Australia's highest paid jobs revealed

Australian tax payers among the winners in Budget 2019 Source: SBS

Ever wondered which jobs in Australia pay the highest salaries? The latest taxation statistics by the Australian Taxation Office reveal people working in the field of medicine, engineering and finance take home some of the highest salaries in Australia.

UPDAT

It was during studying for his Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, or MBBS, at the University of Melbourne that Karan Sinha developed a particular interest in psychology.

“While studying MBBS, I enjoyed psychology the most. I was also into spirituality and completely believe in the Hindu philosophy of dealing with the mind to overcome our problems. That’s how I decided to become a psychiatrist,” Dr Karan Sinha says

But it took an additional six years of psychiatry training at Monash Hospital before he qualified.

“It is a long period of training and sometimes it can be trying. There are night shifts and weekend shifts,” he says.

The Australian Taxation Office has revealed that Dr Sinha’s profession was amongst the highest paid in Australia in the year 2016-17.

“Yes, it can be a rewarding job. We put in an average of 13 to 15 years of training so we are rewarded for the hard work we put in,” he says.

Supplied

But it is not money that motivates him.

“I want to help people. I have helped people crippled with depression and anxiety and then a few months later, they are happy in their lives and that gives me a lot of satisfaction.

“People suffer the most when they are suffering from mental illness. I can help those people and that is what motivates me the most,” says Karan who specialises in psychotherapy and advocates of a holistic approach to Mental Health.

His profession, Psychiatrist, has been ranked at number five in the top ten list of Australia’s highest earners revealed by the Australian Taxation Officerecently.

Surgeons come out on the top of the list, while anaesthetists and internal medicine specialists rank 2nd and 3rd respectively.

The top ten also includes CEOs, managers, financial dealers and Mining engineer.

Whilst these occupations reflect pay across Australia on an average per annum, there are some differences in the highest paying jobs for each state.

Professions like the IT Sales professional, Economists and Dental Practitioner have not made it to the list of top ten in Australia but rank within the top ten in states.

In ACT, IT Sales Professional have ranked at number 9 with an average salary of $149,008 per annum, while Dental Practitioner has ranked at number 9 with $146,431 in South Australia and at number 8 with $172,372 in Tasmania.

In New South Wales, the 10th spot is taken by Economists with an average pay of $158,297 per annum.