AVERAGE WEEKLY CASH EARNINGS


AVERAGE WEEKLY CASH EARNINGS

Commentary in the other sections of this e-magazine relates exclusively to estimates of employee earnings which exclude amounts salary sacrificed. This section includes information on Average Weekly Cash Earnings (AWCE), which provides estimates of employee earnings including amounts salary sacrificed.

Salary sacrifice is defined as an arrangement where an employee agrees to forgo part of his or her salary in return for benefits of a similar value. Common types of salary sacrifice arrangements include pre-tax contributions to superannuation funds and novated leases for motor vehicles.



In May 2013, on average, full-time adult employees in Australia salary sacrificed $43.50 (Full-time adult ordinary time cash earnings $1,464.40 minus Full-time adult ordinary time earnings $1,420.90).

Amounts salary sacrificed by an employee can be affected by a change in his or her earnings, for example, an increase in the level of overtime worked or commissions earned. Additionally, some employees sacrifice more of their salary at the beginning of the financial year and then the amount tapers off towards the end of the year when he or she has reached the concessional contributions cap for salary sacrificing superannuation. For other employees, the amount of salary sacrificed increases towards the end of the financial year to ensure the cap is reached. A feature article examining Salary Sacrifice in Australia has been included in the November 2012 edition of the Average Weekly Earnings release and can be found in the following link.

For further earnings information related to Average Weekly Cash Earnings, please refer to the time series spreadsheets in the following link or click on the downloads tab at the top of the page.