Mortician salary in Australia: award rates and what funeral workers earn

Mortician salary in Australia: what the award says

If you search for a mortician salary in Australia, you will not find a neat figure. That is because the word 'mortician' is an American import. In Australian workplaces, the job is called a funeral director, funeral arranger, or, more broadly, a funeral worker. The pay is set by the Funeral Industry Award 2020, a modern award that covers everyone from coffin makers to removalists to the person who conducts the service.

This article explains what the award says about minimum pay, how that compares with the national earnings benchmark, and what you can expect after super and tax. We use the keyword mortician salary because that is what many people type into a search engine, but the real answer lives under a different name.

The award and its grades

The Funeral Industry Award has six classification grades. Each grade has a minimum weekly and hourly rate. From 1 July 2026, the rates are:

• Grade 1: $978.10 per week ($25.74 per hour)
• Grade 2: $1,004.90 per week ($26.44 per hour)
• Grade 3: $1,029.10 per week ($27.08 per hour)
• Grade 4: $1,062.90 per week ($27.97 per hour)
• Grade 5: $1,119.10 per week ($29.45 per hour)
• Grade 6: $1,154.30 per week ($30.38 per hour)

A typical funeral director would be classified at Grade 5. That is the rate used in the award's definition of 'standard rate' for allowances. A Grade 5 worker earns $1,119.10 for a 38-hour week. Annualised, that is $58,193.20 before any overtime, penalties, or allowances.

Where that sits on the salary index

The Salary Index measures gross annual pay against the national line of full-time adult ordinary-time earnings. The line is set at 100, which in May 2026 was $108,352 per year ($2,083.70 per week).

A Grade 5 funeral director on award minimums earns $58,193 per year. That gives an index of 53.7 – roughly half the national benchmark. Even the top Grade 6 rate of $1,154.30 per week annualises to $60,023.60, an index of 55.4. For context, the national minimum wage sits at an index of 48.2 ($52,255 per year). So funeral workers on award rates are clustered just above the minimum wage.

But remember: the award is a floor. Many funeral directors with experience, or those working in larger metropolitan firms, earn above the award. The Australian Bureau of Statistics does not publish a reliable median for funeral workers because the sample size is too small – the figure is listed as 'N/A' in the latest Jobs and Skills Australia profile. That means we cannot say what the typical mortician salary actually is. The award rates are the only public benchmark.

Penalty rates and allowances

Funeral work does not stop on weekends. The award includes penalty rates for Saturday and Sunday work, and for carrying out funerals. For example, a Grade 5 worker on a Saturday for the first three hours of a funeral gets $44.18 per hour (time-and-a-half). After three hours it rises to $58.90 per hour (double time). Sunday rates are higher still.

There are also allowances:

• Leading hand allowance: $44.76 per week for in charge of 3–10 employees; $67.15 for 11–19.
• Exhumation allowance: $119.74 per body exhumed.
• Meal allowance: $17.30 per meal when overtime exceeds two hours.
• Vehicle allowance: $1.01 per kilometre.

These extras can lift a mortician's take-home pay well above the base rate, especially in busy funeral homes.

Superannuation and tax

From 1 July 2026, the superannuation guarantee is 12% of ordinary-time earnings. On a Grade 5 salary of $58,193, the employer must contribute $6,983 into a super fund. That money is not part of your take-home pay but builds for retirement. The award names default funds such as AustralianSuper.

For tax, a resident earning $58,193 in 2026–27 would pay:

• Nil on the first $18,200
• 15% on the next $26,800 (up to $45,000)
• 30% on the remaining $13,193 (up to $135,000) Plus a 2% Medicare levy on taxable income. The total tax and Medicare comes to roughly $12,700, leaving take-home pay of about $45,500 per year, or $875 per week. That is before any HELP repayments or salary sacrifice.

How other industries compare

A mortician salary on award rates sits well below the national average. For comparison, the industries page shows that professional, scientific and technical services have an index of 114.7, while retail trade is 75.9 and accommodation and food services is 72.5. Funeral work is closer to the lower end, partly because the industry has many part-time and casual workers (the share of full-time workers is 67%, similar to the national average of 69%).

State differences also matter. A funeral director in Western Australia (state index 106.9) might earn more than one in Tasmania (index 88.6), but the award is national – any difference comes from enterprise agreements or local market pressure.

Where to find more

If you are an employer or employee in the funeral industry, the pay guides page links to the official Fair Work Ombudsman summary for the Funeral Industry Award. That document includes the full penalty rate tables and allowance schedules. For a broader view of how pay works across Australia, see how the index works and the topics page.

The bottom line

The mortician salary in Australia, using the correct term funeral director, starts at around $58,000 per year under the award. That is an index of 54 – well below the national full-time adult ordinary-time earnings benchmark of 100. But the award is a minimum, not a ceiling. With penalties, allowances, and experience, actual earnings can be higher. The lack of published median data means the true picture is uncertain, but the award gives a solid starting point.