Insurance professionals will attract among the highest salary increases in Australia’s key industries this year, with pay expected to jump 4.2%, a WTW survey has found.

Insurer salaries grew 4.4% in 2023, the broker says. 

More than 700 companies participated in the Australia Salary Budget Planning Survey in December. It found inflationary pressures and concerns over a tight labour market continue to influence salaries. 

Last year, Australian financial services staff received more competitive annual base salary increases than those in biopharma and life sciences, WTW says. 

“When benchmarked against the general industry, companies in tech, media and gaming, and financial services have exceeded expectations, offering annual base salaries that surpass the general industry overall median,” it said.  

Across all industries, an average salary increase of 4% is projected this year, including 4% in real estate, construction and engineering, 3.8% in energy and natural resources, 3.9% in biopharma and life sciences, and 3.7% in high tech. 

Banking and retail/manufacturing staff can expect 4.2% pay rises this year. 

Overall, executive salaries will rise 3.6% on average, middle management and professional executives 4%, and support staff salaries 4.1%, the survey predicts. 

WTW Head of Work and Rewards Australia and New Zealand Evangeline Daquilanea says more companies are introducing transportation allowances as companies slowly mandate in-person work, and there is renewed interest in salary packaging. 

A voluntary attrition (staff leaving of their own accord) rate last year of 14% is expected to normalise at about 10-11% in the next couple of years. 

Being a “great place to work” and directly influencing an organisation’s performance are major considerations for staff in joining or staying, Ms Daquilanea says, and companies should offer monetary and non-monetary rewards to remain competitive.