Paramedic salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a paramedic is $148,300 per annum, before tax, up $31,000 since 2018.
Paramedics are employed by state and territory ambulance services under enterprise agreements, so pay for the same work varies depending on which service employs you. Shift penalties and loadings for nights, weekends and public holidays add to the base rate, as do years of service and clinical grade, with intensive care paramedics paid above road paramedics. Pay in private providers, mining and remote sites and non-emergency patient transport is set separately and varies more widely.
How to negotiate a higher paramedic salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time paramedic salary is $148,300; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Use demand as leverage. Paramedics are on the national skills shortage list, so employers are more likely to move on price to keep or attract someone in a role they're struggling to fill.
- Lead with what's scarce, not just tenure. Skills like Clinical assessment and treatment and Medication management tend to command a premium over general paramedic experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- Time it deliberately. Reviews, the end of a project you delivered, or taking on responsibility beyond your job description are stronger moments to ask than an arbitrary date on the calendar.
- Ask for a number, not a raise. "Based on the market rate and [specific contribution], I'd like to move to X" gets a clearer answer than "I think I deserve more."
Paramedic salary questions
How much do paramedics earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a paramedic is $148,300 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is paramedic pay rising or falling?
The median paramedic salary is up $31,000 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.