Australian principals earn more than double that of pre-school or kindergarten teachers, according to the latest official income data.
Figures from the Australian Tax Office (ATO) for the 2021-22 financial year show the average taxable income of a principal was $141,436 (median $137,415).
Breaking down the profession by sex, Australia’s 5,605 male principals were the highest earning group. They had an average taxable income of $148,242 (median $142,147). For the 7,711 female principals, that number was $136,488 (median $133,972).
By comparison, the average taxable income of a pre-school or kindergarten teacher was $61,874 (median $57,647).
However, the information is limited in nature; for example, it only includes data visible to the tax department and captures annual incomes of all part-time, casual and fulltime workers.
Of 24,653 pre-school or kindergarten teachers counted in the data, 23,907 were female; 746 were male. Female pre-school or kindergarten teachers earned $61,790 and males $64,559.
The average taxable income across 190,220 infant or primary school teachers was $77,882 (median $80,001). Males earned $87,050 on average in the latest data, while females earned $76,411.
This was slightly above the average taxable income of all Australians, which increased from $68,289 to $72,327 in 2021-22.
The ATO recorded 10,757 middle school teachers with an average salary of $80,481. Of those, 7,816 were female and 2,941 were male. The average taxable income for females was $78,121, and $86,751 for males.
A high school or secondary school teacher’s average taxable income was $87,780. Female secondary teachers earned $85,077, males $92,269. As per the pre-school and primary school sector, secondary school teachers were predominantly female: 102,583 women, versus 61,751 men.
The data also included income figures for special needs teachers, including those teaching hearing or vision impaired students, as well as private teachers and tutors for subjects including drama and music, and English as a second language (ESL) teachers.
The statistics for the 2021–22 financial year were sourced from 2022 Individual income tax returns processed by 31 October 2023. The statistics are not necessarily complete. The 2021-22 data is the latest available.
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