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Veterinarian salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a veterinarian is $125,500 per annum, before tax, up $26,100 since 2018.
What a veterinarian earns depends heavily on the type of practice and the hours attached to it. Emergency and specialist hospitals, corporate practice groups and government employers set their own scales, and after-hours or on-call rosters are usually paid at a higher rate than ordinary daytime work. Rural and mixed practices often include housing or a vehicle in the package, which changes what an offer is worth, and practice ownership is where earnings rise most over a career.
Roles that pay more than veterinarian
The largest typical pay rise is $26,500 a year, moving into University Lecturer.
- University Lecturer+$26,500/yr
How to negotiate a higher veterinarian salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time veterinarian salary is $125,500; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Use demand as leverage. Veterinarians 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 Animal care and handling and Clinical assessment and treatment tend to command a premium over general veterinarian experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- Bring a real alternative to the table. University Lecturer pays a typical $26,500 a year more and draws on similar skills, even mentioning you're weighing it up is a legitimate data point in a pay conversation.
- 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."
Veterinarian salary questions
How much do veterinarians earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a veterinarian is $125,500 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is veterinarian pay rising or falling?
The median veterinarian salary is up $26,100 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.
What pays more than veterinarian?
University Lecturer pays a typical $26,500 a year more and draws on similar skills to veterinarian.