According to data released by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the nation’s more than 10,000 mining engineers rank among Australia’s top ten highest-earning occupations by average taxable income.
Mining engineers come in at seventh, with an average income of $206,423 – just edging out legal professionals by $15 and earning more than the average chief executive officer or managing director ($194,987).
Surgeons top the list with $472,475, followed by anaesthetists ($447,193) and financial dealers ($355,233). The ATO figures are drawn from individual tax data for the 2022–23 financial year.
The strong average earnings of mining engineers reflect the ongoing demand for technical expertise in mine design, planning and operations. Within the field, petroleum engineers command even higher salaries, averaging $219,838 a year. By comparison, construction and mining labourers earn an average of $75,869 per year, underscoring the large pay gap between entry-level site roles and engineering-qualified positions.
Women remain a small fraction of Australia’s construction and mining labourer workforce. Of the 223,203 people employed in this category, only 11,273 are female compared with 211,930 males. A consistent gender pay gap also persists within engineering: female mining engineers earned $162,223 on average, compared with $208,946 for men.
That disparity is evident across other mining roles as well. For instance, female blasting workers earn an average of $108,969, while male blasting workers take home $128,653. Across the occupation group of 4,051 blasting workers, the average annual income sits at $126,320.
Despite their smaller numbers, female construction and mining labourers earned an average annual income of $65,068 (around $1,251 per week), while men earned $76,444 annually (about $1,470 per week). The overall average across the category was $75,869 a year, or roughly $1,460 per week.
In other mining-related categories, crane chasers reported an average annual income of $108,257, while driller’s assistants earned slightly more at $109,428—reflecting the physical demands and technical skills required in drilling and site operations.
Mining labourers followed closely with an average salary of $101,369, positioning the role among the higher-paid general labour categories.
Taken together, the data shows incomes ranging from the mid-$80,000s to above $110,000 depending on the specific role and operational exposure.
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