Australia's 2026 Salary Survey: Where Corporate Pay Buys the Least Stress

Australian corporate employees working 60 hours or more a week earn a median base of $181K — down from $200K at 55 to 60 hours — and 89% of them rate their stress 4 or 5 out of 5. Those figures come from The Aussie Corporate 2026 Salary Survey, published 8 October 2026, with data as at September 2026.

The survey's central finding is simple: three groups earn the most for each hour worked — Resources, Government and in-house lawyers. Hour for hour, Resources out-pays Investment Banking. Per hour, Government pays roughly as much as Finance and Tech.

Do longer hours mean more pay?

Only up to a point. Median base pay climbs with hours worked, peaks at $200K for 55-to-60-hour weeks, then falls back to $181K beyond 60 hours.

• Under 35 hours: $138K
• 35 to 40 hours: $129K
• 40 to 45 hours: $148K
• 45 to 50 hours: $161K
• 50 to 55 hours: $179K
• 55 to 60 hours: $200K
• 60-plus hours: $181K

Per hour, the long weeks lose. A 60-hour week pays 20% less per hour than a 40-hour week. One in 4 respondents work 45 hours or more; only 1 in 5 of them earn more than $180K a year.

Does higher pay mean more stress?

Yes — stress and the inability to switch off both climb with pay. The survey measured the share rating stress 4 or more out of 5, and the share who cannot switch off, by base pay band:

• Under $100K: 41% stressed, 27% cannot switch off
• $100K to $140K: 47% and 29%
• $140K to $180K: 47% and 28%
• $180K to $250K: 58% and 37%
• $250K and over: 68% and 49%

Leave gets harder to take as pay rises. 70% of people earning under $100K say taking leave is easy; above $250K, 55% say it is hard.

For an individual, the trade-off is measurable. Moving from a $140K role to a $200K role roughly doubles the share who cannot switch off, from 28% to 37%, while above $250K nearly half the cohort carries work stress into the evening.

Which industries pay well for fewer hours?

Resources

Office roles in Resources — finance, HR, IT — earn about 10% more than the same roles elsewhere; engineers earn about 30% more. 80% of Resources staff work 45 hours or less, 87% get an annual bonus, 58% rate their pay as fair and 40% hold shares. The cost is presence: half are in the office 4 or 5 days a week, against 1 in 4 across the survey.

Government

Government posts the best hours in the survey. 79% of government staff work 40 hours or less, against 49% of everyone else; 58% can switch off at night, against 43%. The median base is $136K, but the ceiling is lower — 94% earn under $200K, 88% get no annual bonus, and government pay falls behind from Year 10 of a career.

In-house law

In-house lawyers take home about the same base pay on average as lawyers at top-tier firms. Yet only 15% of in-house lawyers work 50 hours or more a week, against 28% at top-tier firms. Half of in-house lawyers can switch off after work; at top-tier firms, a quarter.

Which jobs carry the most stress?

Big Tech records the highest stress, with 67% rating theirs 4 or more out of 5; more than half of Big 4 staff do the same. The survey average is 49%. Among companies selling their own products or services, Construction stands out: 64% rate stress 4 or more, 33% work 45-plus hours and 39% cannot switch off. Transport sits at the calm end at 30%; Property is at 41%.

Long-hours cultures vary sharply by industry. The share working 45 hours or more:

• Investment Banking: 66%
• Law: 47%
• Construction: 33%
• Property: 24%
• Finance: 23%
• Professional Services: 21%
• Tech: 20%
• Telcos and Utilities: 12%

Professional Services hours sit near average, yet it pays about 10% less per hour than people with the same years of experience elsewhere.

For corporate Australia, the September 2026 data suggests the efficient frontier runs through Resources, Government and in-house law — and the next industry cuts of the survey will show whether Big Tech's stress premium starts to shift candidates elsewhere.