How Much Does a Vet Earn in Australia? 2026 Salary Guide

A veterinarian in Australia earns a median of about $60 an hour, which works out to roughly $118,600 a year for someone working a standard 38-hour week. That figure comes from the Australian Veterinary Association's most recent workforce survey, which collected responses from 2,187 registered vets across the country.

But that single number hides a lot. An employed vet in a suburban clinic and a locum covering weekend emergency shifts are doing similar work for very different money. Here is what the spread actually looks like.

Hourly rates: AVA Veterinary Workforce Survey 2023/24. Annual figures are our own calculation based on 38 hours a week over 52 weeks, and exclude superannuation.

For comparison, job ads tell a similar story from a different angle. Seek's advertised averages for veterinarian roles in 2026 sit around $100,000 to $107,000 across the major capitals, and the Veterinary Jobs Marketplace July 2026 Australian benchmark puts the lower end at $109,000, the midpoint at $158,000 and the upper end at $180,000.

Vet salary by experience level

Veterinary pay climbs steeply in the first decade and then flattens. The AVA data shows the biggest jumps happen between your late twenties and late thirties.

Source: AVA Veterinary Workforce Survey 2023/24.

Graduate vets

New graduates typically start between $65,000 and $80,000 base, with most advertised graduate roles clustering around the low seventies. On top of that, expect superannuation, and in a good practice, paid professional development, AVA membership and veterinary board registration.

The legal floor is set by the Animal Care and Veterinary Services Award (MA000118), which has its own classification ladder for veterinary surgeons running from Level 1A through to Level 4. Award minimums rose 4.75% from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. Most practices pay well above the award, but it is worth knowing the floor exists.

Mid-career and senior vets

By your mid thirties the median lands near $118,000. Growth after that is slower and comes mostly from three things: moving into practice ownership, taking on emergency or after-hours work, or specialising.

Vet salary by state and city

Location matters less than most people expect. The AVA data shows a spread of only about $9 an hour between the highest and lowest paying states.

Source: AVA Veterinary Workforce Survey 2023/24.

Advertised salaries on Seek follow a similar pattern across the capitals, with Sydney and Perth typically at the higher end and Brisbane at the lower end.

Does working regionally pay more?

This is the finding that surprises most people. The AVA data shows metropolitan vets earn a median hourly rate that is marginally higher than regional vets, not lower. The commonly repeated claim that regional practice pays a big premium does not hold up in the numbers.

What regional roles do offer is leverage. In the AVA survey, 44% of regional vacancies took more than 12 months to fill or were never filled, compared with 28% in metro areas. In single-vet practices, 70% of vacancies took over a year. If you are willing to work regionally, you are negotiating from a much stronger position, and that is where relocation assistance, sign-on bonuses and flexible rosters come from.

If you are looking at a specific city, we work with vets across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra.

How much do vets earn per hour, week and month?

Most vets are paid an annual salary, but it helps to see the same money broken down. These figures assume a 38-hour week and exclude superannuation.

Hourly rates from the AVA Veterinary Workforce Survey 2023/24. Weekly, monthly and annual figures are our calculations.

Two things distort these numbers in practice. Around 30% of vets do on-call work, and 30.5% work part-time, most commonly for family care or personal preference. If you are comparing a job offer against these figures, check whether on-call is paid as an allowance, as time off in lieu, or not at all.

Vet salary by role and practice type

Small animal vets

Small animal practice is where 70% of Australian clinical vets work, and it pays a median of $60 an hour, about $118,600 a year. It also carries almost no on-call burden. The median on-call hours for small animal vets in the AVA survey was zero.

Production animal vets

The highest-paying practice focus at a median of $62 an hour, about $122,500 a year. On-call is modest, with a median of 9 hours a week.

Mixed practice vets

Median $51 an hour, about $100,800 a year, with a median 22 hours a week on call and 5 hours of actual callbacks. Lower pay for meaningfully harder conditions.

Equine vets

The lowest-paying focus at a median of $50 an hour, about $98,800 a year, and the heaviest on-call load at a median of 25.5 hours a week. Equine vets also work the longest weeks of any group.

Veterinary surgeons and specialists

Only 5.7% of Australian vets are registered specialists, with medicine and surgery the largest fields. Specialisation requires a residency and board certification, and it commands a substantial premium. Industry benchmarking suggests surgery-focused roles run around 35% above general practice, and full specialty roles in emergency, referral, internal medicine, oncology and ophthalmology can sit 50% or more above general practice rates.

Emergency and after-hours vets

Emergency work pays a premium, both through base rates and through penalty rates under the award for weekend, public holiday and shift work. It is also the work most associated with burnout, and after-hours load is one of the main reasons vets leave clinical practice.

Locum vets

The highest median hourly rate in the profession at $80 an hour, roughly $158,100 annualised. Locums trade job security, leave and superannuation consistency for rate and flexibility. With more than a third of vacancies going unfilled for over a year, locum demand is strong.

Practice owners

A median of $66 an hour, about $130,400 a year, though this has by far the widest spread of any group. Ownership is also becoming less common as a path. Corporate-owned practices grew from 2% of the profession in 2012 to 23% in 2023/24.

Veterinary nurses

For comparison, veterinary nurses in Australia average around $73,500 a year. Vet nurses are covered by the non-veterinary classification stream of the same award, running from an introductory level through to Level 5 practice manager.

Vet salary by employer type

Not every vet works in a clinic. Around 15% work outside clinical practice, and the money is competitive.

Source: AVA Veterinary Workforce Survey 2023/24.

Government and industry roles pay slightly above clinical practice, usually with no on-call and more predictable hours.

Do vets get paid well in Australia?

The honest answer is that vets earn moderately above the national average, and considerably less than the length and cost of their training would suggest.

The median vet in clinical practice earns about $118,600 a year on our calculation. Average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults in Australia were $2,083.70 in May 2026, which annualises to roughly $108,350. So a median vet earns around 9% more than the average Australian full-time worker.

Now weigh that against what it costs to get there. The AVA found that 62.4% of vets carried debt at graduation, and for those who graduated in 2021 or later the median debt was $84,640. Half of all vets with graduate debt are still paying it off. Median repayment time is 5 years for men and 8 years for women.

That is a five to seven year degree, a five-figure debt, and a 9% premium over the national average.

There is also a persistent and large gender gap. Median hourly rate for women in the profession is $56, against $70.50 for men. Some of that reflects hours and seniority, since men in the survey skewed older and worked slightly longer weeks, but the gap is wide enough that hours alone do not explain it. This matters because the profession is now roughly 70% women, up from 54% in 2012.

Where the profession does pay well: demand is extraordinary. More than a third of advertised vet roles took over 12 months to fill or were never filled. In a market like that, an experienced vet who is willing to move, do relief work or take on after-hours has real pricing power.

What affects a vet's salary?

Experience. The steepest gains come in the first ten years. Between 25 and 39 the median rate goes from $43 to $60 an hour.

Practice focus. Production and small animal pay best. Equine and mixed practice pay least and demand the most on-call.

Role. Locum work pays the highest hourly rate. Employed vets earn the least. Ownership sits in between with far more risk and far more upside.

Hours and on-call. Median hours are 38 a week for women and 40 for men. On-call is where equine and mixed practice vets lose out badly, carrying 22 to 25 hours a week of availability.

Specialisation. A residency and board certification is the single largest step change available, but it is a multi-year commitment on top of the primary degree.

Negotiation. With a third of roles unfilled after a year, most vets are underpricing themselves. Ask what the practice pays for AVA membership, board registration, specialty college dues and CPD. In the AVA survey these were commonly covered, and they are worth real money.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a vet earn in Australia?

The median vet in clinical practice earns about $60 an hour, roughly $118,600 a year on a 38-hour week, based on the AVA's 2023/24 workforce survey. Employed vets earn a median of $55 an hour and locums $80 an hour.

How much do vets make a year in Australia?

Most employed vets earn between $100,000 and $130,000 a year. Graduates start around $65,000 to $80,000. Locums, practice owners and specialists earn more.

How much money does a vet make a month?

A vet on the median rate earns roughly $9,880 a month before tax and before superannuation. A graduate earns around $6,300 to $7,100 a month.

How much do vets get paid an hour in Australia?

The median is $60 an hour across clinical practice. It ranges from about $43 an hour in your late twenties to $74 an hour in your late sixties. Locums earn a median of $80 an hour.

What is a vet's starting salary in Australia?

Graduate vets typically start between $65,000 and $80,000 base, plus superannuation. The Animal Care and Veterinary Services Award sets the legal minimum, which most practices pay well above.

Which state pays vets the most?

The ACT has the highest median hourly rate at $65, followed by New South Wales and the Northern Territory at $62. South Australia is lowest at $56.

Do vets earn more than vet nurses?

Yes, considerably. Vet nurses average around $73,500 a year, against roughly $118,600 for a median vet.

Do vets get paid well?

A median vet earns about 9% more than the average Australian full-time worker, while carrying a median graduate debt of $84,640 for recent graduates. Whether that counts as well paid depends on what you are comparing against.

How much does a veterinary surgeon earn in Australia?

Surgery-focused roles typically run around 35% above general practice rates, and board-certified specialists can sit 50% or more above. Only 5.7% of Australian vets are registered specialists.

How much do emergency vets earn?

Emergency work carries a premium through both base rates and award penalty rates for nights, weekends and public holidays. It also carries the heaviest burnout risk in the profession.

Want a different kind of veterinary career?

Pawssum vets set their own hours and work in clients' homes rather than a clinic. No after-hours roster, no corporate targets, and you choose the days you work. earnings per week can reach between: $4,000 - $8,000 and over.

See vet opportunities with Pawssum

Sources

• Australian Veterinary Association, Veterinary Workforce Survey 2023/24 Analysis Report (2,187 responses, 14.3% of registered vets)
• Australian Bureau of Statistics, Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, May 2026
• Fair Work Ombudsman, Animal Care and Veterinary Services Award 2020 (MA000118), rates effective 1 July 2026
• Jobs and Skills Australia, Veterinarians occupation profile
• Seek, Veterinarian salary, 2026
• Veterinary Jobs Marketplace, Australian Veterinarian Salary Survey, July 2026
• Indeed Australia, Veterinary nurse salary in Australia, July 2026