Graduate OT Salary in Australia (2026) & Your First Job Guide

Graduating as an occupational therapist in Australia is a genuine achievement — and the jump from placement to your first paid role comes with a wall of questions: What should I be paid? What's a "grad program" actually worth? How do I spot a role that will build my career instead of burning me out?

This guide answers those questions with 2026 numbers: what new-graduate OTs are paid, what a good grad year looks like, and how to choose between the offers you'll actually get.

Graduate OT salary in Australia (2026)

Add employer superannuation (12% from 1 July 2025, per the ATO) on top of every figure above. As a benchmark: a graduate OT on $80,000 plus super costs an employer roughly $89,600 — and takes home around $61,000–$64,000 after tax, before salary packaging.

Two honest notes on the ranges. First, the SCHADS award floor for degree-qualified allied health sits around $75,200 (Level 4, effective 1 July 2026) — anything below that in a community or disability role is a red flag. Second, roles that advertise above the top of these bands usually expect something in return: billable-hour targets, travel between sites, or after-hours work. Neither is automatically bad — just price it consciously.

What a good grad program actually includes

"Graduate program" is used loosely in allied health. Some are excellent; some just mean "you're new and cheap for a year". A genuine grad program for occupational therapists includes:

• Structured supervision: dedicated one-on-one time with a senior OT — at least fortnightly in your first six months, protected in the roster (not "whenever we're free").
• A capped or graduated caseload: your first weeks should involve shadowing, then supported visits, not a full independent caseload from day one.
• Peer connection: a cohort of other new grads you debrief with — the single biggest protective factor for early-career burnout.
• Clinical education time: protected hours for training, competency development, and eventually supervision training of your own.
• A defined review at 6 and 12 months: with progression mapped to your state's scale or a written pay pathway.

If an employer can't describe their grad support in those terms, you're interviewing for a standard junior role with a nicer name.

How to get your first OT job: the realistic timeline

• Final year (Terms 1–3): get AHPRA registration sorted early — your employer cannot let you practise as an OT until it's active. Register your interest with providers in September–October if you want a January–February start.
• September–November: peak hiring window for graduate intakes in public health and large NDIS providers. Applications for February starts close by early December in most states.
• December–February: mid-year hires fill from the general pool. Smaller private practices hire year-round and often respond fastest — they don't run recruitment rounds.

Where to look: otjobs.au/graduate-ot-jobs lists roles open to new graduates, and you can set a free email alert for graduate roles in your state so nothing slips past you.

Choosing between offers: what to weigh

1. Supervision before salary. A role paying $5k more with no supervision costs you more than it pays — your second and third year salary depends entirely on how fast you become independent.
2. Caseload reality. Ask what a "full caseload" looks like in week one, week six, and month six. Vague answers mean you'll be dumped in.
3. Travel and billables. In NDIS roles, ask for the billable-hour target and how much admin time is paid. A 6.5-hour daily billable target with unpaid admin is a lower-paying job than it looks.
4. Who you'll learn from. One strong senior OT mentor beats a big brand name with none.
5. Contract shape. Fixed-term grad intakes are fine, but ask what past grads were offered at the end. Retention is evidence.

Red flags in graduate job ads

• "Autonomous practitioner" with no mention of supervision for a new grad
• No salary listed and a long list of KPIs
• Full client ownership of a caseload "from day one"
• Vacancy for "OT/OTA/senior/receptionist — all welcome" (role confusion predicts chaos)
• Required start before your AHPRA registration is active

Where graduates go next

Most graduate OTs stay in their first role 12–24 months, then specialise — paediatrics, NDIS early intervention, mental health, or neurological rehab are the common paths. Your first year builds the foundation; your second decides your direction. Browse the specialty paths on OTJobs.au to see what each pays and demands before you choose your placements wisely.

Looking now? Browse graduate OT jobs open to new grads — every listing is hand-checked, and you can get new matching roles by email.