PwC Australia is paying its partners more even as the firm shrinks around them. Average partner income climbed 6% to $814,000 in 2025, the second year in a row of pay rises despite falling profits. The trick? Fewer people, more AI and higher margins.
Profit dipped 2% to $608 million and revenue slid 3% to $2.1 billion. That leaves PwC the smallest of the big four, behind Deloitte, EY and KPMG. The chief executive said productivity across the business has lifted between 10 and 20%, with gains accelerating through the first quarter of 2026. The CEO was installed by PwC's global leadership in mid-2023 to reform the firm after the tax leaks scandal.
The workforce cuts have been brutal. Partner numbers are down 35% to 575, from a peak of close to 900 in 2023 when the scandal broke. Staff numbers have fallen nearly 40% to just over 6100, from a peak of around 10,000 over the same period. Partners and managing directors are now going through an eight-week AI course run by Kellogg. PwC is also building AI agents and has started selling automated advisory products through Amazon Web Services.
The CEO is scheduled to step down at the end of the year. PwC says it now has too much demand and not enough supply of capability to meet it. Eight people were sacked or forced to resign during the year for misconduct including bullying and harassment. Inquiries into former partners linked to the tax leaks scandal, including by the Australian Federal Police, are still running.
