Salaries across the board are steadying out as the hiring market continues to favour employers as revealed in Talent’s ‘More Than Money Salary Guide 2025’ which was released today. Tech and digital salaries continue to steady out but remain strong for key skillsets such as cybersecurity and AI. The report features key salaries, roles and skills that are in demand for the Australian market. Please find the report HERE.

The report features salaries and contract rates for key tech positions in 2025, the most in-demand tech skills for 2025, market insights from Talent’s Managing Director team and experienced recruiters, as well as hiring trends and predictions across the regions in which Talent operates across ANZ and the US. Further insights include the representation of women within the tech and IT sector.

Key findings include:

• Cyber Security and Data experts remain to be high in demand across ANZ, with salaries continuing to sneak upwards but there have been no significant increases across the board.
• Contract rates have mainly decreased, as companies move away from contract hiring and are prioritising FT and permanent.
• According to Talent data of over 1,900 workers, when asked for their preference in working models, a majority of 49% stated they preferred fully remote work, closely followed by 45% who preferred a hybrid model.
• A Talent poll of over 800 permanent workers revealed a significant 54% are open to making the switch to contracting in 2025 and two-thirds of those open to contracting (66%) are currently actively looking for a contract role. The makeup of Australia’s workforce is shifting, with 7.5% of Australians working as independent contractors.
• With L&D opportunities coming in many forms for different businesses, a Talent survey discovered that Conferences & Workshops are highly valued (37%), followed by In-House Training Programs (28%). Online Learning Subscriptions came in third at 20%, lastly followed by Tuition Reimbursement at only 15%.

Demand remains high for the following skills:

1. Artificial Intelligence
2. Cybersecurity
3. Data Analysis
4. Cloud Architecture
5. Microsoft Systems

Top salaries* for 2025 vs 2024 are as follows:

2025:

1. Enterprise Architect – $231k
2. Big Data Architect – $220k
3. Program Manager – $210k
4. Cloud Architect – $209k
5. Engineering Manager – $208k
6. SOC Manager – $205k
7. Cybersecurity Manager – $202k
8. Applications Solution Architect – $200k
9. Cybersecurity Architect – $200k
10. Technical Salesforce Architect – $200k

2024:

1. Enterprise Architect – $234k
2. Cybersecurity Architect – $222k
3. Cloud Architect – $212k
4. Programme Manager – $210k
5. SOC Manager – $205k
6. Cybersecurity Manager – $202k
7. Business Intelligence Architect – $195k
8. Infrastructure Architect – $190k
9. Solutions Architect – $189k
10. Senior Data Scientist – $186k

*Excluding C-Suite roles. Permanent salaries are exclusive of superannuation.

Matthew Munson, Talent Managing Director NSW, weighed in, “We anticipate that the market will start to pick up again. Looking at top skills right now, cybersecurity is in high demand. As Australia is a wealthy country and a fast adopter of new technologies, it’s an attractive target for cyber criminals. The government wants Australia to be “a world leader” in cybersecurity by 2030. State government agencies will have to scale up to address (and get in front of), an increase in frequency and complexity of attacks, and as such, cybersecurity will be an area to watch out for over the next few years.”

Simon Yeung, Talent Managing Director VIC, said, “The IT hiring market for 2025 will improve on 2024, which slumped mid-year and has been increasing since then. Many enterprise and mid-large organisations will pursue programs to achieve a data governance maturity uplift, as high-quality high-volume data is increasingly a competitive advantage. Cybersecurity challenges will increase as organisations face increased attacks that are partly AI-driven, while they balance increased demand for IT resources for AI and data.”

* Figures are based on data provided to Talent from our clients, with additional sources cited.