Lollipop lady pay in Australia: Traffic controller speaks out about weekly earnings

A young Australian woman has boasted about the eye-watering amount she makes as a very casual traffic controller, but there’s a big catch.

Nyah Covey posted a video to TikTok breaking down her earnings over five days in traffic control in Queensland, which totalled $2,300, though that was for 60 hours work, rather than a 40-hour working week that most Aussies do.

But the amount was before tax income earned for casual shifts, meaning she’s unlikely to get consistent hours every week.

Nyah Covey posted a video to TikTok breaking down her earnings over five days in traffic control in Queensland, which totalled $2,300 – though that was for 60 hours work

Her best take for the week was getting $700 for working 12 hours on a Sunday.

If she managed to keep up the same hours all year, she’d easily clear $100,000 before tax, and have plenty of time for holidays.

But once the taxman takes his chunk her daily earnings drop significantly. 

Aussies who earn more than $90,000 a year need to pay $20,797 in taxes plus 37c for every dollar above $90,000.

‘Tax is a b***h,’ she said. 

But Ms Covey disputed the rumour her job was easy.

‘A lot of people think traffic controller is easy but there are a lot of hard and stressful days especially if we’re out working on a highway,’ she said. 

Ms Covey gave a glimpse of life on the job as a traffic controller, which is evidently not always action-packed. In one frame she is apparently sitting watching a huge mound of soil

Ms Covey disputed traffic control only involves holding a sign for 12 hours, saying some days are ‘hectic’

‘We actually do a lot, some days are very chilled but we do have our days where is hectic depending on the job, it’s not always easy.’ 

She also revealed her actual pay rate is $31 an hour, but added that she also gets a  travel and food allowance, plus penalty rates (double time and a half) for working overtime and on weekends.