MEDIA RELEASE
28 November 2012	Embargo: 11:30 am (Canberra Time)	190/2012

People living in the Melbourne suburb of Toorak recorded the highest average income in Australia in 2009-10, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

ABS Director of the Rural and Regional National Statistics Centre, Lisa Conolly said the Estimates of Personal Income for Small Areas publication uses data from the Australian Taxation Office to provide a breakdown of information such as personal income by wage and salary, investment, superannuation and annuities.

"Victoria’s top five earning regions are in Melbourne with Toorak leading the way on $132,252, followed by Brighton on $101,776, East Melbourne on $95,349, Albert Park on $91,871 and Armadale on $89,534 per annum.

“Outside of Melbourne, the highest average total incomes are in the Geelong area of Newtown on $56,512 and Woodend in the Macedon Ranges with $50,960.

“Overall, the average total income for the state of Victoria is $47,623 which is lower than the national average of $48,530.

“Almost 29 per cent (or 121 in number) of Victoria's regions recorded average total incomes above the state level. Of this group, only 4 per cent per cent were located outside the greater Melbourne region.

“Other regions with high average total incomes were Torquay on $48,553, Geelong on $48,528 and Traralgon on $48,344.

“Nationally, the next highest average incomes are two Sydney regions with Double Bay on $129,116 and Mosman on $126,956.

“From a state and territory perspective, the Australian Capital Territory recorded the highest average total income of $58,034, followed by Western Australia on $53,397,” Ms Conolly said.

More details, including data for states, territories and smaller regions, can be found in Estimates of Personal Income for Small Areas, 2009-10 (cat. no. 6524.0.55.002) available for free from the ABS website <www.abs.gov.au>

Media note:

When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.

Average Total Income from all sources (excl. Government pensions & allowances) ($ '000)

State/Territory	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
New South Wales	44	46	47	49	50
Victoria	41	43	44	46	48
Queensland	38	41	42	44	46
South Australia	37	40	41	43	44
Western Australia	42	46	48	52	53
Tasmania	35	37	38	40	42
Northern Territory	42	44	46	49	51
Australian Capital Territory	49	51	53	56	58
Australia (d)	41	44	45	47	49

(d) Australian total includes Other territories, unknown, and not stated regions

Region	Wages & salaries	Own unincorporated business	Investment	Superannuation & annuities	Other Income (excl. Govt pensions & allowances)	Total income from all sources (excl. Govt pensions & allowances)
	$	$	$	$	$	$
New South Wales	50 943	21 025	7 901	22 346	3 257	50 328
Greater Sydney	54 354	26 533	8 988	22 091	3 740	55 010
Rest of NSW	43 992	13 595	5 848	22 615	2 262	41 537
Victoria	47 363	19 309	8 758	20 264	2 630	47 623
Greater Melbourne	49 342	23 146	9 345	20 863	2 927	50 413
Rest of Victoria	40 786	11 670	6 872	18 716	1 650	38 995
Queensland	47 054	16 806	6 626	20 677	2 511	45 844
Greater Brisbane	49 251	21 675	6 503	21 160	2 502	48 895
Rest of Queensland	44 835	13 684	6 738	20 222	2 513	42 981
South Australia	44 141	20 042	7 410	24 615	2 333	44 312
Greater Adelaide	45 357	23 130	7 696	25 373	2 512	46 041
Rest of South Australia	39 497	14 029	6 408	21 183	1 674	38 213
Western Australia	53 227	24 757	8 629	22 775	3 534	53 397
Greater Perth	53 864	27 790	9 008	23 333	3 835	54 728
Rest of WA	50 235	17 245	7 032	19 928	2 272	48 234
Tasmania	41 673	16 860	6 077	20 879	2 180	41 542
Greater Hobart	43 863	21 237	6 159	22 287	2 171	44 358
Rest of Tasmania	39 898	14 209	5 791	19 231	2 178	39 216
Northern Territory	50 746	20 294	3 843	27 438	1 958	51 366
Greater Darwin	53 055	23 278	3 800	28 619	2 043	53 747
Rest of NT	46 606	12 602	3 717	23 863	1 331	47 153
Australian Capital Territory	57 749	25 297	4 735	32 657	2 238	58 034
Australia (a)	48 907	20 023	7 760	22 486	2 854	48 530
(a) Australia totals include data for the Other Territories.