Australia is facing a large shortage filling vacancies in various sectors with high paying salaries requiring a highly skilled workforce. Sectors such as the Professional Services industry, Healthcare, Construction and Trades, Industrial Engineering and Manufacturing are the areas which prop up the country’s economy. The Australian government’s occupation shortage list names most Engineering professions such as civil, petroleum, mechanical, electrical and aerospace as being in shortage. Furthermore, other lucrative professions in these sectors include Construction Project Management, Surveying, Dentistry, Nursing and Law. Traders too, are in the same situation as the aforementioned. Plumbers, mechanics, electricians, and carpenters have never been needed more in the country’s history.
- The country’s preparation for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics alone will require major preparations and transport projects to be built, which will strain the already weak supply of skilled tradespeople, engineers, lawyers and doctors.
- An aging population and decline of interest in vocational careers has also made this situation worse for the Australian government in trying to attract the younger generation in such traineeships.
- Although mining is not in overall shortage across the naƟon, being one of the country’s main exports, it faces a particular regional shortage in states such as: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania, per the Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA) report in 2024.
- Skilled professions such as Mining can earn you from $90k to $110k AUD (equivalent to £53k GBP) at entry-level.5 Highly skilled technical roles in mining and construcƟon can earn up to $250,000 AUD (£133k GBP). 6 Commercial Lawyers, Medics and Engineers all on average make about $110,000 to $200,000.
The problem of such lucrative careers however, in the UK, is the tax burden that comes with them and the hidden tax trap which appears once you earn over £100k GBP (equivalent to $187k AUD). As previously mentioned because of the highly lucrative rewards that individuals, who are already qualified for the above jobs, enjoy, in the positions in shortage in Australia, effectively lose £1 of their tax-free personal allowance (£12,570) for every £2 of their extra income above the 100k threshold. Therefore, this creates an effective marginal tax rate of 60% on every pound earned between £100,000 and £125,140 (not including the 2% National Insurance tax). Comparatively, in Australia, for income between $45,000 and $135,000 AUD, you pay a flat 30%. From $135,000 to $190,000, you pay 37% and only income above $190,000 is taxed at the highest bracket of 45% (plus a 2% Medicare Levy). This in turn would leave you with a take home of $134,562 AUD when earning a high salary such as $190,000 AUD for example. This would be $4,562 AUD more per year than its equivalent in the UK, which would be a take home of roughly $130,000. The higher up the ranks of your chosen lucrative profession, the beƩer the tax situation gets in Australia. For example, a high earning salary of $285,000 AUD (£150k GBP), which is commonly seen amongst Commercial Solicitors, Healthcare and Medical Specialists, such as surgeons and GPs, Engineers, Finance Managers and Construction Managers, a take home of $184,912 AUD would be expected which is roughly an additional $13,368 AUD in comparison to a take home equivalent of $171,544 AUD in the UK.
Therefore, a high-earning individual should look towards emigrating to Australia not only for its job prospects but also because of its financial upgrade. While the UK’s system inadvertently penalises ambitious individuals regarding upward career mobility, through hidden thresholds and compounding tax traps, Australia’s tax architecture rewards individuals with a specialised skill set who are looking for financial growth and for their money to last them longer. Moving to Australia, therefore, means that a hard-earned gross salary can be transformed into tangible, investable wealth, ensuring that the rewards of a highly skilled career stay right where they belong: in your pocket.
