Colin Brinsden, AAP Economics and Business Correspondent
(Australian Associated Press)

Medical occupations head the list of top earners in Australia, while the richest suburb is Double Bay in Sydney, closely followed by Melbourne’s Toorak.

The latest statistics from the Australian Taxation Office for 2018/19 show medical professionals are four of the top five top earners on average with financial dealers coming in fourth.

Surgeons on average earn a taxable income of $394,303, followed by anaesthetists on $386,065 and ‘internal medicine specialists’ on $304,752.

These careers are followed by financial dealers on $275,984, then psychiatrists on $235,558.

When it comes to the richest suburbs by postcode, the average taxable income in Double Bay (postcode 2028) is $202,598, while in Toorak (3142) it’s $201,926.

Overall, among the top 10 suburbs, seven are in NSW, two in Victoria, while in seventh position is Western Australia’s Cottesloe (6011) with an average taxable income of $179,376.

Most Australians do their tax return through a tax agent, with 66.8 per cent choosing this method in 2018/19 compared to 32.1 per cent who did it themselves through myTax.

The average taxable income was $62,549, with males earning $73,219 compared with $51,382 for females.

The average net tax paid was $19,344 – $23,366 by males and $14,687 by females.

There was also a wide gap between genders for the average superannuation account balances.

The average balance for males was $162,275 compared with $128,068 for females. The overall average was $143,979.

Work-related expenses topped the list of tax deductions in 2018/19 with 8.9 million people receiving a $2331 rebate, followed by just under six million people receiving an average $332 for professional management of their tax affairs.