 mean is the most extreme divergence in the table — almost certainly heavy part-time/registrar coding within occupation code 253915 rather than a true full-time figure. Do not present $81,090 as what pathologists earn. Taxable income is not billings and not salary.

Award: Staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 → Senior $266,942 plus 17.4% Special Allowance ($231,962–$313,390); VIC HM33 $262,999 → HM41 $361,629. 'Pay is similar to other non-procedural specialties. Not super lucrative.'

Private: Not evidenced; largely public/community service based.

Caveat: No addiction-specific ATO row — the 253399 mapping is an inference. Community pay descriptions only.

Award: Registrar posts on the medical award (VIC 12-month fixed term, 43 hrs/wk). Fellows: 'many DMS/EDMS I know are FRACMAs and the role itself tends to be on the higher end of the strict payscale'; NSW managerial allowances $27,405 / $47,961 / $68,514 on top of staff specialist rates ($197,583–$266,942 + 17.4%).

Private: 'Probably nowhere near as much as [procedural medicine] as you don't really get private practice gigs.' Board/governance roles 'all pay and it's treated like passive income'. No modelled band.

Caveat: No med-admin-specific ATO row. Not reliant on Medicare — named as government-proof by the community. Private-sector (Ramsay) reportedly underpays and overworks.

Award: Mostly non-hospital employers. Secondary estimate ~$237k-$305k salaried plus medicolegal work; locum ~$140/hr appears in ads.

Private: 'Well over 300K a yr is possible' for GPs in the space; IME work 'can be very lucrative' (lore). Not reliant on Medicare.

Caveat: No ATO row; salaried estimate is from a secondary source in the research report (URL not captured); community figures are self-reported.

Award: 'Specialist award wages which is ~270-500k depending on what state you work in, seniority and VMO vs staff specialist contract' (pain specialist); NSW staff specialist Yr1 $197,583 → Senior $266,942 plus 17.4% Special Allowance. Public posts are limited.

Private: 'Full time private interventionalists earn more'; 'Interventional pain is way bigger money than private anaesthesia' — but high overheads, poorly paid consulting days, group cuts, and reimbursement risk. No modelled band.

Caveat: No pain-specific ATO row; dual-fellowship income mixes parent-specialty and pain work. All figures are community lore.

Award: Staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 → Senior $266,942 plus 17.4% Special Allowance ($231,962–$313,390); VIC HM33 $262,999 → HM41 $361,629. Lore: 'just under $200K' at 1.0 FTE one year in, +~$10k/yr for five years; non-procedural cap ~$250k per 1.0 FTE; 'capped in the high $300ks full-time public'; AT senior registrar $193k base + $16k CME + $4k (WA).

Private: Locum $2,000-2,500/day; 'increasing private work available — mainly consult work in private hospitals'. No modelled band.

Caveat: No palliative-specific ATO row — the 253399 mapping is an inference. Community figures are self-reported. 1.0 FTE metro public posts are rare, so headline full-time figures overstate typical earnings.

Award: Salaried government banding: NSW PHTP trainees on Crown Clerk Grade 9/10 (doctors); fellows roughly 'equivalent to a full time public hospital consultant' at best (NSW staff specialist Yr1 $197,583 → Senior $266,942 plus 17.4% Special Allowance). 'Materially lower pay than clinical physician specialties'.

Private: Essentially none — 'Not much scope for private work'.

Caveat: No public-health-specific ATO row — the 253399/253999 mapping is an inference, not an official classification. Crown Clerk grades are not on the medical award; figures for those grades were not captured.

Award: Staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 → Senior $266,942 plus 17.4% Special Allowance ($231,962–$313,390); VIC HM33 $262,999 → HM41 $361,629; SA A&R allowance is specialty-differentiated — rehab 37.5% (vs 30% other consultants). Lore: consultant ~$300k ('don't quote me'); QLD PGY3 reg ~$60/hr.

Private: Heavily private inpatient sector (Epworth, Healthscope) but 'setting up independently isn't easy'; no modelled band in the evidence.

Caveat: No rehab-specific ATO row — the 253399 mapping is an inference, not an official classification. Taxable income is not billings and not salary. Community figures are self-reported.

Award: Staff specialist award: NSW Yr1 $197,583 → Senior $266,942 plus 17.4% Special Allowance ($231,962–$313,390); VIC HM33 $262,999 → HM41 $361,629. Salaried public clinics; often part-time/portfolio.

Private: Not evidenced.

Caveat: No sexual-health-specific ATO row — the 253399 mapping is an inference. No community pay figures found.

Award: Effectively none: '~91% of SEM specialists work in the private sector'; the few STP-funded/AIS registrar posts pay ~$105-120k plus a billings share (community).

Private: Registrar: 'less than a hospital registrar in your first year' to $200k+ with PRP work/team jobs (lore). Consultant: 'up to 500+' full-time interventional with own practice (lore); Group A4 Medicare status from July 2025 roughly doubled per-consultation schedule fees.

Caveat: No ATO row; all figures are self-reported community claims. Contractor income excludes leave and super. Team-doctor roles 'relatively well paid, but competitive'.