Australian employers raise pay for AI skills, survey finds

Robert Half found that 81% of Australian employers have changed compensation practices for roles affected by AI adoption, based on a survey of 500 hiring managers.

AI proficiency is increasingly tied to higher pay as employers compete for candidates with relevant experience. Among those that have adjusted compensation, 32% offer significantly higher salaries to candidates with proven AI skills.

Only 4% of employers said they had not adopted AI or were not hiring for roles that require AI proficiency. This suggests the issue now extends well beyond a narrow group of technology specialists and is influencing pay decisions across a broader range of functions.

Pay pressure

Salary setting has become more difficult as organisations try to put a value on AI-related knowledge. Among those where AI adoption has already influenced pay, 91% said they face challenges when compensating AI-proficient candidates.

High market demand and competition was the most commonly cited problem, named by 38% of employers. Another 24% pointed to rapidly evolving skillsets, while 18% cited budget constraints and 10% said they lacked internal salary benchmarks.

These responses highlight a tension in the market. Employers say they need staff who can work with AI tools and systems, but many are still deciding which skills justify a premium and how large that premium should be.

The survey covered hiring managers in finance, accounting, IT and technology, and human resources. Respondents came from small and medium-sized businesses, large private companies, listed groups and public sector organisations across Australia.

Salary outlook

Most employers expect upward pressure on pay to continue, with 84% anticipating that AI proficiency will keep driving salary growth in their organisations over the next one to two years.

By contrast, 13% said AI skills would have little or no impact on salaries in the near term. A further 3% were uncertain because of the speed at which AI is developing and the way its role in business strategy is still changing.

The figures indicate that AI knowledge is moving from a specialist requirement to a more mainstream factor in remuneration. That shift may have wider consequences for recruitment budgets, internal pay structures and retention strategies as employers seek to avoid losing staff with in-demand skills.

For some organisations, the pressure is likely to extend beyond external hiring. If new recruits with AI knowledge command higher salaries, companies may also face demands to review the pay of existing employees who have developed similar expertise.

This could complicate workforce planning, especially in departments where job descriptions are changing quickly. Employers may need to decide whether to pay more for external hires, invest in training current staff, or do both.

Nicole Gorton, director at Robert Half, said the rise of AI proficiency is reshaping how companies structure compensation.

"AI proficiency has found its place in the business world, becoming a sought-after skillset, and that shift is now also reshaping how companies structure compensation," Gorton said. "We're seeing the early stages of a new salary paradigm where not just technology skills, but AI fluency specifically, directly influences earning potential across different roles in businesses."

Her comments reflect a broader debate among employers about how to define useful AI expertise in practical terms. Hiring managers are trying to assess not only whether candidates can use AI tools, but whether that knowledge improves productivity, decision-making or other business outcomes enough to justify higher pay.

The issue is made harder by the pace of change in the market. Skills that are scarce today may become more common as AI tools spread across workplaces, while new areas of demand may emerge as companies change how they use the technology.

The market remains uneven, with organisations still working out how to benchmark roles and set competitive offers. In that environment, compensation decisions may increasingly depend on how each employer defines AI proficiency and how urgently it needs those skills.

"Not only are AI skills driving up salaries, but employers are still unsure how to price them. Companies know they need AI proficient talent, but they're racing to define what the skillset is worth, which is creating an uneven and fast-moving compensation landscape. To get ahead, organisations should conduct regular market scans, revisit benchmarking tools, and consider long-term skill development strategies to future-proof their workforce planning," Gorton said.