How to use this calculator
- Enter your assets — superannuation, shares and ETFs, property, cash, and other investments.
- Enter your liabilities — mortgage, HECS-HELP, personal loans, and credit card balances.
- Enter your age so the calculator can benchmark you against the right ABS cohort.
- Read your net worth (including and excluding the family home) and see your percentile by age.
Why median matters more than average
Australia's wealth distribution is heavily skewed. The wealthiest 20% of households owned 63% of total household wealth in 2019-20, while the least wealthy 20% owned 0.7% (ABS Household Income and Wealth). This means the average net worth is significantly higher than the median. For benchmarking your own position, the median is the more meaningful comparison — it tells you the midpoint where half of Australians in your age group have more, and half have less.
What to include (and what to leave out)
Include all financial assets you could reasonably convert to cash or income: superannuation, shares, ETFs, managed funds, property, savings, term deposits, and crypto. For liabilities, include everything you owe: home mortgage, investment loans, HECS-HELP, personal loans, credit cards, car loans, and buy-now-pay-later balances. Vehicles are typically excluded from net worth calculations as they depreciate rapidly, but you can include them under “Other assets” if you prefer.
3 ways to grow your net worth
- Maximise super contributions — Salary sacrifice up to the $32,500 concessional cap (FY 2026-27). At a 37% marginal rate, every $10,000 sacrificed saves $2,200 in tax while growing your retirement balance.
- Reduce high-interest debt first — Credit card debt at 18-22% destroys wealth faster than any investment can build it. Prioritise paying off high-interest liabilities before investing.
- Invest consistently — Dollar-cost averaging into diversified ETFs removes timing risk. Even $200/month compounded at 7.5% grows to $74,000 over 15 years.
