Wages are higher in Australia Australia has a much larger population than New Zealand and a bigger job market. With so much competition, many businesses can offer higher salaries to Australian workers. New Zealand's medium hourly wage for women is $26.37, while in Australia, it is $37.02.
But when the Australian Bureau of Statistics is reporting the average wage across the ditch was A$94,000 - equivalent to $102,500 - last November and Statistics New Zealand says the average weekly earnings equates to an annual wage of $77,844 in the year to December 2022, the pay gap is surely tempting.
A2– The average salary in Australia is relatively high compared to many other countries due to their strong economy, high cost of living, and labor laws.
Australia offers more career opportunities and big cities with a fast-paced lifestyle, while New Zealand values work-life balance and outdoor activities, with smaller cities and a slower pace of life. Let's delve deeper into the work-life balance and lifestyle of each country to help you make an informed decision.
Australia is a much lower taxing country, especially in terms of income tax. This affects incentives to work, save, and invest. Prosperity does not come by accident. Australia has a stronger political consensus around policies for growth, which contributes to investor confidence.
Current employment law provides very weak support for collective bargaining compared to most of Europe. New Zealand wages are therefore low both compared to the rest of the OECD and to what the economy could afford.
Both Australia and New Zealand are well known for having a high quality of education and healthcare, but when it comes to overall lifestyle, New Zealand has the upper hand.
Australia is one of the main destinations for New Zealanders looking for a change of scenery, better climate, job opportunities/or they want to earn more, be closer to family/friends, a new lifestyle or simply a change because we can move to Australia so easily from NZ.
While the cost of living in Australia is generally higher than in the UK, it offers a high quality of life and a great lifestyle. Ultimately, the decision to move to either country depends on personal preferences and circumstances.
Although Australia has not been immune from an increase in the cost of living in the past year, it has been much less severe and perhaps less noticeable, and the national median average salary is higher at $65,000 (£35,800) versus £33,000 in the UK in 2022.
When looking at take-home pay, the average net salary after tax is $4088.13/month (£2,224.76) in London and $4277.05/month (£2327.57) in Melbourne. The average net salary (after tax) is much higher in Sydney at $5043.59/month (£2,746.34), and in Perth at $4454.83/month (£2425.74).
Is $100,000 salary good in Australia? Given that 50% of the population is earning less than $79,800, a salary of $100,000 puts you in the top half.
Although the cost of living varies significantly between the two countries, the average salary in Australia is much higher than that of the UK and is combined with fantastic employee benefits.
Australia's maximum 47 per cent rate is 8 percentage points higher than New Zealand (39 per cent), about 5 percentage points above the US (a figure which includes an estimated average state income tax) and 2 percentage points higher than the UK.
Life in New Zealand tends to move at a more relaxed pace. In 2019, New Zealand was ranked as the second safest country in the world. New Zealand has a lower crime rate than Australia. Plus, you won't have to worry about any snakes!
New Zealand is less expensive than Australia; however, the margin isn't that big. Similar to Australia, some cities and towns are more expensive than others. Auckland, the biggest city, is the most costly. Statistics estimate that a single person needs $2,989 and a family $5,322 to live comfortably enough.
Reporting that they are in far better health, more satisfied with their life, and making the top 10 in the World Happiness report Australians are clearly happier with their lifestyle down under.
Australia is one of the most popular destinations for British expats. Perhaps it's the climate, the common language, or the promise of barbecues at Christmas. The last Australian census in 2016 revealed that out of the total population of 23.4 million, 6.1 million people residing in Australia were born overseas.
Due to Australia's history as a colony of Britain, the two nations retain significant shared threads of cultural heritage, many of which are common to all English-speaking countries. English is the de facto language of both nations. Both legal systems are based on the common law.
New Zealand is more about mountains, lush rolling hills, forests, lakes and waterfalls, while over in Australia you have bushland, tropical rainforest, ancient stone escarpments and red desert. Both countries have gorgeous coastlines with remote beaches and are wonderful places to work and travel.
In 2016, 93,251 Victorians were New Zealand born. Most spoke English at home, while 1.5% spoke Maori. Migrants from New Zealand are largely Anglo-Celtic, and over half are Christian. The community largely lives in urban Melbourne, particularly in the local government areas of Casey and Boorondara.
The Māori population in Australia remained marginal until the 1960s. During the second half of the 20th and early 21st centuries, thousands of Māori would emigrate from New Zealand to pursue employment opportunities in blue collar occupations such as shearing, construction, manufacturing, and mining.
While Australians have a reputation of being friendly, New Zealand "does it even better", the report says. New Zealand was named one of the easiest places in the world to settle in, coming in fifth place, while Australia ranked 20th.
New Zealand has made the World Happiness Report's list of the world's top ten happiest countries ahead of Australia's ranking of number 12, says Sky News host James Macpherson. “I put it down to Jacinda Ardern leaving government – that must explain why Kiwis are so happy,” Mr Macpherson said.
The weather.
Yes, Australia is warmer, but for about three months of the year you can barely go outside because it's so hot. In NZ there's a far more temperate climate. It might be colder in winter, but it's easier to bundle up for a couple of months than it is to be constantly sweating from October to March.