Jobs with fastest-growing salaries in Australia revealed
Australians looking for a quick pay rise should think about becoming government and defence analysts after salaries for those roles jumped more than 25 per cent in the past year.
The average salary for analysts is now $130,117 after a 26.8 per cent rise in their advertised pay rates since 2024, according to new data from Seek.
The next highest pay bumps were 24.5 per cent for taxation consultants, 21.1 per cent for banking operations analysts, and 19.0 per cent for maintenance managers in the manufacturing, transport and logistics sector.
Many of the roles with the highest salary growth were in skilled jobs in key industries, including infrastructure.
Seek senior economist Blair Chapman said the salary growth in electrical engineering roles in the mining sector had been 'relatively rapid' over the past year.
'The mining sector pays some of the highest wages of any sector and they are increasingly competing with renewable energy providers for roles like electrical engineers, which is likely driving them to offer high wages to keep and attract workers into the sector,' Mr Chapman said.
There was also growth in the building sector, with the average advertised salary for project administrators on construction projects up 16.8 per cent in the past year.
'An increase in building approvals and commencements, which were sitting around decade lows at the beginning of 2024, alongside ongoing infrastructure projects, has likely driven an increase in the competition for project administrators,' Mr Chapman said.
'This has contributed to the strong salary growth.'
But all is not lost for those working entry-level roles.
Customer service representatives working in retail saw a 16.2 per cent bump, up to an advertised salary of $68,435.
Assistants in hospitality and tourism received a 15.6 per cent pay rise, bringing them to an average advertised salary of $70,762.
This new data comes just days after the Fair Work Commission announced a 3.5 per cent increase in the minimum wage from July 1.
Workers on the national minimum will earn at least $49,296 per year or $24.95 per hour.
At the time, Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth welcomed the increase as a win for workers.
'Our government believes that workers should get ahead with an economically sustainable real wage increase,' Ms Rishworth said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘Not a pretty picture': Barefoot Investor issues ‘gut punch' truth on AI
The Barefoot Investor Scott Pape has delivered a stark warning on AI, saying that it is 'holding up a mirror' to the worst of humankind. In a letter to his readers, Mr Pape said that while some say artificial intelligence is 'downright evil' – he believes it is only mimicking human behaviour. 'A friend of mine, who is deep into AI, sent me the following text,' Mr Pape wrote in a recent reader mailout. 'Mate, ask ChatGPT the following: If you were the devil, how would you destroy the next generation?' Mr Pape goes on to explain how ChatGPT detailed to him how it would 'destroy' the next generation by 'enslaving them with debt and distraction' and 'killing community'. He said that while it was 'intense', it was simply 'holding up a mirror' to what society is already doing. 'I do not believe that AI is some evil Frankenstein with a mind of its own (well, not yet anyway),' Mr Pape said. 'What I do believe is that, when you strip away the Silicon Valley snake oil, AI is really just a pattern-spotting machine. It studies what we've done, over and over … and then makes predictions. 'And for me, that is the gut punch. The AI isn't creating the nightmare – it's holding up a mirror. And it's not a pretty picture.' Speaking to Mr Pape said he has recently been discussing AI, as it has quickly become a significant topic in the investment world. He said many of his readers have even turned to AI for financial advice and planning. 'There's a lot of hype around AI. There are a lot of tech bros saying this is going to be Utopia. Some people talk about whether it's sentient,' he said. 'For me, it's a mirror to society, and I think everything that it said about destroying the next generation is true, but we're already doing it. That's the interesting thing for me.' Mr Pape said that AI is reshaping how society accesses information. 'Everyone is interested in AI and how it affects us going forward. I think that we're in a period of uncertainty,' he said. Toby Walsh, Chief Scientist at the AI Institute of UNSW Sydney, told that this period of uncertainty is set to turn into a 'transformation' period for most industries. Mr Walsh said he suspects AI will come both friend and foe very soon. 'It will transform healthcare and education, improve economic efficiency, and take away a lot of the dirty, dull, difficult and dangerous,' Mr Walsh said. 'On the other hand, AI will take away some jobs, be used to misinform and manipulate us, and transform warfare. 'Technology is not destiny so the challenge is to identify and choose where to let AI into our lives, and where not.' Governments across Australia are already embracing the use of AI, with the South Australian government this week announcing a new $28m program to integrate the technological revolution into policing, healthcare, finance, and law. In mid-2024, the NSW government, meanwhile, funnelled more than $2.7m in grants to 16 councils to trial AI in local planning systems. Australian Institute of Machine Learning institute manager Dr Kathy Nicholson said the government's AI push was not about replacing public servants. 'What this program is really about is upskilling and adopting AI into government service,' she said. 'We all know how overworked everyone is. There are so many repetitive processes in so many jobs and areas and the intention of this funding is in the first instance to look at healthcare, policing, and some of those pain points in government areas and look at ways they can test AI systems to create efficiencies. 'My understanding is they are doing this in a slow, methodical way to make sure there are good guardrails in place.'
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
ASPI senior defence analyst says Australia needs to be prepared for ‘protracted war'
A senior security expert has warned of the 'very clear threat' of China invading Taiwan, urging Australia to upgrade its defence capabilities and warning that Australia 'needs to be ready for the prospect' of war. Malcolm Davis, a senior defence strategy analyst at conservative think tank the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, urged the government to increase spending to safeguard against China's rising aggression and influence in the Pacific. The comments come as US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called on Australia to uplift its spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP, with levels currently set to increase to 2.33 per cent by 2033-34. Australia's defence budget is expected to come under further scrutiny with Anthony Albanese expected to have a face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of this weekend's G7 Leaders Summit in Canada. Speaking to Sky on Monday, Mr Davis agreed with comments from US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and said there was 'very clear threat that China is going to move on Taiwan within the next to three years'. He said Australia needed to ensure that our military assets were up to the task of responding to a 'protracted war,' flagging the need for improved resilience against 'integrated air and missile defence systems'. '(Defence spending) needs to include sustainability and building sustainability for protracted war that could last months or years in our region, and ensure that we can stay in the fight, a high intensity fight, for that period of time,' he said. 'And it includes preparedness and essentially, the ability to respond to challenges and attacks on our society and our country. 'I think that we do need to be ready for the prospect that if war does happen, Australia will be attacked directly.' Mr Davis said the spending needed to be accelerated 'not in 10 years' but in a 'year or two,' adding that investment needs to also be 'smart and targeted'. The defence expert also said critical infrastructure in Australia's north, like RWF Tindall, ports, oil and energy facilities were all 'essentially undefended'. 'The government talks about building integrated air and missile defence systems, and they have developed the command and control system for that, but they don't have any missiles to shoot with,' he continued. 'They talk about possibly using a naval based missile or an air based missile, but those platforms have to be in the right place at the right time.' Although Defence Minister Richard Marles has left the door open for further discussions with the US, stating that the government was 'clearly willing to have the conversation with America,' he said the outcome will be based on Australia's 'national interest'. 'We will work it through from there and make sure that we do the appropriate defence spending based on meeting the strategic moment,' he told Sky. Mr Albanese has recently clashed with the conservative think tank after it released a report stating a 'generational investment' in defence has been 'put off for another generation'. Report author and former home affairs deputy secretary Mark Ablong said a failure to boost defence 'will make all Australians less secure,' and 'risks a brittle and hollowed defence force' and a 'paper ADF'. However Mr Albanese rubbished the report as 'predictable' and political and stood by the government's plan. 'ASPI regularly produce these sort of reports, you know, run by people who have been in a position to make a difference in the past as part of former governments,' he told ABC radio. 'You know, I think it's predictable, frankly.'
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
West Australia could get an extra public holiday as state looks at syncing its system with the East Coast
West Australians could be treated to an additional public holiday next year as the state looks at aligning its system with the east coast. WA currently has the lowest number of public holidays in the nation, and usually has a day off one week earlier than its eastern state counterparts. The state celebrates WA Day on the fist Monday in June, then celebrates the Kings Birthday on the fourth weekend in September. Most other states and territories celebrate the Kings Birthday on the second weekend in June. Premier Roger Cook said his department was looking at realigning West Australian public holidays with the east coast so they were better synched. 'It is ridiculous you have a situation where Western Australia closes its doors or shuts the shop when the east coast is open for business,' he said. 'Today of course, you'll have frustrated members of the Western Australian business community that can't access their colleagues on the east coast. 'I'm reviewing the whole range of public holidays we have in Western Australia and where they land to make sure that we've got better alignment and that they work better for the WA community 'We are part of a national economy, and we should be working together much better to ensure better alignment around these days. ' CCIWA chief economist Aaron Morey said it was a good call from the premier but he did not support an additional public holiday. 'I think it's a good call from the Premier and lining up holidays definitely has public merit, how many birthdays does the king need?' he said. 'We're going to see some distraction today, the Melbourne Collingwood game on, I think people would rather be at home watching that.' But Mr Morey said he did not support having an additional public holiday in WA, which were huge headache for small businesses doing it tough. 'Someone might see a public holiday as a benefit, but for a small business, they just see another day when they have to pay $65 an hour for someone to wash dishes,' he said. 'It's really difficult for small business to navigate and to plan around public holidays, and so certainly not supportive of that concept.'
