Queensland Agriculture
AGRI-WAGE BENCHMARKING GUIDE
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Resource Collaborators
This Agribusiness Benchmarking Guide has been achieved with support from The Queensland Agriculture Workforce Network (QAWN).
QAWN is funded by the Department of Primary Industries and supports Queensland agribusinesses to attract, train and retain workers.
RAI Benchmarking Guide Methodology
The Regional Australia Institute (RAI) was commissioned by Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers (BFVG) to provide wage estimates for 24 on-farm occupations identified by BFVG. Wages were to include variances for both farm size and geographic region of Queensland. This document presents the methodology for estimating the selected agricultural wages. The accompanying excel document contains the estimated wages.
To ensure statistical rigour and reliability, the collection of wage data through surveys requires a large number of responses, with coverage of all variables of interest, such as farm size and geographic region. Due to these survey limitations, the wage data presented in this report has been collected from high quality secondary sources and estimated when not directly available…
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Benchmarking Wage Data (pdf.)
The Regional Australia Institute (RAI) was commissioned by Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers (BFVG) to provide wage estimates for 24 on-farm occupations identified by BFVG. Wages were to include variances for both farm size, and geographic region of Queensland. This document presents the final median wages for the selected occupations and the accompanying document details the methodology in obtaining these estimates.
METHODOLOGY
Wages include variances for both farm size and geographic region of Queensland. Wages were estimated through a custom model created by the RAI specifically for this project. The wage estimation model utilised a variety of official data sources, including:
• Jobs and Skills Australia occupation data (February 2025): median weekly earnings by occupation
• Australian Bureau of Statistics employee earnings data (August 2024) and average weekly earnings data (November 2024): median weekly earnings by occupation; average weekly earning time series (May 2021 to November 2024)
• Australian Bureau of Statistics Census 2021: employee salary by LGA region (place of work) and by occupation and industry
• Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences farm data (2023): ‘total labour use’, ‘wages for hired labour’, and ‘imputed labour cost’ by farm size
The processes for data collection and wage estimation are detailed in the accompanying methodology paper.
REFERENCE
This report can be referenced as Regional Australia Institute (2025) Agriculture Median Wage Estimate 2025, Regional Australia Institute, Canberra.