GP Salary Australia: How to Compare Job Offers Using Take-Home Pay

Understanding GP Salary Australia

When you're evaluating a job offer in the Australian medical field, the headline figure you see on job ads can be misleading. The keyword gp salary australia often appears as a single number, but the reality is more nuanced. Whether you're a GP registrar, a resident medical officer, or a career medical practitioner, your pay structure differs dramatically. This guide helps you compare offers by focusing on the amount that reaches your bank account after income tax and the Medicare levy.

The Contractor Model

Most GPs in Australia work as independent contractors, not salaried employees. According to , full-time GPs working 8+ sessions per week average $345,000 per year before tax. Part-time GPs (7 sessions or less) average $240,000. These are gross billings kept after the practice takes its service fee. Because GPs are contractors, they pay their own tax and super. The Australian Bureau of Statistics, via , reports median full-time weekly earnings of $2,446 for General Practitioners and Resident Medical Officers, with median hourly earnings of $60. This is the midpoint for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate.

Award Rates for Doctors in Training

If you are a doctor in training—intern, resident, registrar, or senior registrar—your pay is set by the Medical Practitioners Award. The pay guide (effective 1 July 2026) lists weekly and hourly rates. For example, an intern earns $1,277.54 per week ($33.62 per hour; a resident medical practitioner at pay point 1 earns $1,356.33 per week ($35.69 per hour). Registrars range from $1,543.23 per week ($40.61 per hour) up to senior registrar pay point 2 at $2,096.35 per week ($55.17 per hour). These are minimum rates before penalty rates, overtime, and allowances. Career medical practitioners and senior career medical practitioners have higher base rates, up to $2,304.85 per week ($60.65 per hour).

Estimating Your Take-Home Pay

To compare a job offer, you need to convert any contractor earnings to an equivalent salary. For 2026–27, the national minimum wage is $26.44 an hour and $1,004.90 a week. The average full-time adult ordinary time earnings are $2,083.70 per week ($108,352 annually). For a GP earning $345,000, using the resident tax rates: tax-free threshold $18,200, then 15c per $1 over $18,200 up to $45,000, then $4,020 plus 30c per $1 over $45,000 up to $135,000, then $31,020 plus 37c per $1 over $135,000 up to $190,000, then $51,370 plus 45c per $1 over $190,000. The Medicare levy is 2% for full-time salaries. The latest single-person Medicare thresholds are $28,011 and $35,013. If your taxable income is below $28,011, you pay no Medicare levy; between $28,011 and $35,013, you pay a shade rate of 10c per dollar over the lower threshold. For a $345,000 income, you pay the full 2% ($6,900). After income tax (approx $113,870) and Medicare levy, your take-home is about $224,230. This is a rough estimate; it excludes HELP/HECS, the Medicare levy surcharge, salary sacrifice, and payroll rounding.

Using the Clearance Tool

Our Take-home pay calculator and Tax and Medicare guide can help you run your own numbers. Enter your gross income, select resident, and the tool applies the 2026–27 rates. Remember that super is not deducted from your take-home if the job ad says “plus super”. From 1 July 2026, the super guarantee is 12% on earnings up to $270,830. For a contractor GP, you must set aside your own super. For a salaried doctor in training, super is paid by the employer on top of the base rate.