Go back knowing what the market pays for your role, what your employer's pay band is and whether you are prepared to leave. That is where the answers to our poll on denied pay rises point. Almost none of the excuses people were given had anything to do with how well they did their job.
What excuses do employers give when they deny a pay rise?
We asked our community for the excuses they heard. These are some of them, as they were sent to us.
Directly from the CFO "Ive never asked for a pay rise in 30 years so neither should you"
We don't want to contribute to the inflation in Australia
If we pay you more we need to pay everyone above you more
When moving to an new or expanded internal role "think of the opportunity as the payrise"
Oh and the classic; "Our staff retention is above market average, so we do not need to offer pay rises at this time"
Not me personally, but a friend: 'You don't have any kids so you don't need a pay rise, whereas XXX has 3 kids so we've had to allocate extra budget to them'
"Because your revenue target is a multiple of your salary, by not giving you a CPI pay rise I'm actually making it easier for you to hit target and earn a bonus"
What does "there's no budget" mean?
Often that the budget went somewhere else. You ask for more money and they tell you there's no budget. Then the company announces record profits later that month. Companies will hand you a title bump with a number below band, betting you won't quit. Then they pay an external hire 15% more.
"There's just no budget for it at the moment" - I was working in Payroll at the time and knew exactly how much they were bumping up all the exec salaries.
They gaslit me saying I received a payrise the year prior and there was no budget this year ... unfortunately saw the list of payrises and I was 1 of 4 out of 60 staff going on another year with no pay rise. I quit a few weeks later.
Should you threaten to leave if your pay rise is denied?
Only if you mean it. Threatening to leave doesn't work when you have a mortgage and a family, or when you've pigeon-holed yourself into a niche role. Some people can push hard and absorb the risk of it going sideways. Most people need the job more than the job needs them.
Being willing to leave helps. So does checking what "market rate" means before you accept it as the answer.
"we pay you according to market rate", when they are the ones that literally set market rate for my job as it was a unique job.
How do you find out your pay band?
Your employer knows the band, and you're often guessing. The companies that pay fairly are the ones with published bands, regular audits and managers who don't ignore your contribution. Elsewhere, "market benchmarks" get quoted without anyone showing you the numbers.
"you're actually paid incredibly well... far ahead of the market benchmarks" (that are not shared or discussed re how info is collected and referenced).
ok, so if i'm paid so incredibly well, how come my salary has not grown at CPI for the past decade?
Until your employer is transparent about it, it's up to you to know what the market pays for your role elsewhere. AusCorp Vault is our free salary benchmark, and our 2026 Salary Survey results cover base pay, bonuses and pay fairness across corporate Australia.
How do you ask for a pay rise again after a no?
Go back with evidence. Research the market range for your role, keep a record of your wins and compare notes with people you trust. Your company can no longer stop you from discussing your pay.
This article draws on our Big Conversation What excuses have you heard when your pay rise got denied?, which has the original slides.
Source: The Aussie Corporate community poll, data as at September 2026. Spotted an error? Correct something.
