2026 Salary Survey results

Median base pay doubles in the first 10 years, from $78K at 0 to 1 years to $165K at 10 to 15 years. After 15 years the median sits at about $185K and tapers off there.

80% of the pay growth you will ever get is done by Year 15.

Same type of employer, same years in, days at home make no difference to your pay.

40% of fully remote workers have sat at the same level for three years or more, against 22% of those in the office five days a week.

A 60-hour week pays 20% less per hour than a 40-hour week. People who work more than 60 hours a week earn only a third more for two thirds more hours.

89% of them rate their stress 4 or 5 out of 5.

Same employer type and same years in, Sydney beats Melbourne 4 times out of 5. Moving from Melbourne to Sydney is worth about a 5% pay rise for the same job, and Brisbane to Sydney about 8%.

The more people earn, typically above $180K, the more often the job comes home with them and the harder it gets to take leave. 13% of those earning under $100K struggle to take time off, rising to 23% of those on $250K or more.

Above $250K, 68% rate their stress 4 or 5 out of 5 and 49% cannot switch off after work.

Men and women earn the same for the first 10 years. Past Year 10, women earn 7% less.

By Year 20, 39% of women say their pay is unfair, against 25% of men.

Finance, HR, IT, Legal and Risk keep pace with front office pay for a decade, then fall about 10% behind. After 20 years the median is $205K in front office and $185K in support roles, and front office roles are 60% more likely to clear $200K.

Support staff are more likely to work from home (40% against 29%) and work 5 fewer hours a week, so front office earns more a year and less an hour.

1 in 3 people don't have a bonus in their pay at all. 59% of people under a year in get nothing, dropping to 27% by Years 10 to 15. Your bonus depends a lot on where you work.

7 in 10 people were paid under their target bonus last year. Of people with a target, 7% were paid nothing, 21% under half, 41% half to under target, 6% on target and 25% above it.

Professional services firms typically set a 10% target and pay out a median of $5,800. Banks set 15% and pay out $18,000.

People who told us their pay was unfair sit about 7% below others at the same type of employer with the same years in.

It is most common at the Big 4, where 51% say their pay is unfair, against a median of 32% (Retail and FMCG 36%, Big 5 banks 31%, ASX 200 29%, Big Tech 24%). Big 4 staff earn 20 to 25% less than peers at other firms in their first 5 years, the gap closes around Year 10, and after that they pull ahead. Some of that early discount pays for the training, the qualification and the name on the CV.

In Professional Services, staff earn around 10% less per hour than people with the same experience elsewhere, despite working fairly average hours.

Corporate staff earn more and are less likely to work 45+ hour weeks. In construction, 64% rate their stress 4 or more out of 5.

Big 5 banks pay around 14% more than other finance employers in your first 5 years. Staff tend to spend longer at each level, and the gap narrows as you move through your career, to 8% at 5 to 10 years and 2% after 10.

Nearly half of Big 5 bank staff hold shares in their bank.

In-house lawyers earn roughly the same base salary as those at top-tier firms, while working fewer hours. Around 15% work more than 50 hours a week, compared with 28% in top-tier law, and working from home three or more days is twice as common.

Half of in-house lawyers can switch off after work, against a quarter at top-tier firms.

Most people reach manager after 5 to 7 years and director around Years 10 to 15, with a decent pay rise every time you move up. The jump from graduate to consultant is fairly small, and the numbers move much faster from manager up.

More than half of Big 4 staff rate their stress a 4 or 5 out of 5.

Tech pays around the same as banking, and you're much more likely to be doing it from home. More than half of tech workers are home at least 3 days a week and 16% are fully remote.

Big Tech stands out for shares, with 72% of staff holding equity, on a median base of $177K.

If working from home matters to you, Insurance might be one of the better-kept secrets in finance. More than half of Insurance staff work from home at least 3 days a week, compared with 31% at the Big 5 banks and none in Investment Banking.

Half also say they can properly switch off after work.

Most people in Government work 40 hours or less, very few go beyond 45 hours and 58% say they can switch off after work. The downside shows up in the bonus column, where 88% get nothing.

Pay also starts falling behind from around Year 10, so the gap becomes more noticeable the longer you stay.

At the same experience level, median pay is around 15% lower than the rest of the survey, and the gap grows with time, from $8K in the first 5 years to $27K after 10.

Nine in 10 Not-For-Profit respondents were women, the highest share of any employer type in the survey.

Office roles in Resources like HR and IT pay around 10% more than the same roles elsewhere, while engineers earn around 30% more. Most still work 45 hours or less, 87% get an annual bonus and 40% hold shares.

Depending on the role, Perth or Brisbane can pay more than Sydney.