The money question
What could I earn?
A new role. A different lifestyle. What could it mean for you financially? Explore salaries in New Zealand and Australia, work out what would reach your account, and see how the numbers fit the life you want.
For you
Where are you considering?
Pay you can check
In both countries public pay is set by published agreements, so we name the source behind every figure and you can check it.
Still weighing it up? Compare the two countries.
What could you earn in New Zealand?
Most public-system pay is set by published collective agreements. Your step, allowances and individual terms still affect what you are paid.
| Profession | Indicative, steps 1–8 | Set by |
|---|---|---|
| Radiographers (medical imaging technologists) |
NZ$77,000 – $110,000 | The APEX and Te Whatu Ora MIT agreement, in force 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2028. The figures are the published rates from 3 February 2025 on a 40-hour week; the new term’s scale had not been published when we checked, so expect them to move. Recognition steps reach about NZ$116,000; designated roles NZ$111,000 – $151,000. Checked 14 October 2026 |
| Anaesthetic technicians Occupational therapists Radiation therapists |
NZ$79,000 – $113,000 | The APEX allied health scale — one ladder, several professions |
| Physiotherapists | NZ$78,000 – $118,000 | The APEX physiotherapy agreement, ten steps, current to 31 January 2027 |
| Sonographers | NZ$120,000 – $162,000 | The APEX sonographers agreement, eleven steps. Reporting sonographers run NZ$131,000 – $173,000 |
| General practitioners | Around NZ$200,000 | No published ladder — general practice is the one career here where the number really is negotiated |
| Senior medical officers Specialists and consultants |
NZ$198,000 – $282,000 | The ASMS agreement, by years since specialist registration |
| MRI & nuclear medicine Nurses & midwives |
See the agreement | Each is covered by its own current agreement, published by Health New Zealand. Ask Ethicare for the step that fits your experience |
Indicative and rounded, from the agreements current in September 2026; the radiographer figures were checked on 14 October 2026. Most scales rise a step a year, with the top steps by agreed objectives. Designated and senior roles sit on their own higher scales. The agreements themselves are published in full by APEX — we are a recruiter, not a union, so if you want the clause-by-clause detail, go to the source.
How pay is set
What decides your step, what sits on top of the base, and why the same step on the same agreement pays the same across the country.
Pay in New Zealand → NextWhat reaches your bank account
A salary is the starting point. Work out the estimate after income tax, the ACC earner’s levy and your KiwiSaver contribution.
Estimate my take-home pay → ThenWhat kind of life it supports
Housing, transport, groceries and childcare, against the household income you would have. Every region guide costs it locally.
Living in New Zealand → Before you goWhat you need before your first payday
Registration, the visa, flights, temporary accommodation and setting up a home. If relocation support is offered, check what it covers and when it is paid.
Plan your moving costs →Look past the headline figure: check the contracted hours, how your experience will be recognised, and whether allowances, overtime or on-call payments are included. Which agreement sets your pay.
Considering a move to New Zealand?
Tell us about your experience and what you are hoping for. You do not need to have decided anything, and there is no cost to you either way.
What could you earn in Australia?
A national award sets the minimum. Public hospitals pay under state enterprise agreements and private employers set their own rates, both usually above the award, so the same job can pay differently in Brisbane and Perth.
| Award level | Weekly minimum, first pay point | About a year |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 · graduate and early career | A$1,174.00 | A$61,000 |
| Level 2 · experienced, working independently | A$1,493.90 | A$77,700 |
| Level 3 · senior or advanced practitioner | A$1,743.90 | A$90,700 |
Health Professionals and Support Services Award (MA000027), minimum rates from 1 July 2026, before penalties, allowances and superannuation. Each level has several pay points that rise with service. These are floors, not typical salaries: pay in Australia sets out how state agreements and private employers add to them.
Explore salaries
Medical imaging pay by profession and by state or territory, with the framework named. Your experience, location, employer and working pattern all move the number.
Pay in Australia → Step twoWhat reaches your bank account
Turn an advertised figure into an everyday budget, after income tax and the Medicare levy. It also asks whether superannuation sits on top of the package or inside it.
Estimate my take-home pay → Step threeWhat kind of life it supports
Where you settle shapes your budget as much as what you earn. Housing and everyday costs, state by state, alongside what your household needs.
Explore the states → Step fourWhat you need before your first payday
Registration, licensing, the visa, flights and the first weeks of accommodation. Check whether relocation costs are paid directly or reimbursed after you arrive.
Plan your moving costs →Check the whole package: base pay, contracted hours, superannuation, additional payments and relocation support. If a role advertises an hourly rate, check how many paid hours the annual figure assumes. Tax, super and banking.
Considering a medical imaging role in Australia?
Tell us about your experience and where you would like to go. It is fine if you have not decided yet.
What might not suit you
The things people wish they had known
A pay rise is not always a pay rise
If you are coming from a no-income-tax country, the gross figure can look excellent and the net one ordinary. Housing may cost more than you are used to as well. Run both against the cost of living before you get attached to the headline.
Progression is slower and flatter
Public-system scales are transparent, which is the good news. It also means less room to negotiate, and seniority often counts for more than performance. Some people find that fairer; others find it frustrating.
You may be further from family than any map suggests
Flights are long and expensive, and a two-week visit is not a weekend trip. This is the single most common thing people underestimate, and it is worth a conversation at home early on.
The first year costs more than the calculator says
Setting up a household from nothing, a car, furniture, a deposit, is real money that no relocation package covers in full. Build a buffer, not just a budget.
If any of this gives you pause, check the offer line by line before you sign.
The other half of the answer
Is it worth it for you?
The numbers matter, and so does the life around them: your work, the people coming with you, and the distance from home.
When there is an offer
Have an offer? Look at the whole picture
Check the salary, hours, location, relocation support and conditions before you sign.
What to check in an offer
Start date, relocation support, probation, on-call, leave, and what is written down versus what was said warmly on a call.
Before you accept → If you want to askWhat is reasonable to negotiate
Where there is genuine room in a collective-agreement system, and where asking simply will not move anything.
Negotiating your offer →What next?
If the numbers work, the next question is where
Where you land can change the maths more than which country you pick.
Where could we live?
Say what matters to you, and see which places fit.
Where could we live? → Also worth askingCan I work there?
If registration is not settled, the pathway checker shows your likely route in a few minutes. The board makes the decision.
Can I work there? → Your step-by-step planSomewhere to keep all this
A plan built around your household and your dates, with the budget you built carried into it.
Open Plan Ethicare →Salary ranges and calculator results are indicative. Your actual pay, deductions and costs depend on your circumstances and your confirmed employment terms. On a live vacancy we say “competitive” and name the framework rather than a figure: putting a number against a named role would be committing on an employer’s behalf, and that is not ours to do.