$108,400Average salary
$108,400Annual benchmarkSalaries in Australia2026 Salary Report
Penetration Tester salary in Australia.
The core purpose of a Penetration Tester is practical: the professional tests systems through authorized adversarial methods and turns findings into clear remediation priorities. Day-to-day priorities vary by company, but performance is generally visible in risk reduction, detection coverage, remediation time, control effectiveness, and incident severity. For Australia, this report combines salary benchmarks in AUD with modeled assumptions for a 32% tax rate, 20 days of annual leave, and a 85.0 cost-of-living index relative to the United States baseline.
$108,400Estimated annual average
$6,143Estimated monthly take-home
$33.88–$80.78Hourly equivalent range
9 Aug 2026Last benchmark update
Compensation overview
One role, four useful reference points.
Salary ranges reflect different experience levels. Actual offers can vary with company size, industry, location, contract type, specialized skills, benefits, equity, and negotiation.
High accuracy1735 recent job listings and community reports shaped this estimateUpdated 9 Aug 2026
Junior
$63,000–$87,6000-2 yearsMid-level
$85,900–$128,9003-5 yearsSenior
$127,200–$196,4006+ yearsEarnings breakdown
Monthly take-homeEstimated after an average 32% tax rate
$6,143Hourly equivalentBased on a standard 40-hour week
$33.88–$80.78Potential annual bonusIllustrative 10–15% performance range
$10,840–$16,260Planning reference
Monthly savings target34% illustrative allocation
$3,100Retirement contribution14% illustrative allocation
$1,300Housing budgetIllustrative 20% monthly ceiling
Up to $1,800Emergency fundThree to six months of gross income
$27,100–$54,200Healthcare infrastructure
State-supported healthcare contextCore healthcare access is generally supported through public systems and localized tax contributions. Coverage and supplemental costs vary.
Included in ≈ 32% tax model
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12-month trend
How the estimate has moved.
The estimated average changed by 2.3% over the displayed period, moving from $111,000 to $108,400.
| Period | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | $108,400 | $34–$81 |
| Jul 2026 | $113,000 | $35–$84 |
| Jun 2026 | $109,400 | $34–$82 |
| May 2026 | $109,800 | $34–$82 |
| Apr 2026 | $107,800 | $34–$80 |
| Mar 2026 | $112,600 | $35–$84 |
| Feb 2026 | $112,200 | $35–$84 |
| Jan 2026 | $109,700 | $34–$82 |
| Dec 2025 | $105,100 | $33–$78 |
| Nov 2025 | $108,900 | $34–$81 |
| Oct 2025 | $110,100 | $34–$82 |
| Sep 2025 | $111,000 | $35–$83 |
Current opportunities
Move from research to the live market.
These current remote openings provide additional context for titles, employers, and the way this role appears in active hiring.
Career profile
Pay drivers and skills for Penetration Tester.
Education is only one signal. Skills, tools, collaboration habits, work environment, and continued learning often have equal influence on compensation and progression.
Experience and baseline requirements
Typically 2-5 years of relevant experience, with demonstrated ownership of real projects and measurable outcomes
Required skills
Education requirements
A degree in cybersecurity, computer science, or equivalent hands-on security experience
Demonstrated knowledge of threat modeling, secure systems, incident handling, and responsible disclosure
Training and development
Secure code review practice
Responsible disclosure training
Incident response exercises
Threat-modeling workshops
Cloud security labs
Professional certifications
Core skills
Trending and emerging skills
Key responsibilities
Own the planning and delivery of work in the Penetration Tester remit, from initial problem definition through measurable follow-up
Apply domain expertise to role-specific decisions while balancing quality, speed, risk, and stakeholder expectations
Define practical success measures and review progress against risk reduction, detection coverage, remediation time, control effectiveness, and incident severity
Coordinate dependencies and decisions with adjacent teams, escalating material risks early and clearly
Create concise documentation so methods, assumptions, decisions, and handoffs can be reviewed and reused
Improve tools, standards, templates, and workflows based on recurring issues and delivery evidence
What can increase compensation
Threat exposure and system criticality
Cloud and application security depth
Incident-response responsibility
Relevant security certifications
Regulatory and audit complexity
Scarcity of specialized offensive or defensive expertise
Typical career path
Work specifics
Security team balancing proactive assurance, monitoring, incident response, and clear risk communication
Works with engineering, IT, legal, compliance, and leadership to reduce practical security exposure
Usually asynchronous, with scheduled overlap for planning, reviews, customer needs, or incident response
Burp Suite
Wireshark
Nmap
SIEM
Git
Cloud security tools
Ticketing systems
Common and additional benefits
Remote Work Options
Flexible Hours
Home Office Allowance
High-end Hardware Budget
Learning & Development Stipend
Mental Health Support
Coworking Space Access
Internet Allowance
Similar positions
Market intelligence
Hiring context for Penetration Tester in Australia.
Compensation is influenced by hiring pressure, growth, remote availability, industry demand, and the scarcity of relevant skills.
Very High
Current hiring-demand signal for this role across the tracked market.
25% annual growth
Estimated direction of role demand and compensation opportunity.
Very High
Growing adoption of hybrid work models allowing flexibility between office and remote work, with 2-3 days of remote work becoming standard
Key industries
Cross-country pay scale
Compare Penetration Tester pay across markets.
These comparisons apply Jobicy’s country multipliers to the same role model. Differences reflect market context rather than currency conversion alone.
UAE
Austria
Belgium
Canada
Switzerland
Germany
Spain
FranceQuestions answered
Frequently asked questions.
Quick answers about salary, hourly rates, skills, market outlook, and benefits for this role.
What is the average Penetration Tester salary in Australia?
The estimated average annual salary is $108,400. Junior roles are estimated at $63,000–$87,600, while senior roles are estimated at $127,200–$196,400.
What is the hourly rate for this role?
The estimated hourly equivalent is between $33.88 and $80.78 based on a standard full-time schedule. Contract rates may differ.
Which skills are most relevant?
Core skills include Threat modeling, Security testing, Risk assessment, Incident response, Network security. Trending and emerging requirements include Zero trust, Cloud security posture management, Software supply-chain security, Detection engineering, Security automation.
What is the market outlook?
Jobicy currently classifies demand as Very High, with a growth signal of 25% annual growth. Availability differs by industry, country, and employer.
Are these salary estimates guaranteed?
No. The figures are informational benchmarks based on market evidence and economic adjustments. Actual compensation depends on experience, skills, location, employer, contract type, benefits, and negotiation.
Methodology
How this estimate is prepared.
Each Jobicy salary benchmark is produced from our own analysis of compensation signals for this role and market. The estimate is designed as a practical reference, not a guaranteed offer.
Jobicy market sample
We analyze up to 1,000 recent and relevant job listings for Penetration Tester in Australia, using disclosed pay ranges and other compensation signals available in the listings.
Local market calibration
Observed compensation signals are normalized for Australia and reviewed across experience levels, currency, work arrangements, and local market conditions.
Anonymous community signals
Anonymous salary information and estimate feedback submitted by Jobicy users through our salary form are used as additional signals when reviewing and refreshing the benchmark.
Jobicy data and disclaimer
This benchmark is a Jobicy estimate based on our analysis of recent job-market compensation signals for Penetration Tester in Australia, including a sample of up to 1,000 relevant job listings and anonymous salary signals submitted by users. It is not copied from BLS, Eurostat, ILOSTAT, OECD, the World Bank, or another third-party salary database. Actual compensation can vary by experience, employer, location, contract type, benefits, equity, and negotiation. Salary and financial calculations are informational only and do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Read the full methodology →
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