19 May 2025
How Much Do Personal Trainers Earn?
As a trained fitness professional, you’ll enjoy the freedom and flexibility to set your own hours, choose where you work and make a life-changing impact on your clients.
So, what can you expect to earn as a Personal Trainer? The world of fitness not only offers the opportunity for a diverse work environment — it also gives you the platform for big earning potential.
Average Personal Trainer salary in Australia
According to the latest data from PayScale, this is what Personal Trainers earn:
Average Personal Trainer hourly rate: $25–$59
Average Personal Trainer salary: $49k–$111k
If you’re looking for another source and a state breakdown, Indeed’s got similar figures. According to Indeed, the average Personal Trainer salary in Australia ranges from $62K to $97K a year, varying between states.
State & Average salary*
Australian Capital Territory - $62,444
New South Wales - $62,959
South Australia - $73,267
Western Australia - $86,640
Queensland - $87,804
Victoria - $90,135
Northern Territory - $97,149
*As of May 2025
These numbers are based on actual salaries reported by trainers around Australia. The good news is that they’re just averages! You’ll set your own hourly rate and take on as many clients as you’d like, giving you the potential to increase your earnings beyond the average. You can hire out space to work within gyms or fitness centres, train in public areas (parks or beaches) or even work from home via Zoom or simliar.
How to become a Personal Trainer
If you’re looking into a career as a Personal Trainer, there are qualifications to get your fitness career off the ground. Get started with a Personal Trainer course to tick off the following boxes:
Education: You’ll need to have completed year 10 or equivalent. Equivalency can be demonstrated by one of the following: a qualification at Certificate II level or higher OR two years of industry experience in a role that requires the use of written documentation and communication.
First Aid and CPR Certificate: Before starting your Certificate IV in Fitness component, you’ll need to obtain a current First Aid and CPR Certificate.
Minimum age: You need to be at least 16. If you’re under 18, a parent or guardian will need to sign your enrolment form.
Residency status: You need to be a permanent Australian resident or equivalent.
Working with Children Check: For the work placement portion of your course, you may need a current ‘Working with Children Check Clearance’ issued by the relevant authority in your state/territory.
Here are your course options if you want to qualify as a Personal Trainer in Australia:
SIS40221 Certificate IV in Fitness + Entry Requirements (Fast Track Personal Training Course)
SIS30321 Certificate III in Fitness + SIS40221 Certificate IV in Fitness (Complete Personal Training Course)
SIS30321 Certificate III in Fitness + SIS40221 Certificate IV in Fitness + 10967NAT Diploma of Nutrition (Complete Personal Training & Nutrition Course)
SIS30321 Certificate III in Fitness + SIS40221 Certificate IV in Fitness + BSB50120 Diploma of Business (Complete Personal Training & Business Course)
How to earn more as a Personal Trainer
What drives you to make more money often goes hand-in-hand with being a good Personal Trainer! If you’re grinding to be your best self, you’ll also draw in more clients and keep your existing ones happy.
Here are a few things you can do to hit two birds with one stone: earn more and help people become their best selves
Build relationships and network
Most Personal Trainers already know the power of referrals. However, not many go to the effort of expanding their network to attract even more clients. If you want to fill up your hours, you absolutely must network. Get the word out there by attending events, talking to people, and making the effort to reach new markets.
This may not be immediately obvious, but client loyalty is just as important as new clients. Solid clients mean a regular income stream, bigger uptake of services and smoother-running operations. The best way to do this is to build genuine relationships and help your clients reach their goals.
Develop a range of personal training services
This is the easiest way to reach a broader audience. If you want to ask for a higher price per session and service a wider variety of clients, qualifications are the way to go. You can get skills and qualifications in boxing, massage, sports and conditioning, nutrition, meal plans, suspension training and more.
Beyond that, upskilling keeps your head in the game. You can stay abreast of major industry changes, learn new ways to help your clients, and stay motivated about your chosen career. In order to get ahead and firmly establish yourself as a personal training force to be reckoned with, upskilling is absolutely critical.
Sales and marketing
Sales is a huge part of earning a good salary as a Personal Trainer. It’s your business, so it’s up to you to grow it. If you want to earn a good salary as a Personal Trainer, you need to do things better than other Personal Trainers. Get qualified and focus on growing and developing your business. It can be hard work, but the results are very satisfying.
Social media is key. Consider posting small workout plans, building your product or service and showing people that what you have to offer can help them achieve their fitness goals. You must reinforce these feelings in your clients. When clients believe that their Personal Trainer can truly help them achieve results, they’re far more likely to continue training and even commit to more sessions.
Get into Personal Training with AIPT
Love fitness and want a career with heaps of potential to make money? Personal training could be the perfect fit for you. But before you start earning the big bucks, you’ll need to get qualified.
Talk to one of our Careers Advisors to discover which course may be right for you. Call 1300 616 180 today.
Related Articles
10 Top Qualities of a Good Personal Trainer
Learning how to become a personal trainer is one thing, but how do we cultivate the skills needed to become successful and stay there?
How much does a Group Fitness Instructor make?
Wondering how much a Group Fitness Instructor earns in Australia? Discover average hourly rates by state and learn 6 ways to boost your earnings, from expanding your skills to offering online classes.
Industry Supplier
Proud member of
© Australian Institute of Personal Trainers | RTO Number 32363