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Side by side · Reviewed September 4, 2026

United States vs Australia

The same 12 measures, one baseline, both directions. Across the 10 measures that compare like with like, Australia comes out ahead on 1 and the United States on 7, with 2 too close to call. The remaining 2 are healthcare lines that do not reduce to a winner.

1measures won by Australia
7measures won by the US
2too close to call
Similaroverall price level 100 vs 100

Every measure, both sides

United States against Australia, one row per measure. Country figures reviewed September 4, 2026; the US baseline reviewed September 4, 2026. Price indices use a US national average of 100, so a lower number means cheaper.
MeasureUnited StatesAustraliaWhich side wins
Overall price levelconsumer prices including rent, US = 100100100Level within 2% of each other
Rent, 1-bed in the centremonthly average$1,700$1,675Level within 2% of each other
Rent, 1-bed outside the centremonthly average$1,350$1,501United States 10% cheaper
Groceriesindex, US = 100100109United States 8% cheaper
Transportindex, US = 100100107United States 7% cheaper
Utilitiesindex, US = 100100111United States 10% cheaper
Restaurantsindex, US = 100100124United States 19% cheaper
Average net salarymonthly, what local jobs pay$4,230$4,996Australia 18% more, $766/mo
Top income tax rateheadline top bracket, not the effective rate37%45%United States 8 points lower
VAT / sales taxUS figure is an average state and local sales tax7.5%10%United States 2.5 points lower
Healthcare modelhow the cost is collectedMainly private, employer-linkedMixed public and privateNot comparable Different funding, not a score
Typical cover for one adultUS figure is the full employer-sponsored premium, most of it paid by the employer$777/mo$130/moNot comparable One is a payroll benefit, one is a policy you buy

The two healthcare rows are left out of the count because the US number is a premium mostly paid by an employer and the Australia number is not. Read the margins rather than the total: six of the cost rows are components of the same price index, so a cheap country wins them together and the headline score overstates the spread.

The same comparison in dollars a month

A US net income of $4,230 a month buys the average American lifestyle. Reproducing that same basket in Australia, at a price level of 100, costs about $4,230, which is $0 a month more than the same basket costs in the US.

Two ways to arrive, each run through the price level in Australia.
If youMonthly incomeWhat it is worth in Australia
Keep a US-paying job and work remotely$4,230Buys the US average basket for $4,230
Take a local job at the Australia average$4,996Buys what $4,996 buys in the US, 18% above the US average net salary

The same three gaps over a full year:

Same basket, over a year
$0 kept rather than spent
Centre rent, over a year
$300 less than the US average
Local pay against US pay
$9,192 more a year on the local average

Every line uses the overall price index, rent included, and assumes you spend like an average household, which nobody does exactly. The rent figure is a national average for a one-bedroom in a city centre, not a quote for a specific city. Put your own numbers in below.

Run your own income through Australia

The table above uses the US average. Enter what you actually take home and see how the comparison changes.

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Enter your income to see the comparison.

Same lifestyle costs you—
Monthly difference—
1-bed rent, city centre—
1-bed rent, outside centre—
Category price levels, US average = 100
CategoryIndexvs US

A ratio, not a budget: it scales your income by the country's overall consumer price level against the US average. Your actual costs depend on the city and how you live. Rent figures are national market averages for a one-bedroom apartment.

Where Australia sits among the 15 countries compared

The same measures again, this time against the rest of the set rather than against the US. A comparison can look strong on its own and still be mid-table.

Rank is out of the 15 countries with a full comparison. "What local pay buys locally" divides average net pay by the local price level, so it answers a different question from the salary row above.
MeasureAustraliaRank in the setLeaderUnited States
Overall price level10014th of 15Thailand 32100
Rent, 1-bed in the centre$1,67513th of 15Thailand $475$1,700
Average net salary$4,9961st of 15Highest in the set $4,996$4,230
What local pay buys locally$4,9961st of 15Highest in the set $4,996$4,230
Top income tax rate45%5th of 15Mexico 35%37%
VAT / sales tax10%3rd of 15Canada 5%7.5%

What the numbers do not say

The salary column is a local salary

$4,996 a month is what employment in Australia pays on average, not what you would earn there. If you carry a US income with you, the salary row stops applying and only the cost rows matter, which changes the result of this whole page.

US healthcare hides inside the employer

Employer-sponsored single coverage averaged about $777 a month in total premium, most of it paid by the employer, before deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. That cost never appears in a consumer price index, so a raw price comparison flatters the US. Australia collects it differently (Mixed public and private), and what you can actually use depends on your status: Permanent visa holders (subclass 189, 190, 186, 858 and partner visas) can enrol in Medicare as soon as they arrive in Australia. US citizens on temporary visas cannot: Australia has reciprocal health care agreements with eleven countries and the United States is not one of them. Working visa applicants, including subclass 482 and 485, are required to hold Overseas Visitors Health Cover for the length of their stay, and student visa holders must hold Overseas Student Health Cover.

Tax follows your citizenship, not your address

The United States taxes citizens on worldwide income wherever they live, so the tax row is not a swap of one system for another. Australia has an income tax treaty with the US and a totalization agreement, so social contributions are not paid twice. Local tax residency rule: Residents are taxed on worldwide income. Residency is decided by the ordinary 'resides' test plus three statutory tests: domicile (unless your permanent place of abode is outside Australia), presence in Australia for 183 days or more in an income year, and membership of a Commonwealth superannuation scheme. Citizenship is irrelevant. Someone arriving on a multi-year employment contract with their family is normally a resident from the date of arrival. Holders of temporary visas who qualify as 'temporary residents' for tax are generally taxed only on Australian-source income, with most foreign investment income exempt.

Top rates are not what you pay

The table shows 45% against 37%, but those are top brackets. Where the brackets start, what social contributions add, and what deductions exist decide the actual bill. The two sides are not measured the same way: the US figure is the top FEDERAL rate only, before state and city income tax, while many countries' headline rates already include regional or municipal tax. Read the gap as indicative, not as a like-for-like difference. The Australia-US double tax agreement was signed 6 August 1982 and entered into force 31 October 1983, amended by a protocol signed 27 September 2001 and in force from 13 May 2003. Resident rates for 2026-27 are nil to A$18,200, 15% to A$45,000, 30% to A$135,000, 37% to A$190,000 and 45% above, plus a 2% Medicare levy, so the effective top rate is 47%. Because Australian rates run above US rates at most income levels, the US foreign tax credit usually eliminates US liability; the foreign earned income exclusion is capped at $132,900 for 2026. The US-Australia social security agreement has been in force since 1 October 2002 and stops double contributions; self-employed US citizens resident in Australia are exempt from US self-employment tax. The unresolved issue is superannuation: your employer must contribute 12% of salary to a super fund, and the IRS has never settled whether that fund is a foreign grantor trust reportable on Forms 3520 and 3520-A. Get cross-border advice before your first Australian pay run.

Consumption tax lands differently

10% VAT is already inside the shelf price in Australia. The US average sales tax of 7.5% is added at the till and varies by state and city. Comparing the two rates directly overstates the gap you feel at the counter.

National averages hide the city you would live in

Every figure here is a national average. Canberra does not price like the rest of Australia, and the US average is stretched between Manhattan and rural Ohio. Compare the city you would actually move to against the city you are actually leaving.

The exchange rate is a live variable

Local prices and salaries are converted to US dollars so the two columns can be compared. Everything on the Australia side is quoted in Australian dollar at home, so a swing in the AUD to USD rate moves every number in that column without anything local actually changing.

Nothing here prices the move itself

Shipping, flights, a deposit on a first lease, visa fees and the months before local income starts are one-off costs that sit outside a cost of living index. They usually decide the first year, not the price of groceries.

This page is reference information, not immigration, tax or medical advice. The tax and healthcare rows are deliberately simplified. Verify anything you plan to act on against the official sources: Australia tax authority → · health authority →

The call

Australia is the right move for Americans who arrive with an employer sponsor or a points-tested skilled occupation and want high wages, tax-funded healthcare and an English-speaking country with no language barrier. It is a bad fit for retirees, remote workers and anyone without a skills pathway, because there is no retirement visa, no digital nomad visa and no working holiday agreement with the United States.

Australia suits you if

  • Skilled professionals with an Australian employer willing to sponsor a subclass 482, which converts to permanent residence after two years with the same employer
  • Nurses, doctors, engineers, teachers and tradespeople under 45 who can pass a skills assessment and score 65-plus points for a subclass 189 or 190
  • Researchers, senior specialists, athletes and artists with an internationally recognised record, who fit the National Innovation visa
  • Partners and spouses of Australian citizens or permanent residents, who get an uncapped route in
  • Outdoor-oriented households willing to trade proximity to the US for beaches, national parks and genuinely low violent crime

Think twice about

  • No retirement visa, no digital nomad visa, and US citizens are excluded from both working holiday programs, so passive income or remote work alone is not a route in
  • Foreign persons, which includes anyone on a temporary visa, are generally banned from buying established dwellings between 1 April 2025 and 30 June 2029
  • Cost of living is not lower than the US: the OECD put Australia's comparative price level at 100 against the US in July 2026, with alcohol and tobacco at roughly double US prices and the typical monthly bill for electricity, gas and water running about a tenth above the US equivalent
  • No Medicare for US citizens on temporary visas, because there is no reciprocal health care agreement with the United States, so 482 and 485 holders must buy Overseas Visitors Health Cover
  • US tax treatment of compulsory 12% superannuation contributions is unsettled, and the reporting exposure under Forms 3520 and 3520-A is a real cost you should price in
  • Distance and time zones: 15 hours nonstop from Los Angeles to Sydney, and 14 to 16 hours ahead of New York depending on daylight saving, which makes US work and family calls a permanent problem

Go deeper on Australia

This page only compares. The country guide explains how each of these systems works and what you have to do about it.

Moving to Australia from the USThe full guide: 8 residence routes, taxes, healthcare and practical setup.Cost of living in AustraliaCategory-by-category price levels, rent and a worked monthly budget.Visas & residency in AustraliaEvery route a US citizen can actually use, with costs and official links.Taxes in AustraliaResidency triggers, the US filing obligation, treaties and FEIE.Healthcare in AustraliaHow the system works, what foreigners can access, what cover costs.

Other comparisons to read next

Ranked by how closely their price levels across rent, groceries, dining, transport and utilities track Australia, not by how close the headline index is.

US vs New ZealandIndex 87 · $1,112 centre rent · $3,392 net payUS vs CanadaIndex 91 · $1,433 centre rent · $3,210 net payUS vs SwedenIndex 92 · $1,206 centre rent · $3,475 net pay

All US vs country comparisons →

Sources and review

Every figure for Australia on this page comes from the sources below. The US baseline is held in one place site-wide and reviewed alongside them, so the same comparison run on another country page means the same thing.

What these numbers are. The headline figures were re-derived from primary sources during review. Some category indices could not be matched to a published statistic and are reasoned estimates, marked as such in the list below. Where a source entry says a value is derived, estimated or crowd-sourced, that is exactly what it is: no international body publishes a like-for-like index for every category, and private insurance premiums are not published at all in most countries. Rent figures are national market averages, so a capital city will run above them. How the dataset is built.

  1. OECD, Monthly comparative price levels (SDMX dataflow DSD_PPP_M@DF_PP_CPL_M). Direct query for Australia returns AUS, counterpart area USA, July 2026, observation value 100 on a United States = 100 basis. This is the source for col_index_vs_us. — accessed September 4, 2026
  2. OECD, PPP detailed results, price level indices with base reference area = United States, 2024: actual individual consumption 92.7; food and non-alcoholic beverages 101; alcoholic beverages and tobacco 201; clothing and footwear 69.5; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels 91.8; health 86.9; transport 99.3; information and communication 80.8; education 64.2; restaurants and accommodation 115. groceries_index_vs_us (109), transport_index_vs_us (107) and dining_index_vs_us (124) are these 2024 values rescaled by 100/92.7 so they sit on the same July 2026 headline base of 100. rent_index_vs_us (99) is the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels line (91.8) rescaled the same way, 91.8 x 100/92.7 = 99.0. The OECD publishes no separate actual-rentals price level for Australia in this dataflow, so this COICOP 04 aggregate - which is dominated by actual and imputed rentals but also contains utilities - is the closest permitted comparative measure; it is an approximation for rent alone. utilities_index_vs_us is NOT taken from this series; it is rebuilt from ABS household bill data, see the ABS entries below. — accessed September 4, 2026
  3. Reserve Bank of Australia, Exchange rates: 1 AUD = 0.7210 USD on 4 September 2026 (rate used for every AUD to USD conversion on this page). The RBA renders its daily rate table in JavaScript and blocks automated download of the F11 CSV, so the value was cross-checked against the US Federal Reserve H.10 release below. — accessed September 4, 2026
  4. US Federal Reserve, H.10 Foreign Exchange Rates weekly release dated 31 August 2026: the Australian dollar, quoted in US dollars per unit, at 0.7151, 0.7160, 0.7169, 0.7198 and 0.7166 for 24 to 28 August 2026. Cross-check on the 0.7210 rate used for AUD to USD conversion throughout this page. — accessed September 4, 2026
  5. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2021, table G02 Selected medians and averages (ABS Data API dataflow C21_G02_SA2, item 'Median rent ($/weekly)'), SA4 level. Inner-city SA4 medians used as the city-centre base: Sydney - City and Inner South A$550, Melbourne - Inner A$401, Brisbane Inner City A$425, Perth - Inner A$400, Adelaide - Central and Hills A$355; unweighted mean A$426 a week. See the companion GCCSA query for the outside-centre base. IMPORTANT LIMITATION: the ABS publishes no rent series by number of bedrooms, so these medians cover rented dwellings of every size and structure. They are used as a proxy for rent_1bed_center_usd and will normally sit ABOVE a true one-bedroom flat. — accessed September 4, 2026
  6. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2021, table G02 Selected medians and averages, Greater Capital City (GCCSA) level. Median weekly rent: Greater Sydney A$470, Greater Melbourne A$390, Greater Brisbane A$380, Greater Perth A$350, Greater Adelaide A$320; unweighted mean A$382 a week. This whole-of-metro median is the base for rent_1bed_outside_usd. Australia-wide median weekly rent on the same table is A$375. Same bedroom-count limitation as the SA4 entry: the metro-wide median is dominated by larger dwellings, so it reads high for a one-bedroom flat. — accessed September 4, 2026
  7. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Rents index numbers, Australia, original (ABS Data API dataflow CPI, index 115522): September quarter 2021 = 81.32, June quarter 2026 = 102.29, a rise of 25.79%. DERIVATION OF THE RENT FIELDS: the 2021 Census medians above are escalated by this factor and converted at the RBA rate of 0.7210. City centre A$426.2 x 1.25787 = A$536.1 a week = A$2,323 a month = US$1,675 (rent_1bed_center_usd). Outside centre A$382.0 x 1.25787 = A$480.5 a week = A$2,082 a month = US$1,501 (rent_1bed_outside_usd). Both are honest estimates built only from official ABS series; because no ABS series is bedroom-specific they should be read as the upper end of a one-bedroom budget, not the middle. — accessed September 4, 2026
  8. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Australia, July 2026 (released 26 August 2026): rents rose 3.6% in the 12 months to July 2026; electricity 6.1% over the year after the Commonwealth and state rebates ended; water and sewerage and gas also reported. Used as the currency check on the rent and utility escalations. — accessed September 4, 2026
  9. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2015-16 (the most recent HES): average total goods and services expenditure A$1,425 a week per household; domestic fuel and power A$40.92 a week. The A$1,425 total is the level base for the utilities rebuild. — accessed September 4, 2026
  10. Australian Bureau of Statistics, CPI weighting pattern effective from the December quarter 2024 (ABS Data API dataflow CPI_WEIGHTS, Australia): electricity 1.8353% of household expenditure, gas and other household fuels 0.9616%, water and sewerage 0.8703%, utilities group 3.6672%, rents 6.6129%. These are 2023-24 actual household expenditure shares and supply the consumption side of the utilities calculation. — accessed September 4, 2026
  11. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Consumer Price Index index numbers, Australia, original (ABS Data API dataflow CPI): All groups (10001) 2015-16 average 75.21, 2023-24 average 95.07, June quarter 2026 102.31; Electricity (40055) 2023-24 average 99.28, 2026-Q2 114.73; Gas and other household fuels (115524) 2023-24 average 89.27, 2026-Q2 97.69; Water and sewerage (97558) 2023-24 average 94.74, 2026-Q2 104.21. DERIVATION OF utilities_index_vs_us ON THE MONTHLY-BILL BASIS: the HES 2015-16 household total of A$1,425 a week is revalued to 2023-24 with the All groups CPI (x 95.07/75.21 = A$1,801 a week), split with the 2023-24 CPI expenditure weights above to give electricity A$33.06, gas and other household fuels A$17.32 and water and sewerage A$15.68 a week, then repriced to the June quarter 2026 with each component's own CPI: electricity A$38.21, gas A$18.96, water and sewerage A$17.25, total A$74.41 a week = A$322 a month = US$232 at 0.7210. Against the dataset's US reference of about US$210 a month for the same basket that is an index of 111. CONSUMPTION ASSUMPTION: the actual national household consumption of electricity, gas and water embedded in the ABS's 2023-24 expenditure weights - an average household of 2.5 people across all dwelling types, including the roughly one household in three with rooftop solar - held constant and revalued at June quarter 2026 prices. This is unit price x real national household consumption, not a unit price per kWh. EXCLUSION: domestic waste collection is not in the figure. Australian councils charge it inside property rates paid by the owner rather than as a tenant utility, and the ABS CPI utilities group excludes it, so the Australian index is if anything slightly conservative against a US basket that includes refuse. Water and sewerage service charges are likewise usually the owner's, reaching renters through the rent; the full property-level total is indexed here for like-for-like comparison. — accessed September 4, 2026
  12. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, May 2026 (released 13 August 2026): average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults A$2,083.70, seasonally adjusted. avg_net_salary_usd_month is derived from this: A$2,083.70 x 52 = A$108,352 gross a year; 2026-27 resident tax of A$23,026 plus 2% Medicare levy of A$2,167 leaves A$83,159 net, or A$6,930 a month, which is US$4,996 at 0.7210. Excludes superannuation, which is paid on top of salary. — accessed September 4, 2026
  13. Australian Bureau of Statistics, National, state and territory population: 27,801,023 people at 31 December 2025 — accessed September 4, 2026
  14. Department of Home Affairs, Visa Pricing Table: the Department's index of current visa application charges. The amounts on this page are rendered by the Visa Pricing Estimator service rather than served as static text, so the figures used here were read from that service directly - see the next entry. — accessed September 4, 2026
  15. Department of Home Affairs, Visa Pricing Estimator - the Department's own pricing service, queried 4 September 2026 for a lodgement date of 4 September 2026 with one main applicant, one dependant aged 18 or over and one child. Base application charge / additional applicant 18+ / additional applicant under 18: subclass 189 points-tested A$6,135 / A$3,070 / A$1,540; subclass 190 A$6,140 / A$3,070 / A$1,535; subclass 186 A$6,140 / A$3,070 / A$1,535; subclass 482 Core Skills A$4,015 / A$4,015 / A$1,005; subclass 858 A$6,235 / A$3,120 / A$1,560; subclass 820/801 partner A$11,710 / A$5,860 / A$2,935, with offshore 309/100 returning identical amounts; subclass 500 higher education sector A$2,500 / A$1,530 / A$500; subclass 601 ETA nil visa application charge. This is the source for every visa fee quoted on this page. — accessed September 4, 2026
  16. Department of Home Affairs, Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) Core Skills stream: up to 4 years, CSOL occupation, 1 year relevant experience, pathway to permanent residence — accessed September 4, 2026
  17. Department of Home Affairs, Salary requirements to nominate a worker: Core Skills Income Threshold A$79,423 and Specialist Skills Income Threshold A$146,576 for nominations lodged 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 — accessed September 4, 2026
  18. Department of Home Affairs, Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) points-tested stream: under 45 at invitation, minimum 65 points, skills assessment and SkillSelect invitation required — accessed September 4, 2026
  19. Department of Home Affairs, Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) Temporary Residence Transition stream: normally 2 years full-time sponsored employment on a 457 or 482 — accessed September 4, 2026
  20. Department of Home Affairs, National Innovation visa (subclass 858): permanent visa, invitation-only, nominator required, processed under Ministerial Direction No. 120 — accessed September 4, 2026
  21. Department of Home Affairs, Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601): United States of America listed as an ETA-eligible passport, AUD 20 app service charge, up to 3 months per entry — accessed September 4, 2026
  22. Australian Government, PBS Schedule fees and patient charges: general co-payment A$25.00 from 1 January 2026, concessional A$7.70, general safety net threshold A$1,748.20 — accessed September 4, 2026
  23. Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, MBS Online: the Medicare Benefits Schedule, described there as a listing of the Medicare services subsidised by the Australian Government and part of the wider Medicare Benefits Scheme managed by the Department. The Department is Australia's national health authority and this is the page behind healthcare.official_url. — accessed September 4, 2026
  24. Australian Government MBS Online, item 23 (standard GP consultation): schedule fee A$45.05, benefit 100% of schedule fee, schedule fee updated 1 July 2026 — accessed September 4, 2026
  25. Australian Government privatehealth.gov.au, Overseas Visitors and Overseas Students: temporary visa holders on a working visa including subclass 482 and 485 are required to take Overseas Visitors Health Cover, and student visa applicants must hold Overseas Student Health Cover. The eleven Reciprocal Health Care Agreement countries listed are the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium, Norway, Slovenia, Malta and Italy; the United States is not among them. — accessed September 4, 2026
  26. Australian Government privatehealth.gov.au, Overseas Visitors Health Cover. NOTE ON typical_private_insurance_usd_month: no official body publishes a standard OVHC price, and this page states only that 'every OVHC policy will differ in costs, eligibility and benefits'. The US$130 a month figure (about A$180 at 0.7210) is an editorial mid-range estimate for single working-visa OVHC cover, not a sourced statistic, and is the least certain number on this page. — accessed September 4, 2026
  27. Australian Taxation Office, Your tax residency (last updated 3 June 2026). Sets out the four residency tests used in taxes.residency_rule - the resides test as the primary test, plus the domicile, 183-day and Commonwealth superannuation statutory tests - and states that the ATO does not use Department of Home Affairs rules, so you can be an Australian resident for tax purposes without being a citizen or permanent resident. The ATO is Australia's tax authority and this is the page behind taxes.official_url. — accessed September 4, 2026
  28. Australian Taxation Office, Tax rates - Australian residents. Resident rates 2026-27: nil to A$18,200; 15c per dollar over A$18,200 to A$45,000; A$4,020 plus 30c to A$135,000; A$31,020 plus 37c to A$190,000; A$51,370 plus 45c above A$190,000, exclusive of the 2% Medicare levy. Primary source for income_tax_top_rate (45) and for the tax step in the avg_net_salary_usd_month derivation: A$108,352 gross gives A$4,020 + 30% of A$63,352 = A$23,026. — accessed September 4, 2026
  29. Australian Treasury, Income tax treaties: Australia-United States DTA signed 6 August 1982, in force 31 October 1983; amending protocol signed 27 September 2001, in force 13 May 2003 — accessed September 4, 2026
  30. IRS, Australia tax treaty documents (1982 treaty, 2001 protocol and technical explanations) — accessed September 4, 2026
  31. IRS, Figuring the foreign earned income exclusion: maximum exclusion $130,000 for 2025 and $132,900 for 2026 — accessed September 4, 2026
  32. US Social Security Administration, Totalization Agreement with Australia: the agreement covers Superannuation Guarantee contributions employers must make for employees, and 'Self-employed U.S. citizens residing in Australia do not have to pay U.S. Social Security contributions on self-employment income' — accessed September 4, 2026
  33. US Social Security Administration, International Programs, status of totalization agreements: Australia entry into force 1 October 2002 — accessed September 4, 2026
  34. PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Australia individual taxes on personal income: 2026-27 resident rates nil to A$18,200, 15% to A$45,000, 30% to A$135,000, 37% to A$190,000, 45% above; Medicare levy 2%; Medicare levy surcharge 1% to 1.5% for higher earners without private hospital cover. The 16% second-bracket rate fell to 15% from 1 July 2026 under the legislated personal tax cuts. The ATO entry above is the primary source for income_tax_top_rate; this entry corroborates it and is the source for the Medicare levy surcharge range of 1% to 1.5%. — accessed September 4, 2026
  35. PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Australia corporate other taxes: GST levied at 10% (source for vat_rate), and superannuation guarantee permanently increased to 12% from 1 July 2025 — accessed September 4, 2026
  36. PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Australia individual residence: resides test plus domicile, 183-day and superannuation statutory tests; temporary residents generally taxed only on Australian-source income — accessed September 4, 2026
  37. Foreign Investment Review Board (foreigninvestment.gov.au), Residential land guidance: from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029 foreign investors are generally prohibited from purchasing established dwellings; annual vacancy fee applies to under-occupied foreign-owned property — accessed September 4, 2026

Nathan Brooks · Editor, Your New Country

Nathan builds and maintains the Your New Country dataset, reconciling figures from the OECD, Eurostat, the World Bank and national statistics offices, and reading each country’s immigration and tax guidance at the source before it is published.

  • Reads each country’s immigration, tax and health guidance in the original official source rather than in secondary coverage
  • Reconciles every published figure against OECD, Eurostat, World Bank and national statistics releases on a quarterly cycle
  • Publishes the derivation and the access date beside each number, and marks estimates as estimates

Data reviewed September 4, 2026 · source confidence: medium ·methodology