Good morning AusCorp. Several thousand of you told us what you earn this year, and the results are in. In our 2026 Salary Survey, we found out that 40% of fully remote workers have been stuck at the same level for 3 years or more, compared with 22% of people in the office full time. That's one of ten findings we've pulled from Part 1. Part 2 drops on our Instagram tomorrow.
Outside the survey, unemployment has hit its highest level since 2021 and most of the new jobs are part-time, which goes onto explain why salary raises are averaging 2.8% while award workers just got 4.75%.
Plus half of Australians aged 18 to 29 are now living with their parents, raising one child costs $17,800 a year, and Adidas is taking Sydney label White Fox to court over its stripes.
THE BIG CONVERSATION
Instagram post
10 things nobody tells you about your pay
We put out our 2026 Salary Survey last month and several thousand of you submitted this year. We released Part 1 on Instagram last week and here are the some of the takeaways we thought we’d share in this week’s Big Conversation.
Pay is front-loaded, with two thirds of the total pay rise growth you will ever get, baked into your pay by Year 10, and after 15 years the median typically sits at approximately $185K and tapers off there.
Working from home will cost you career progression. Same type of employer, same years in, days at home make no difference to your net pay. But 40% of fully remote workers have sat in the same level for 3 years or more, against just 22% of those who come in full time.
All the extra long hours you put into overtime are paid at a discount too. Those who work more than 60 hours per week earn only a third more for two thirds more hours. 9 in 10 of them rate their stress 4 or 5 out of 5.
Working in Sydney pays more. Same employer type and same years in, Sydney will beat Melbourne 4 times out of 5. Moving from Melbourne to Sydney will give you a 5% pay rise for the same job. Brisbane to Sydney is about 8%.
The more people earn, typically above $180K, the more often the job comes home with you and the harder you’ll find it to take leave. Just 13% of those earning under $100K struggle to take time off, rising to 23% of those on $250K+. Just because you can now afford a holiday, doesn’t mean you’re able to take one. Once you earn past $250K, half the people can't switch off after work.
Men and women earn the same for the first 10 years. Women past 10 years, earn 7% less, and by 20 years experience, 4 in 10 feel underpaid against just 1 in 4 men.
Finance, HR, IT, Legal and Risk (Support Roles), keep pace with Front Office roles for a decade and then fall 10% behind, with Front Office roles 60% more likely to clear $200K. Support staff are more likely to work from home (40% vs 29%) and work 5 fewer hours per week. So while Front Office earns more per year, it earns less per hour.
7 in 10 people were paid under their target bonus last year. Professional services firms typically set a 10% target and pay out a median of $5,800, while banks set 15% and pay out $18,000. In the last year, 1 in 14 people failed to receive anything despite having a target bonus.
1 in 3 people don’t get bonuses as part of their structure at all. 59% of people under 1 year in get nothing, this drops to 27% by Years 10-15. Your bonus is very dependent on where you work.
If you have a feeling you're being underpaid, you probably are. People who told us their pay was unfair sit about 7% below others at the same type of employer with the same years in, so the frustration is warranted. This is pretty common at the Big 4. So while in the 5 years they earn 20-25% less than their peers at other firms, the gap closes around Year 10 and after that they pull ahead. Some of that early discount happens because of the training, the qualification and the name on the CV.
Part 2 will be released tomorrow so keep an eye out on our Instagram.
PICK & SCROLL BY THE AUSSIE CORPORATE | LAST WEEK'S TOP PICKS
Adidas is suing Sydney label White Fox for trademark infringement in a case expected to turn on stripe motifs it says sit too close to the three it has spent decades defending. LINK
Half of Australians aged 18 to 29 are now living with their parents, up from 39% in 2001, according to the HILDA survey that has followed the same 17,000 people since then. LINK
Parenting costs now stand at $17,800 a year for one child or over $36,500 for 2 or more, with childcare as a share of the total cost of raising a child climbing from 27% to 33% between 2004 and 2024. LINK
Victoria will ban new data centres from using drinking water and require them to source their own renewable energy. LINK
Three-quarters of Australians are willing to cut their spending to afford a property, the highest rate among comparable countries. LINK
Flat White lands every week. The news doesn't. Every weekday morning at 8:00am, we send you everything that happened across Australian business and corporate news in a 2-minute read. Same team. Same voice. Just daily.
THE INSIDE TRACK
THREAD OF THE WEEK - r/AUSCORP
Manager asked for image of my mother in ICU as proof of urgent leave
My mother is overseas in ICU following a serious stroke. My family asked me to go - I am. Upon requesting leave urgently, my manager asked for a hospital certificate as proof, claiming it was part of “company policy”. I provided it.
Mum kept her maiden name so our surnames do not match, he then asked for a photograph which I also sent Friday morning. He delayed leave approval until Fri 4:45pm, and only did so once I spoke to his manager who very quickly told me “I’ll sort it out, family comes first. Do what you need to do”.
“I’m sorry for your situation and hope your mum gets better soon. The manager might be following some type of policy however they are dumb af to ask for a photo of a person on a hospital bed. Definitely worth flagging.”
Top Comment
THE BRAINS TRUST
Unemployment hit 4.65% in August, the highest it's been since 2021. Full-time work actually went backwards by 6,300 roles last month, while part-time and casual work grew by 45,800. At the same time, more people than ever are looking for work, largely because the cost of living is pushing them back into it.
Unemployment lifted in the month and is now above the RBA's August SMP forecast profile, however, this was largely participation driven
Source: ABS, Morgan Stanley Research
SEEK has recorded more applications per job ad than ever before, a trend that's been building since January. When an employer has a longer line of applicants, it doesn't need to fight as hard to fill a role. It means that jumping ship for a quick 10% pay rise is getting harder to pull off because there's always someone else happy to take the job for less.
Participation Rate - Source: ABS
Job ads in government and defence are down 20% on last year and education is down 14%. Roles that are easy to automate have dropped 12%, while roles that aren't have barely moved. The one area growing fast is anything needing AI skills, with demand up 66%.
People on individual contracts, which covers most corporate salaries, are getting raises of just 2.8% on average. That's below inflation and well below the 4.75% the Fair Work Commission gave award workers in July. The sad thing is, if you're on a salary and haven't had a proper pay conversation this year, you’ve technically gone backwards in real terms.
OFF THE CLOCK
GOING
Mini golf has arrived on Collins Street
Kingpin's new HD golf and interactive mini golf setup in the CBD will stop you coming back to the office after Thursday lunches. LINK
EATING
Melbourne's cult coffee is visiting Adelaide
Honeydripper's Mont Blanc coffee is doing a single day in Adelaide, so mark the calendar accordingly. LINK
WATCHING
The Wonka story was wilder off-screen
Netflix's Wonka series is chaotic enough, but the SMH piece on what actually happened behind it might be worth reading first. LINK
READING
What people with dementia actually want
The Conversation asked Australians living with dementia what they think about voluntary assisted dying, and the answers are pretty considered. LINK
WEARING
If you only buy one new pair of shoes for spring, make it these
Finding the perfect pair of shoes isn’t always easy, especially when committing to a new pair feels impossible. LINK
AUSCORP EVENTS
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ODD PICKS FROM LAST WEEK
Gua sha looks good on Instagram but is it worth the hype or a waste of time? LINK
Do pimple patches actually work? LINK
Squishy toys leaving children with burns as manufacturer asks Australian Border Force to help stop counterfeits. LINK
Dymocks Tutoring and Talent 100 has decided to close its 5 Sydney centres as its chief executive urges parents to use cheaper AI tools like Gemini and ChatGPT instead. LINK
McDonald’s has responded to the Ozempic-driven GLP-1 boom by planning a US$8.5B menu overhaul featuring smaller protein-dense options as weight-loss drugs reshape eating habits. LINK
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