Unlikely suburb crowned as richest postcode in Australia
Updated . First published at
A coastal Victorian postcode has claimed the title of Australia’s richest for the first time, elbowing Sydney’s eastern suburbs out of the top spot.
According to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Portsea recorded the nation’s highest average taxable income at $321,988 in 2023-24, bolstered by a bumper year for capital gains.
Portsea recorded the nation’s highest average taxable income in 2023-24. Jessica Shapiro
The Mornington Peninsula beach town is home to fewer than 800 people, and is the first Victorian postcode to top the national rankings – a position long held by NSW.
Experts say the result has less to do with salaries and more to do with wealthy residents cashing in investments.
KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley said a jump in capital gains reported by Portsea residents helped propel the postcode to the top of the list.
“Those Toorak and Portsea residents are not just plugged into the Melbourne economy, which is going a bit slowly at the moment,” he told the Australian Financial Review.
Sydney’s Bellevue Hill took out third place, with locals bringing in an average taxable income of $250,899. Domain
“They’ve got a national footprint for their business assets and international assets as well.”
Residents collectively reported $121 million in capital gains during the 2023-24 financial year, up from $35 million the year before.
Melbourne’s Hawksburn and Toorak ranked second with an average taxable income of $277,708, while Sydney’s Bellevue Hill came in third at $250,899.
Sydney postcode 2027, which includes Darling Point, Edgecliff, and Point Piper, topped the rankings a year earlier but slipped to sixth.
Despite losing the top spot, NSW still led the national leaderboard, claiming seven of the country’s 10 highest-income postcodes.
The ATO data also revealed surgeons remained Australia’s highest-paid profession, reporting an average taxable income of $519,998.
Anaesthetists followed on $475,455, while internal medicine specialists rounded out the top three.
Financial dealers, including investment bankers, traders and stockbrokers, were the nation’s highest-paid non-medical workers, with an average taxable income of $347,375.
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