Australian Salary Outlook 2026 

More than 1,300 organisations participated in Mercer’s 2025 Total Remuneration Survey (TRS) Australia. The results reveal that employer hiring intentions have fallen to their lowest point in five years. The weaker labour market could lead to conservative salary increases as overall salary budgets are forecast to decline to 3.5% in 2026.

Merit budgets remained stable in 2025 as employers are continuing to leverage short-term incentives as a key tool to reward performance and boost take-home pay.

• Salary budgets forecast and salary movements by job families
• Short-term incentive forecasts
• Hot jobs of 2025
• Employers' hiring intentions and employee turnover trends
• Remuneration trends for 2026

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