Plastic Surgeon
Plastic surgeons rebuild the body after trauma, disease or a birth condition and reshape appearance, working on skin, muscle, bone and the blood vessels that keep tissue alive.
- Median salary*
- $223,600
4.1%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 470
6.0%vs last year
- Projected growth*
- +9%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Low
- automation risk
- Average hours*
- 48/wk
+8h vs all jobs
- Shortage status*
- Not in shortage
national
Most plastic surgeons split their week between public hospital operating lists, where reconstructive work such as burns, hand injuries and cancer reconstruction is done, and private practice, where cosmetic surgery is more common. It is a small specialty, with about 470 people working as plastic surgeons in Australia, and entry to training takes several years of hospital medicine. Unlike general surgeons, who mostly operate within the abdomen and chest, plastic surgeons work across the whole body and often move tissue from one part of it to another.
How much do plastic surgeons earn?
The median full-time salary for a plastic surgeon is $223,600 per annum, before tax, up $46,800 since 2018.
What a plastic surgeon earns depends heavily on the mix of public and private work. Salaried hospital posts follow state enterprise agreements with loadings for on-call and after-hours surgery, while private practice pays a fee for each procedure, so income rises with caseload, reputation and the type of surgery you do. Subspecialty matters too, since craniofacial and microsurgery posts sit in major hospitals, and cosmetic practices depend on where patients are willing to travel.
What does a plastic surgeon do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Assessing whether a patient is physically and psychologically ready for reconstructive or cosmetic surgery, and explaining what an operation can and cannot achieve
- Operating on burns, facial fractures, hand injuries and skin cancers, often as part of an on-call trauma team
- Carrying out microsurgery to reconnect blood vessels and move tissue, such as breast reconstruction after cancer
- Repairing cleft lips and palates and other congenital conditions, usually alongside a paediatric team
- Running postoperative clinics, watching for wound problems and infection, and supervising registrars in theatre
What skills do plastic surgeons need?
Employers look for clinical assessment and treatment, patient care and support, infection control and hygiene, backed by Epic fluency and strong attention to detail.
Specialist skills
- Clinical assessment and treatment
- Patient care and support
- Infection control and hygiene
Software and tools
- Epic
- Sectra PACS
- Materialise ProPlan CMF
- Crisalix
- DICOM viewing software
General skills
- Attention to detail
- Problem solving
- Written communication
- People leadership
- Time and deadline management
Is the job growing?
About 470 people work as plastic surgeons in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 9% over the decade to 2035. That's modest growth: demand is steady rather than booming.
How do you become a plastic surgeon?
Here's the path most plastic surgeons take, step by step.
- 1Complete a medical degree
Entry is through an accredited medical program, usually five to six years for school leavers or four years for graduates, followed by an intern year in a teaching hospital.
- 2Gain general registration
The intern year and a further year of supervised practice lead to general registration through the Medical Board of Australia and AHPRA, which you need before applying for specialist training.
- 3Work as a resident medical officer in surgical terms
Most applicants spend two or three pre-vocational years rotating through surgical units, building operating experience and referees, on a salary well below a consultant's.
- 4Enter plastic surgery training
Selection through the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons is competitive, and the SET program runs about five to six years of hospital rotations, exams and a research requirement.
- 5Fellowship and subspecialty training
Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS) allows independent practice, and many surgeons add a post-fellowship year in hand, craniofacial or microsurgery before settling into a public post or private practice.
Ready to apply as a plastic surgeon?
Whether you're working toward becoming a plastic surgeon or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a plastic surgeon move to?
We don't list lateral moves for plastic surgeons: leaving means a full new qualification rather than a career move, and the realistic routes in are covered under how to become one.
Who works as a plastic surgeon?
The typical plastic surgeon is 47 years old; 78% are men, 83% work full-time, and full-timers average 48 hours a week.
- 47
- Median age
- 22%
- Female share
- 83%
- Full-time
- +8h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a plastic surgeon?
The week is long and structured, averaging 48 hours for full-time plastic surgeons across theatre lists, clinics, ward rounds and on-call. A lot of the work is planned in advance, so the satisfaction comes from slow, measurable improvement in how a patient looks or functions rather than from quick fixes. It tends to suit people who can hold precision and concentration over long operations and who are comfortable making decisions about someone's face or hands.
What people like
- Visible results. Reconstructing a hand, closing a wound that would not heal or rebuilding a breast after cancer gives you an outcome you can see and often measure.
- Anatomy that keeps changing. A week can move from a cleft palate repair on a child to a skin cancer excision to a cosmetic consultation, so no two lists use quite the same skill set.
- Following patients over years. Reconstructive work often involves several operations and long follow-up, so you get to know families and see how the result holds up.
- Teaching and research. Registrars, audits and clinical research are part of the role, and many surgeons keep a teaching or academic appointment alongside their operating.
What people find hard
- A long training pathway. You are likely to be well into your thirties before independent practice, and the years before that combine shift work, exams and moving between hospitals.
- On-call and emergency work. Burns, open fractures and severe lacerations arrive without notice, so planned theatre time is regularly interrupted and the roster includes nights and weekends.
- Emotionally heavy cases. Treating children with congenital conditions, or a patient whose cancer has returned, is demanding, and conversations about what surgery cannot fix are part of the job.
- Running a practice as well as operating. In private practice you also run a clinic, with rooms, staff, marketing and the pressure to keep operating lists full sitting alongside the clinical work.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ plastic surgeons?
Hospitals employs the largest share of plastic surgeons, followed by Specialist medical services.
Top employing industries
- 1Hospitals
- 2Specialist medical services
- 3Day surgery centres
- 4Medical research services
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 52% | |
|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate | 26% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 13% | |
| Other | 9% |
Will AI replace plastic surgeons?
Plastic surgery is one of the least exposed medical specialties, because the core of the job is operating by hand on tissue that differs from one patient to the next. Imaging and planning software already helps surgeons rehearse an operation, and that will keep improving, but it does not perform the surgery or make the call on how far a reconstruction should go.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Operating in theatreMost of the week is spent cutting, grafting and stitching, and a free flap depends on feel and on watching the colour and flow of tissue in real time.45%low
- Preoperative planning and imagingYou review scans in Sectra PACS and build a virtual plan in software such as Materialise ProPlan CMF to shape a jaw or position a plate before the operation.20%moderate
- Postoperative care and ward roundsChecking a wound for infection or a flap for circulation is a hands-on assessment that no monitor or alert replaces.20%low
- Clinics, patient discussions and recordsExplaining what an operation can and cannot achieve takes a smaller slice of the week, and drafting tools may speed up the paperwork rather than the conversation.15%low
Common questions about becoming a plastic surgeon
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much does a plastic surgeon earn in Australia?
The median is $223,600 per annum, before tax. It is a guide rather than a fixed rate, because private fee-for-service work pays very differently from a salaried hospital post, and subspecialty and on-call load move the figure further.
How do you become a plastic surgeon?
Start with a medical degree, then an intern year and general registration with AHPRA, followed by several years as a hospital doctor before selection into plastic surgery training with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. The training program itself runs about five to six years and finishes with fellowship (FRACS).
Are plastic surgeons in demand in Australia?
Plastic surgeons are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 9% over the decade to 2035. The workforce is small, so most openings come from retirement or surgeons leaving the specialty, and the work is concentrated in major public hospitals and city private practices.
Will AI replace plastic surgeons?
No. Planning software already helps map cuts and plates before an operation, with tools such as Materialise ProPlan CMF and Sectra PACS used to rehearse a jaw reconstruction or a facial fracture repair. The operation itself remains hands-on work in living tissue, and how much tissue to move or when to stop is a decision made in the room.
What can a plastic surgeon move into?
Resident medical officers are the main group moving into plastic surgery training, and plastic surgeons earn $119,600 more than resident medical officers, which reflects the length of specialist training. Many also go on to open their own private practice, which is often where earnings grow.
Is plastic surgery the same as cosmetic surgery?
No. Cosmetic surgery is one part of plastic surgery, which also covers reconstruction after burns, cancer, trauma and congenital conditions. Most plastic surgeons do some cosmetic work and a few focus almost entirely on it, but the training covers the whole specialty.
Related roles
- Resident Medical Officer
- Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon
- Radiographer
- Vascular Surgeon
- Cardiothoracic Surgeon
- Paediatric Surgeon
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