Wondering how your pay stacks up against industry standards? Use these eight graphs to help you compare engineering salaries by role, region and industry.
As the Australian job market stabilises, salary growth is beginning to slow down, according to research from recruiter Hays.
Its latest annual salary guide shows 86 per cent of employers plan to offer pay rises in 2025 – down from a peak of 95 per cent last year. The size of those increases is also shrinking, with 25 per cent fewer employers planning to offer raises above 3 per cent.
“We’re not seeing widespread salary increases across engineering at the moment. In fact, salaries have remained relatively stable over the past 12 months,” said Austin Blackburne, Technical Director at Hays ANZ.
“Unlike sectors such as technology or commercial construction, where volatility and movement have driven spikes, engineering has stayed steady, reflecting a more balanced supply-and-demand dynamic in most disciplines.”
To help engineers navigate this landscape and see how their own compensation packages stack up, use the guide below to compare typical engineering salaries by location, sector and discipline.
Infrastructure, energy and resources
According to Blackburne, the increasing emphasis on emissions reduction in infrastructure and energy is driving up demand for engineers across a number of key disciplines.
“The push towards net zero is definitely fuelling demand in the energy and infrastructure sectors – especially in renewable energy, power generation and grid development,” he said.
“But with many projects running concurrently across the country, we’re seeing significant pressure on a relatively small pool of qualified professionals. This supply-demand imbalance is creating upward pressure on salaries, particularly in niche areas like grid integration, battery storage and energy transition planning.”
Use the graphs below to compare salaries across infrastructure, energy and resources sectors.
Civil and structural engineering
Building services – Design
Building services – Delivery
Rail infrastructure
Energy – Design engineering
Oil and Gas
“One of the key takeaways [here] is the increasing divergence between generalist and specialist skillsets,” said Blackburne. “Engineers with highly niche expertise – especially in sustainability, infrastructure resilience and advanced energy systems – are commanding a premium.
“Meanwhile, those in more traditional roles may find salary growth slower unless they’re upskilling into high-demand areas.”
Government and defence
Salaries for engineers in the public sector have remained relatively stable in recent years, partly due to the nature of government remuneration structures, said Blackburne.
“Government-affiliated roles follow strict salary frameworks tied to regional classification and step-based progression, which means increases are generally incremental and predictable,” he said.
“However, cost control has tightened considerably in the past 18 months, adding an extra layer of restraint. The private sector, by contrast, offers more flexibility in pay, especially when demand spikes, but doesn’t [always] provide the same structured growth pathways.”
Use the graphs below to compare salaries across government and defence roles.
Local and government engineering
Defence
Is it time for your next career move?
Due to a growing disconnect between employees’ salary expectations and what employers are willing to offer, Hays’s report highlights that 77 per cent of professionals are actively looking or planning to look for a new role within the next 12 months.
“If you’re aiming for a specific salary increase, make sure you can clearly articulate why – whether it’s new responsibilities, critical skills or market benchmarks,” said Blackburne.
“And if you’re considering a move, connect with a recruiter who understands the engineering market. They can provide insights on which companies are hiring, what they’re paying, and whether now is the right time for you to make a change.”
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Very useful information for comparative purposes within jurisdictions and across disciplines and industries. Pity that I could not print off all the SA based information at one time.
Although insightful, there is no distinction by seniority of the roles. It seems that the Structural and Civil shown salaries are just for <3 Years of experience.