8 AU metros · 2026

COL · take-home · PAYG

Australia Relocation Salary Calculator 2026

How much salary do you need in your new Australian city? Compare equivalent salary, after-tax take-home, and cost of living across 8 metros — with federal PAYG (income tax + Medicare levy). For upfront shipping, bond, and flights, use the Australia Relocation Cost Calculator.

🇦🇺NSW🇦🇺VIC🇦🇺QLD🇦🇺WA🇦🇺SA🇦🇺ACT🇦🇺TASCity-to-city moves

By Sammy S. · Founder · AuthorUpdated for 2026

Open calculator Compare cities AU move cash UK cities

AU metros

COL

Cost of living index

PAYG

Federal tax + Medicare

Free

No signup needed

Popular relocation routes

🇦🇺Sydney → Melbourne 🇦🇺Sydney → Brisbane 🇦🇺Melbourne → Brisbane 🇦🇺Sydney → Perth 🇦🇺Melbourne → Adelaide 🇦🇺Brisbane → Adelaide 🇦🇺Perth → Adelaide 🇦🇺Melbourne → Perth

Relocation salary comparison

Compare cost of living and federal PAYG between two Australian cities. See how much salary you need in the new city to maintain purchasing power, and your after-tax take-home in both places — plus ABS median rents, house prices, and bond estimates.

From tax

Federal PAYG

NSW · federal schedule

To tax

Federal PAYG

VIC · same at equal gross

From

Housing & move cash

Results include ABS median weekly rents (as monthly), ABS median house prices, and state/territory bond estimates. Utilities are not modeled. For international shipping and flights, use the Australia Relocation Cost Calculator.

Your salary

We’ll compare take-home pay and the equivalent gross you’d need in the new city.

Current gross annual salary (A$)

Sydney Melbourne

Need $80,017 (-20.0%)

Live comparisonReady

Your relocation comparison

Sydney → Melbourne

Equivalent salary

$80,017

-20.0% less

Sydney take-home

$77,480

Current city / year

Melbourne take-home

$63,892

At equivalent salary

After rent / mo

-$568

vs staying (ABS median rent)

Move verdict

Sydney → Melbourne

You'd be ~$568/mo worse off after tax and housing benchmarks vs staying in Sydney.

✗

Think twice

Required salary: $80,017

COL 117.6 → 94.1 (ABS median rent)

Tax & take-home

Federal PAYG (income tax + Medicare levy) — same schedule in Sydney and Melbourne at equal gross. Private health assumed (MLS $0).

Take-home now

$77,480

$100,000 gross

At equivalent in Melbourne

$63,892

$80,017 gross

Same gross in Melbourne

$77,480

Keep $100,000 gross

Housing (ABS median rent & bond)

ABS median weekly rent by state/territory, shown as monthly (weekly × 52 ÷ 12) for April 2025. Confirm with local listings.

Sydney median rent

$2,817

A$650/wk · 33.8% of current gross

Melbourne median rent

$2,253

A$520/wk · 33.8% of equivalent gross · Moderate

Rent Δ / month

-$564

-$6,768/year

Bond estimate Δ

-$347

$2,600 → $2,253

Bond (state/territory cap estimate): $2,600 → $2,253 (-$347)

Maximum rental bond is 4 weeks’ rent. Bond must be lodged with NSW Fair Trading (Rental Bonds Online). Bond generally cannot exceed one month’s rent when weekly rent is $900 or less. Above $900/week there is no fixed statutory maximum (VCAT may set a higher bond).

Sydney (NSW) · Melbourne (VIC)

ABS median established house price

ABS Total Value of Dwellings medians (June Quarter 2026). Utilities are not modeled on this tool.

Sydney house

$1,487,600

established

Melbourne house

$850,000

established

Sydney attached

$840,000

attached dwelling

Melbourne attached

$590,000

attached dwelling

What-if offer

Model take-home in Melbourne at a different offered gross (federal PAYG).

Offer gross (A$)

Take-home at offer

$63,892

vs current take-home

-17.5%

vs COL equivalent

-$0

gross gap to equivalent

Negotiate

Anchor band around the COL-adjusted equivalent (±5%):

$76,016 – $84,018

“Based on ABS median weekly rent cost-of-living indexes, keeping purchasing power when moving from Sydney to Melbourne points to about $80,017 gross (-20.0% vs my current $100,000). After federal PAYG, that’s roughly $63,892 take-home. Can we land in the $76,016–$84,018 band?”

Open Sydney → Melbourne compare page

How it works

COL formula

Equiv. salary = current × (COL new / COL current)

After-tax comparison

Federal PAYG + Medicare — same at equal gross in every city

Move cash separately

Shipping & bonds: Australia Relocation Cost Calculator

Top cities: purchasing power

Lower COL index = dollar goes further (ABS median rent COL; Australia = 100).

Hobart

77.8

Adelaide

89.5

Melbourne

94.1

Brisbane

101.3

Gold Coast

101.3

Canberra

107.6

Perth

110.9

Sydney

117.6

Compare city pairs

Related tools

Australia Relocation Cost

Shipping, bond & flights in AUD

Metro Paychecks Australia

A$100k take-home by city

Australia Tax Calculator

Federal PAYG + Medicare personalize

UK Relocation Salary

COL-adjusted UK city pay

AU city salary compares

Locked vignette corridors

Key takeaways

Engine vignette: A$100,000 in Sydney → about $80,017 in Melbourne (-20%) to match purchasing power.
Sydney → Hobart on the same gross needs about $66,156 (Hobart COL 77.8; federal PAYG at destination).
Equivalent gross = current gross × (destination COL ÷ origin COL). Take-home uses federal PAYG (income tax + Medicare levy).
Australian personal income tax is federal only — modeled take-home at equal gross is the same in every city.
COL indexes are ABS median weekly rents by state/territory (April 2025; released 28 May 2025), Australia = 100 (mean of the eight jurisdictions). Gold Coast uses the Queensland rent series.

How it works

Pick current and new city. Choose from the eight Australian metros. State labels are for housing/bond context — PAYG is federal.
Enter your current gross. Annual salary before tax in AUD — the amount you earn in your current city.
Read equivalent salary. See the gross needed in the new city for matching purchasing power, plus take-home comparisons.
Compare corridors. Open popular city pairs on the compare hub for locked vignette scoreboards.

Australian city COL indexes (ABS median rent)

ABS median weekly rent by state/territory ÷ mean of the eight ABS jurisdictions × 100 — Australia = 100. Gold Coast uses the Queensland series.

City	State	COL	Tax
Sydney	NSW	117.6	Federal PAYG
Perth	WA	110.9	Federal PAYG
Canberra	ACT	107.6	Federal PAYG
Brisbane	QLD	101.3	Federal PAYG
Gold Coast	QLD	101.3	Federal PAYG
Melbourne	VIC	94.1	Federal PAYG
Adelaide	SA	89.5	Federal PAYG
Hobart	TAS	77.8	Federal PAYG

Federal PAYG — same take-home at equal gross

Australian personal income tax is federal only. Modeled take-home (income tax + Medicare levy) matches at equal gross in every city. COL drives the equivalent-gross target; state labels matter for bond rules and housing context, not PAYG brackets.

Negotiation tips

Anchor on equivalent gross. Ask for destination pay near the COL-adjusted figure — not only a flat regional discount.
Separate cash from salary. One-time move costs (shipping, bonds) belong in a relocation package, not buried in base pay.
Don’t expect state tax relief. Federal PAYG take-home matches at equal gross — the gap is COL and housing, not state income tax.

Myths vs facts

Myth: Same take-home in two Australian cities means the same lifestyle.

Fact: Federal PAYG take-home matches at equal gross; ABS rent COL indexes (e.g. Sydney 117.6 vs Melbourne 94.1) drive purchasing-power targets.

Myth: COL-adjusted salary is what the ATO taxes.

Fact: The ATO taxes your actual taxable pay. The equivalent salary is a negotiation / planning target only.

Myth: This tool uses Domain or Cotality market rents for salary equivalence.

Fact: Salary equivalence uses ABS median weekly rents by state/territory only — not Domain, realestate.com.au, or Cotality market estimates.

Myth: Moving interstate always means lower (or higher) tax.

Fact: There is no state personal income tax on this model. Run your gross through the COL ratio before assuming a permanent gap.

Glossary

Equivalent gross: Salary needed in the destination so that purchasing power matches origin — computed as origin gross × (COL_new / COL_current).
COL index (ABS median rent): ABS median weekly rent by state/territory ÷ mean of the eight jurisdictions × 100 (April 2025); Australia = 100.
ABS median weekly rent: Official state/territory median weekly rent from the ABS CPI rents insights release, converted to monthly as weekly × 52 ÷ 12 for affordability and bond stress-tests.
Bond estimate: State/territory statutory bond-cap estimate from published weeks or months of rent rules — confirm locally and lodge with the bond authority.
Federal PAYG: Resident income tax + Medicare levy for tax year 2026–27 (private health assumed; Medicare levy surcharge $0 on this model).

Who this helps

Employees negotiating an Australian city transfer or hybrid location change.
Candidates weighing Sydney vs regional offers on purchasing power.
Anyone comparing metro rents alongside federal PAYG take-home.

Common mistakes

Accepting a lower regional gross without checking the COL ratio.
Assuming a different state changes PAYG take-home at the same gross.
Treating state-level ABS medians as a guarantee for your exact suburb.
Forgetting HELP/HECS or salary sacrifice when personalizing take-home.

Checklist

Remember federal PAYG take-home matches at equal gross — negotiate on COL, not state tax.
Align offer gross with the COL-adjusted equivalent — not just headline pay.
Stress-test ABS median weekly rent (as monthly) and bond against take-home in the results panel.
Add HELP/HECS or salary sacrifice on the Australia tax calculator if they apply.
Budget shipping and flights separately on the Australia relocation cost calculator.

How we estimate Australia relocation equivalent salary

Equivalent gross = current gross × (destination COL index ÷ origin COL index). COL indexes are ABS median weekly rents by state/territory (April 2025; released 28 May 2025), Australia = 100 (mean of eight jurisdictions A$552.875/wk). Gold Coast uses the Queensland rent series.

Take-home uses the same federal PAYG engine as the Australia tax calculator for tax year 2026–27 (resident income tax + Medicare levy). Private hospital cover is assumed so Medicare levy surcharge is $0. Take-home at equal gross is identical in every city.

Filing assumption: resident employee, private health, no HELP/HECS, no salary-sacrifice super beyond the employer guarantee path — personalize on the Australia tax calculator when those apply.

Results also show ABS median weekly rents (as monthly), ABS Total Value of Dwellings median house prices (June Quarter 2026), and state/territory bond-cap estimates. Utilities are not modeled. Shipping and flights belong on the Australia relocation cost calculator.

Not included

HELP/HECS repayments
Salary-sacrifice / concessional super beyond standard employer SG framing
Medicare levy surcharge (private health assumed)
Utilities (not modeled — no official city utilities series on this tool)
Shipping, visas, and childcare (use relocation cost / local quotes)
Non-housing goods and services (COL is rent-relative, not a full consumer basket)
Domain / realestate.com.au / Cotality market rent estimates (not used for salary equivalence)

FAQ

It estimates the equivalent gross salary you need in a new Australian city to keep purchasing power, using ABS median weekly rent COL indexes by state/territory, then shows after-tax take-home with federal PAYG (income tax + Medicare levy) — plus ABS median rents (as monthly), ABS median house prices, and state/territory bond estimates. Utilities are not modeled.

Equivalent gross = current gross × (new city COL ÷ current city COL). Sydney’s COL index is 117.6 and Melbourne’s is 94.1, so Melbourne needs about -20% less gross than Sydney for the same rent-relative purchasing-power target before tax.

On the locked vignette (A$100,000 gross in Sydney), matching purchasing power in Melbourne needs about $80,017 (-20%).

No on this model — Australian personal income tax is federal only. Tax year 2026–27 PAYG (income tax + Medicare levy) is the same at equal gross in every city. Private hospital cover is assumed (Medicare levy surcharge $0); HELP/HECS is not modeled on the locked vignette.

Yes — they are derived from ABS median weekly rents by state/territory (April 2025; released 28 May 2025). Each city’s index is its jurisdiction’s median weekly rent ÷ the simple mean of the eight ABS jurisdictions (A$552.875/wk) × 100. Gold Coast uses the Queensland series (ABS does not publish a separate Gold Coast rent median in this release). We do not use Domain, realestate.com.au, or Cotality market estimates for salary equivalence.

Median weekly rents are from ABS latest insights into the rental market (April 2025); monthly figures are weekly × 52 ÷ 12. House prices are ABS Total Value of Dwellings medians (June Quarter 2026) — Gold Coast uses Rest of Qld. Bond estimates use official state/territory bond-cap rules (typically around four weeks’ rent). Utilities are not modeled.

Equivalent gross scales with the ABS rent COL index. Results also show separate rent, house-price, and bond stress-tests. For international shipping and flights, use the Australia Relocation Cost Calculator.

Use the UK Relocation Salary Calculator for UK corridors, or the Relocation Salary Calculator for US and Canada. This tool is Australian city-to-city only.