According to recent tax office statistics, Perth has Australia’s wealthiest postcode rather than Sydney or Melbourne, where a salary of $200,000 would be far below average.
A degree in medicine and postgraduate studies are also prerequisites for half of the best-paying positions by taxable income, with surgeons earning the highest average taxable compensation at $406,068.
But Western Australia, which is mining-rich, outperformed Sydney’s eastern districts on the harbour in terms of elite earnings.
With an average individual taxable income of $325,343, Peppermint Grove and Cottesloe in Perth, which stretches from the Swan River to the beach, was No. 1 in 2019–20, according to the Australian Taxation Office
Gina Rinehart, Andrew Forrest, Kerry Stokes, and other wealthy residents of Australia reside in the 6011 postcode, which is well ahead of Point Piper in eastern Sydney.
These residents profit from China’s insatiable need for iron ore, which is required to create steel.
With an average taxable income of $205,957, the 2027 postcode on Sydney Harbour, which includes Darling Point and Edgecliff, came in second.
Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and retired Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond also reside in this neighbourhood of waterfront houses.
Eight of the top 10 slots were occupied by Sydney, five of which were located in the eastern suburbs and three on the north shore or northern side of Sydney Harbour.
Toorak in the inner-east of the city took fifth position, giving Melbourne one slot in the top 10.
With teal members Kate Chaney, Allegra Spender, and Kylea Tink representing Curtin in Perth, Wentworth in Sydney, and North Sydney, respectively, none of Australia’s wealthiest postcodes currently have a federal Liberal MP. Labor, on the other hand, now holds the Higgins seat in Melbourne for the first time ever with new MP Dr. Michelle Ananda-Rajah.
The average taxable income in five of the postcodes on the list is more than twice as high as Australia’s average full-time wage of $90,917.
The eastern Sydney neighbourhood of Bellevue Hill has the highest average taxable income at $195,204, followed by Vaucluse and Dover Heights, where missing con artist Melissa Caddick is believed to be living on a cliff.
Melbourne’s Toorak neighbourhood came in fifth with a taxable income of $184,939.
With an average taxable income of $177,645, Mosman and Spit Junction on Sydney’s lower north shore came in sixth on the list.
Hunters Hill and Woolwich, located on the northern side of the harbour a bit farther west, placed seventh with an average taxable income of $175,907.
With a taxable income of $172,600, Woollahra in Sydney’s east, close to Paddington, came in ninth.
Former Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke, who passed away in 2019, resided in Northbridge on Sydney’s lower north shore and ranked ninth with a taxable income of $170,619.
The list was completed by Double Bay in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, where the average wage was $170,051.
Half of the top 10 broadly defined jobs with the highest average wages need a medical degree.
The fact that members of parliament, with a basic income of $211,250 in 2019–20, weren’t in the top ten explained why the tax list was based on professions having at least a few thousand workers.
At $406,068 the highest paid profession was that of a surgeon, which 4,159 people reported on their tax returns.
Anaesthetists were next on $388,814 with 3,509 persons who provide severe pain killers before procedures reporting this employment.
Internal medicine experts came in third with a salary of $310,848 and 9,906 employees.
With 4,754 people claiming this employment, financial dealers—those who purchase and sell shares on behalf of clients—came in fourth place out of 279,790.
With an average pay of $252,691 and 3,030 in Australia, psychiatrists, who are required to obtain a Bachelor of Medicine and may prescribe medication, were ranked fifth in terms of pay.
The group of other medical practitioners, which included 28,696 workers, was ranked sixth with an average income of $232,903.
With 3,940 practitioners and an average taxable income of $189,538, judges and attorneys ranked eighth overall.
Mining engineers, who make up the eighth most common profession on the list with average incomes of $188,083, are employed in the resources industry.
With 25,728 employees involved in the structural integrity of buildings, bridges, or machines, they made more money than engineering managers at $161,514 each year.
With 20,679 persons working in this field, financial investment advisors and managers finish out the top ten list with average taxable salaries of $155,882.