Seven things that change how Australian intelligence is built
Each of these makes a national average or an imported model unreliable.
Package includes superannuation, and the rate has risen
Australian roles are commonly advertised as a total package including the employer superannuation guarantee, which rose in annual steps to reach 12% of ordinary time earnings from 1 July 2025. A benchmark that does not say whether a figure is base plus super or package inclusive of super is not comparable with anything, including itself a year earlier.
Modern awards set floors in more sectors than employers expect
The Fair Work Commission’s modern awards set classification-based minimum pay and conditions across a wide range of industries and occupations, alongside the National Employment Standards. Identifying whether an award applies, and at which classification, is a necessary first step before a market benchmark means anything.
Five capital markets, three time zones
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide are separate labour markets with separate employer sets, and Perth is two to three hours behind the eastern seaboard depending on the season. For a national function, time zone is an operating constraint, not a detail, and it changes which locations can realistically hold which roles.
Resources and government create single-sector markets
Western Australia and Queensland hold engineering, geoscience and project capability built around resources, with fly-in fly-out rosters that change what mobility means. Canberra holds a security-cleared public sector population whose availability is governed by clearance, not by salary. Neither behaves like a commercial market.
Supply is visa-dependent in named occupations
In healthcare, engineering, technology and parts of the trades, a meaningful share of supply depends on skilled migration, and the policy settings move. Skills lists, sponsorship pathways and processing times are genuine supply variables, so where a mandate depends on them we report them and point to the current official position rather than quoting a figure that may have changed.
Distance makes relocation a real cost line
Moving a family from Adelaide to Perth is not the same proposition as moving within a European country, and intercity relocation in Australia carries both a cost and a willingness constraint. We report mobility as an evidenced attribute rather than assuming a national pool is addressable from anywhere.
The Privacy Act, not GDPR
Australia applies the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles rather than GDPR, with the OAIC as regulator, and the Act has been under active reform. The practical standard we work to is the stricter of the applicable regime and our own global policy: professional information only, sourced per field, transferred securely.
What we deliver in Australia
Seven modules, scoped to the decision rather than sold as a package.
Labour market sizing
How many people in Australia can genuinely do the work — not how many hold a similar job title. We define the population on capability, size it against official statistics, then verify the current picture by primary research.
Reported with the definition visible, so you can see exactly what was counted and challenge it.
Competitor workforce analysis
A named competitor’s function reconstructed layer by layer: approximate headcount, reporting structure, where it sits in Australia, what is held in-house versus outsourced, tenure, attrition and where leavers go.
Built from lawful sources and primary research. We do not approach a competitor’s staff under a pretext.
Compensation intelligence
Pay reconstructed into its australian components rather than quoted as one number, so an offer can be built to land correctly rather than to match a headline.
Every figure is labelled with its basis, its source and the date it was collected.
Location and footprint analysis
Candidate locations compared on qualified supply, competitor saturation, fully-loaded cost, attrition pressure and the real commuting or relocation catchment — not the administrative boundary.
The output ranks the options on evidence and states the risks in each, including the ones that argue against the option you were leaning towards.
Skills and capability supply
Where a specific capability actually exists in Australia, how fast the pool is growing or shrinking, which employers are building it, and what the realistic lead time is to acquire or develop it.
This is the module that most often changes a build-versus-buy decision.
Organisation design evidence
Comparator structures for the function you are designing: spans, layers, where capability is centralised and where it sits in the business, with named comparators rather than a generic benchmark.
Diversity and representation benchmarking
Aggregate representation across the australian population you are hiring from, so a target can be set against the market that exists rather than an aspiration.
Reported at population level only. We do not flag characteristics against named individuals, and we do not infer them.
Most engagements use three or four of these modules rather than all seven. The scoping call establishes which questions you actually need answered, and the written scope says what is in and what is deliberately out.
Pay and labour cost in Australia
A benchmark that does not state its basis is not a benchmark.
| Component | Why it changes the answer | How we report it |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | Often quoted excluding super, sometimes including it, rarely labelled | Always stated explicitly as base, base plus super, or total package |
| Superannuation guarantee | A statutory employer contribution that reached 12% of ordinary time earnings from 1 July 2025 | Modelled at the prevailing rate, stated and dated, and shown separately from base |
| Modern award classification | Where an award applies it sets a classification-based floor | Named award and classification, with above-award comparison shown separately |
| Bonus and incentive | Significant in financial and professional services, limited in parts of the public sector | Target and evidenced actual, separated from guaranteed cash |
| Allowances and site conditions | FIFO, remote and site allowances are material in resources roles | Itemised per population rather than averaged into a salary |
| Location and mobility | Intercity relocation carries real cost and real reluctance | Recorded as an evidenced attribute, because it decides whether a national pool is addressable |
Regional and city markets in Australia
We report by market, not by national average.
| Market | What concentrates there | Intelligence note |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney & NSW | Banking and insurance, technology, professional services, media, APAC regional headquarters | The deepest commercial market and the highest cost base |
| Melbourne & Victoria | Health and life sciences, financial services, education, manufacturing, technology | Broadest sector mix; strong university-to-industry flow |
| Brisbane & Queensland | Resources and energy, infrastructure and construction, health, defence | Major infrastructure programmes drive cyclical engineering demand |
| Perth & Western Australia | Mining and resources, LNG, engineering services, geoscience | Two to three hours behind the east coast; FIFO rosters change mobility |
| Adelaide & South Australia | Defence and shipbuilding, space, advanced manufacturing, wine and agribusiness | Defence programmes create clearance-bound populations |
| Canberra & ACT | Federal government, defence, national security, policy, consulting | Security clearance is the binding supply constraint, not salary |
| Hobart, Darwin & the territories | Public sector, resources, logistics, Antarctic and tropical research | Small, specialised markets where national averages mislead badly |
Sectors we cover in Australia
Deepest where the research is hardest and the stakes are highest.
- Mining, resources and energy — operations, engineering, geoscience, LNG and the project delivery base behind them.
- Financial services — banking, superannuation funds, insurance, asset management and regulated risk.
- Healthcare and life sciences — providers, pharma, medtech and clinical populations constrained by registration.
- Technology and digital — software, cloud, cyber security and platform businesses across Sydney and Melbourne.
- Defence, space and national security — including cleared populations in Canberra and Adelaide.
- Infrastructure and construction — major projects, transport and the engineering supply chain.
- Agribusiness and food — production, supply chain and export operations across regional Australia.
The Privacy Act and what may be recorded
Australia applies the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles rather than GDPR, regulated by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. The Act has been under active reform, so the practical standard we work to is the stricter of the applicable regime and our own global research policy.
In practice that means professional information only — employer, function, level, classification where an award applies, tenure, location, publicly evidenced career history and registrations — with the source noted per field. We do not compile special-category information against named individuals, and diversity analysis is produced at aggregate level only.
Where a client operates across Australia and Europe, we default to the stricter standard across the whole dataset rather than maintaining two levels of rigour, which keeps a single deliverable usable in both jurisdictions.
How a australian project actually runs
Seven stages, with a written scope before any fieldwork begins.
Define the decision, not just the role
- What we establish
- The decision the research has to support, who will take it, what evidence would change it, and what is already believed but unverified.
- Why it matters
- A study scoped to a job title answers a smaller question than the one you are actually facing, and usually the wrong one.
Agree the market definition in writing
- What we establish
- Geography, employer set, levels, capability definition, language requirement where relevant, and the explicit exclusions.
- Why it matters
- Every number in the final report depends on this definition. It is written down and signed off before fieldwork starts, so no figure is later contested on scope.
Frame the population from official sources
- What we establish
- The statistical frame for Australia — official labour market data, company registers and published filings.
- Why it matters
- Public data gives a defensible frame and shows where the gaps are. It does not give a current picture, which is what the next stage is for.
Research the market directly
- What we establish
- Named employers, structures, populations and movement, built by analysts researching the australian market itself rather than querying a database.
- Why it matters
- This is where the value is. Filings lag, profiles go stale and aggregated products inherit both.
Verify, cross-check and remove noise
- What we establish
- Each material data point corroborated against a second source, with confidence recorded where corroboration was not possible.
- Why it matters
- An unverified dataset is a liability dressed as an asset. We would rather hand over a smaller population we can stand behind.
Analyse into a decision
- What we establish
- What the pattern means for your decision, what it rules out, what it cannot tell you, and what we would do next in your position.
- Why it matters
- Data is not intelligence until someone has interpreted it against the question. That interpretation is the deliverable.
Deliver, walk through and hand over
- What we establish
- A written analysis, the structured dataset behind it and a working session with the analyst who built it.
- Why it matters
- You own all of it permanently — including the right to re-use it, load it into your own systems and refresh it with anyone you choose.
Talent intelligence, talent mapping and intelligence software
The three are routinely confused, and they are bought for different reasons.
| Talent intelligence (this page) | Talent mapping | Intelligence software | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starts from | A business decision | A role or a population | A standing data model |
| Answers | Should we, where, at what cost, against whom | Who could do this, and are they reachable | What do aggregate trends look like |
| Data origin | Primary research, verified per field | Primary research, verified per field | Modelled from profiles and postings |
| Freshness | Collected for your question on a stated date | Collected for your question on a stated date | As fresh as the underlying sources, which varies |
| Depth on a named competitor | High — structure reconstructed and corroborated | High, for the population in scope | Low to moderate; inferred rather than verified |
| Breadth | Scoped deliberately | Scoped deliberately | Very broad |
| Output | Written analysis plus dataset | Named population plus analysis | Dashboard and exports |
| Commercial model | Fixed project fee | Fixed project fee | Annual licence per seat |
| Best for | Decisions that have to be right | Hiring and succession against a defined population | Continuous monitoring and first-pass sizing |
These are complements, not substitutes, and the honest answer is that most mature talent functions run more than one. A platform licence gives you breadth and a trend line all year round. Commissioned research gives you a verified answer on the specific question that a board, an investment committee or a remuneration committee will interrogate.
Where we are unambiguously the wrong purchase: if you need continuous monitoring of a hundred markets at low cost, buy software. We will say so. Our full comparison is on the platforms and providers page, and the mapping side is covered on talent mapping in Australia.
What talent intelligence costs in Australia
Fixed project fees, scoped on the research rather than on the salary of a role.
| Engagement | What it covers | Typical fee | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-decision intelligence brief | One question, one capital-city market — for example “what cleared cyber capability exists in Canberra outside the primes?” | A$9,000–A$23,000 | 3–4 weeks |
| Function or multi-state study | A whole function across several capitals, with competitor structure, package reconstruction and supply modelled side by side | A$28,000–A$68,000 | 5–8 weeks |
| Retained intelligence programme | A standing Australian or APAC picture refreshed quarterly, with analyst access between refreshes | A$90,000–A$180,000 per year | Ongoing |
Fees are fixed in writing before work starts and driven by scope — population size, number of states, depth of package reconstruction and refresh cadence. There is no commission and no success fee. Our out-of-hours desk means Australian projects are worked while your office is closed, so progress arrives at the start of your day rather than the end of ours.
Every engagement is a fixed fee agreed in writing before work begins. There is no commission, no percentage of salary and no success fee on any service we sell, and the dataset is handed over permanently. The fee comparison calculator shows what that difference comes to against a contingency or retained search model.
Australian talent intelligence FAQs
What is talent intelligence in Australia?
Talent intelligence in Australia is primary research into the Australian labour market analysed into evidence for a business decision: how deep a qualified population is in each capital-city market, what a competitive package costs once the superannuation guarantee and any applicable modern award are counted, how a competitor’s function is structured, and how much of the supply depends on skilled visas.
It is commissioned research delivered as a written analysis with the dataset behind it.
Do your Australian figures include superannuation?
We always state the basis, because Australian roles are quoted inconsistently. The employer superannuation guarantee rose in annual steps to reach 12% of ordinary time earnings from 1 July 2025, and whether a figure is base, base plus super or total package changes it materially.
We model super at the prevailing rate, state the rate and date it, and show it separately from base so a package can be rebuilt on any convention.
How do modern awards affect a benchmark?
Where an award applies, it sets a classification-based minimum for pay and conditions alongside the National Employment Standards, and the Fair Work Commission’s awards cover a wider range of industries and occupations than most overseas employers expect.
We identify whether an award applies and at which classification before benchmarking against the market, and report award-bound and above-award employers separately.
Why do you treat each capital city as a separate market?
Because they are. Perth runs on resources, Canberra on government and national security, Sydney on financial services and regional headquarters, Melbourne on a broader commercial and health base, and Adelaide on defence and advanced manufacturing.
They are also physically distant, which makes intercity relocation a genuine cost and willingness constraint rather than an assumption. We size and cost each market separately and report mobility as evidenced.
How does time zone affect an Australian workforce plan?
More than most plans allow for. Perth sits two to three hours behind the eastern seaboard depending on the season, which is an operating constraint for any function that has to work as one team.
For APAC structures it matters more again, because the Australian working day overlaps only partially with Singapore, Tokyo and India. We report it as a structural factor in location recommendations.
Can you model visa-dependent supply?
Yes, where a mandate depends on it. In healthcare, engineering, technology and parts of the trades, a meaningful share of supply comes through skilled migration, and sponsorship pathways, skills lists and processing times are genuine supply variables.
Because the policy settings move, we report the dependency and point to the current official position with the Department of Home Affairs rather than quoting a figure that may have changed since publication.
How is this different from talent mapping in Australia?
An Australian talent map identifies and profiles the individuals who could do a defined role. Talent intelligence informs the decision above it: which capital should hold the function, what the package convention has to be, how exposed the plan is to migration policy, and which competitors hold the capability.
Most Australian engagements use both layers.
What does talent intelligence cost in Australia?
A single-decision brief typically costs A$9,000 to A$23,000. A function-wide or multi-state study typically costs A$28,000 to A$68,000. A retained programme with quarterly refreshes typically runs A$90,000 to A$180,000 a year.
The fee is fixed in writing before work begins and driven by scope rather than by any salary. There is no commission and no success fee.
How do you handle Australian privacy law?
Australia applies the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles rather than GDPR, regulated by the OAIC, and the Act has been under active reform.
We work to the stricter of the applicable regime and our own global policy: professional information only, sourced per field, transferred securely, with no special-category data compiled against named individuals. For clients operating in both Australia and Europe we apply the stricter standard across the whole dataset.
Can you research cleared populations in Canberra and Adelaide?
We can size and structure them, within the obvious limits. In defence, national security and parts of space and advanced manufacturing, security clearance rather than salary is the binding supply constraint, and a plan that ignores it will not deliver.
We report clearance as a supply variable where it is publicly evidenced, and we are explicit about what cannot be established from open sources rather than filling the gap with inference.
Do you work Australian hours?
Effectively, yes. Our out-of-hours desk means Australian projects are worked while your office is closed, so progress and questions arrive at the start of your day. For Australian clients that usually compresses a project timeline rather than extending it. See our out-of-hours coverage.
Which Australian data sources do you use?
The ABS for labour and earnings statistics, Jobs and Skills Australia for skills and occupational analysis, the Fair Work Commission for modern award classifications, the ATO for superannuation rates and the Department of Home Affairs for migration settings — all framed by primary research into the specific employers in scope.
Who owns the research at the end?
You do, permanently. The dataset and written analysis are handed over and are yours to keep, re-use and refresh with whoever you choose. We do not resell client research.
Primary sources and how we check
- Labour statisticsAustralian Bureau of Statistics
- Employee earnings and hoursAustralian Bureau of Statistics
- Labour market insights and skills analysisJobs and Skills Australia
- Modern awards listFair Work Commission
- Superannuation guarantee ratesAustralian Taxation Office
- Australian Privacy PrinciplesOffice of the Australian Information Commissioner
- Skilled migration programmeDepartment of Home Affairs
Figures quoted on this page were checked against the sources above on 20 October 2026. Statutory rates, thresholds and quotas change: where a number drives a budget or a legal obligation, confirm it against the primary source before you rely on it.