2021-22 Professional Engineers Employment Remuneration Report

The Association of
PROFESSIONAL
ENGINEERS
EMPLOYMENT AND
REMUNERATION
REPORT 2021/22
The Association of
Published by Professionals Australia
Copyright © 2021 by the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and

Managers, Australia (trading as Professionals Australia). All rights reserved.
No part of this work may be reproduced or stored in any form, especially
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action taken by readers.
ISSN 2203-1162 (previously ISSN 1444-7495)
GPO Box 1272, Melbourne Victoria 3001

surveys@professionalsaustralia.org.au
www.professionalengineers.org.au
2 | Professional Engineers Employment and Remuneration Report 2021-22

CONTENTS
ABOUT US 4
FOREWORD 5
KEY FINDINGS 6
JOB MARKET 8
ENGINEER REMUNERATION 15
SECTOR 16
INDUSTRY 19
DISCIPLINE 23
STATE 25
RESPONSIBILITY LEVEL 26
JOB FUNCTION 28
BENEFITS 30
UNION/PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP 31
POST-GRADUATE QUALIFICATIONS 31
ACCREDITATION 33
RECENT GRADUATES 36
GENDER 38
SATISFACTION WITH CURRENT REMUNERATION 45
WORKPLACE ISSUES 47
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 47
HOURS OF WORK 49
PROFESSIONAL INTENTIONS 51
WORK PRIORITIES 55
WORKER FATIGUE, STAFF MORALE AND PRODUCTIVITY 56
FACTORS IMPACTING ENGINEERING CAPABILITY 57
FACTORS IMPACTING MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING 59
IMPACT OF COVID-19 60
HOURS OF WORK 61
WORKING FROM HOME 62
CARER RESPONSIBILITIES AND HOME SCHOOLING 63
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS 64
ABOUT THE SURVEY 70
EMPLOYMENT OBLIGATIONS 75
HOW TO ORDER THE EXTENDED ENGINEERS 80
EMPLOYMENT AND REMUNERATION REPORT
Professional Engineers Employment and Remuneration Report 2021-22 | 3

ABOUT US
The Association of Professional Engineers Australia is a division of Professionals Australia (formerly
the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia). This organisation is
registered under the Fair Work Act 2009 representing over 23,000 professionals including professional
engineers, scientists, veterinarians, surveyors, architects, pharmacists, information technology
professionals, managers, transport industry professionals and translators and interpreters throughout
Australia.
Professionals Australia began as the Association of Professional Engineers, Australia (APEA) which
formed in 1946 and was registered as an industrial association in 1948. APEA was the first organisation
to ensure that professional engineers were recognised and rewarded for the high-value work they
do. The Professional Engineers Case, finalised in 1961, saw engineers across Australia receive salary
increases averaging more than 40 per cent. Even more importantly it set the precedent for work value
and benchmark salaries for professionals.
Professionals Australia's engineering members are employed across all sectors of the Australian
economy. Engineering-based industries are worth $479 billion or 32 per cent of national gross value
added and exports from engineering-based industries excluding mining totalled $92 billion1 or
29 per cent of total exports. This figure swells to $249 billion or 78 per cent of exports if mining is
included. Engineers perform design, scoping and project management roles in a diverse range of
industries throughout the private and public sectors including roads, rail, water, electricity, information
technology, telecommunications, construction, mining, oil and gas exploration, defence, shipbuilding
and manufacturing. Engineers are largely responsible for designing, building and maintaining Australia's
infrastructure. The contribution of our engineers and their ability to derive new ideas and develop
solutions to our challenges as a nation will be fundamental to a successful transition to a competitive
high-skill, knowledge-based economy.
Professionals Australia is a not-for profit organisation and is owned by its members.

FOREWORD
The modest increase also belies the broader community's regard
for the work of professional engineers confirmed in the most recent
Image of Professions survey that found engineers were rated highly
On the economic front, the strong pickup in the domestic economy for their ‘ethics and honesty’ at 68 per cent in 2021, the sixth
and recovery of consumer sentiment following the peak of the highest profession overall and well ahead of other professions in
COVID-19 crisis has put Australia in a better than expected position business-related fields.8
in 2021 but serial lockdowns and ongoing border closures will
Beyond wages, another key concern emerging from our survey this
continue to impact recovery over the medium-term.
year was the negative workplace experiences reported by female
Strong public sector investment - around $50 billion in additional professional engineers. While 60.6 per cent of survey respondents
infrastructure funding in recent state and territory budgets2, said that their organisation had policies in place to deal with
around $65 billion on major nation-building projects in the areas of discrimination, 34.9 per cent of female respondents reported they
transport infrastructure, energy, recycling, agriculture, water, the had experienced discrimination on the basis of gender over the past
environment and advanced manufacturing in the October 2020 three years, compared to 6.1 per cent of males. In addition, over
Budget3 and a further $15.2 billion in the May 2021 Federal Budget4 25.4 per cent of female respondents reported sexual harassment,
has brought the total infrastructure pipeline to almost a quarter of a compared to 2.5 per cent of male respondents.
trillion dollars over the next four years. Discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace are illegal
While business confidence has reached its highest level since 2018, and cause serious harm and damage to affected workers. While
Deloitte forecasts private business investment will lag behind the workplace policies are a necessary starting point, organisational
national economic recovery in 2021, prior to an acceleration in 2022 leaders need to drive, model and embed a culture of respect across
and 2023.5 their organisations.
The Reserve Bank expects GDP to reach its pre-pandemic forecast Now more than ever, engineers are looking to their work for the
levels over the course of 2021, around 6 to 12 months earlier opportunity to contribute to the nation’s economic recovery. We
than forecast. The labour market recovery has continued with need to continue to provide proper incentive for the next generation
employment and hours worked both returning to pre-COVID levels. to aspire to professional engineering careers, to properly recognise
The unemployment rate dropped to 4.6 per cent in August 2021 the role of the professional engineering workforce in value creation
but the participation rate also fell and the underemployment rate and driving economic reconstruction and to address the factors
jumped to 8.3 per cent - so some mixed signs in the recovery. The that lead to the under-representation of women and other minority
current labour market is likely to remain patchy with decent wage groups in engineering. Our strength as a nation and a competitive
growth still some time off. Australian economy into the future will depend on having an agile,
highly-trained, sustainable and diverse engineering profession.
Of serious concern is the RBA's February 2021 forecast on wages
growth which it expects will remain below 2 per cent.6 This forecast
is confirmed by Deloitte Access Economics which has stated it
expects wages to grow by just 1.2 per cent in 2021-22 before
recovering to 2.2 per cent in 2024-25.7
The Professionals Australia survey identified wage growth for

Professional Engineers consistent with this forecast with an average
increase of 1.6 per cent on the back of a 2.4 per cent increase
in 2020-21. While the increase outpaced both the cost of living
increase and wage growth across the broader economy, the
increase does not properly reflect the important role of professional
engineers in building critical infrastructure and driving nation- Jill McCabe
building projects, particularly as we move into the post-health crisis CEO, Association of Professional Engineers, Australia
phase and rebuilding after the drought and bushfire emergencies.

KEY FINDINGS
REMUNERATION
• Average wages for professional engineers over the 12 months to • The survey found that accreditation in the form of RPEng,
April 2021 rose by 1.6 per cent, outpacing a CPI increase of 1.1 CPEng or RPEQ delivered a premium of 27.3 per cent higher
per cent over the 12 months to 31 March 2021 and the Wage remuneration. Respondents holding an accreditation reported
Price Index increase of 1.5 per cent across all professions over the a median total package of $165,138, compared with $131,400
same period. among those respondents not holding an accreditation.
• Engineers in the Defence industry fared best in terms of growth • A Masters degree delivered a wage premium of 12.8 per cent
rate with an average annual increase of 2.1 per cent. when compared with a Bachelor degree, while a Graduate
Diploma delivered a wage premium of 22.5 per cent. Respondents
• Wages in the Road industry, Water, sewerage and drainage with a doctorate received the highest wage premium, at 25.8 per
industry, and the Construction industry also rose moderately, cent.
increasing between 1.7 and 2.0 per cent.
• 33.5 per cent of respondents received no pay rise at all in the
• Gas supply as well as Education and training exhibited the weakest previous 12 months – 38.5 per cent in the private sector and 25.3
performance, both on average standing still at 0.0 per cent per cent in the public sector.
growth.
• Average annual salary movements were greatest for engineers
• Respondents in the Education and training industry reported the qualified in Manufacturing and Aeronautical engineering
highest average wage with a median total package of $190,167, disciplines with increases of 2.5 per cent each.
followed by engineers in the Electricity industry and the Transport,
postal and warehousing industry with packages of $171,329 and • Movements were lowest for engineers qualified in Systems,
$169,725 respectively. Materials, Geological and Electronics disciplines with movements
of 0.0 per cent for each.
• Engineers in the Consulting and technical services industry
recorded the lowest average total package at $125,506, followed
by Manufacturing with an average package of $133,926.
• The survey found almost one-third (32.5 per cent) of respondents
were dissatisfied with their current level of remuneration, up
slightly from 30.5 percent in 2020.
• 8.3 per cent of respondents said they were considering leaving the
profession permanently and the most common reason for wanting
to leave the profession was to pursue another career.
• 48.5 per cent said they believed their remuneration package was
falling behind what others undertaking similar work were being STAT E
paid.
• Respondents from New South Wales reported the highest median
• 48.1 per cent said they did not believe their package appropriately total package at $149,378, followed by Queensland at $145,852
reflected the level of responsibility they undertook in their day-to- and the ACT with $144,250.
day work.
• The ACT and Tasmania performed the strongest in terms of wage
growth, with average salary movements of 2.1 and 2.5 per cent
respectively.

WORKPLACE ISSUES SEC TOR
• 53.4 per cent of public sector respondents saw an increasing • A sector comparison shows that the public sector marginally
lack of in-house engineering capacity as a major issue in their outperformed the private sector in terms of wage growth,
workplace over the last 12 months, compared with 32.0 of private delivering a 1.8 per cent increase compared with an increase of
sector respondents. 1.4 per cent for the public sector.
• 49.3 per cent in the public sector saw insufficient skills • Public sector respondents reported a slightly higher median total
development as an issue impacting their workplace compared package at $149,600 compared with $136,875 for the private
with 41.1 per cent in the private sector. sector.
• Cost-cutting was seen as a factor affecting engineering workplaces
by a similar number of public and private sector respondents at
43.1 and 45.4 per cent respectively.
• Poorly scoped or designed projects was reported as a serious
workplace issue by 42.1 per cent of public sector respondents,
compared with 33.6 per cent of private sector respondents.
• Survey respondents confirmed changes in staff morale and levels
of fatigue in their workplaces with 42.9 per cent of respondents
reporting that staff morale at their workplace had declined in
the previous 12 months and 51.5 per cent reporting that worker
fatigue had increased. WOMEN IN
• 24.7 per cent of public sector respondents said their organisation
did not actively regard engineering capability as a source of
ENGINEERING
innovation compared with 10.3 per cent of engineers in the • The survey found that female engineers reported average
private sector. earnings of 90.2 per cent of male engineers’ reported earnings – a
gender pay gap of 9.8 per cent.
• Respondents ranked job satisfaction, remuneration, job security
and work/life balance as their top four work priorities. • 34.9 per cent of female respondents reported that they had
experienced discrimination on the basis of gender in the previous
three years compared to 6.1 per cent of male respondents.
• While 60.6 per cent of respondents said their employer had in
place formal policies to deal with discrimination and 52.2 per
cent said their employer had in place formal policies to promote
diversity, 22.9 per cent said that their employer did not have
strategies in place to actually implement the policies.
• 25.4 per cent of female respondents reported having experienced
sexual harassment in the course of their employment compared
to 2.5 per cent of male respondents.

JOB MARKET
Demand nationally
Nationally, engineering vacancies contracted by 28.3 per cent in the 12 months to December 20209 but
did show signs of steady recovery in the second half of the year. There were however still around 6 per
cent fewer jobs advertised in December 2020 than at January 2019. Engineering vacancies did increase
by 12 per cent in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the December quarter of 2020 though, signalling
a strengthening of demand for engineering services and an early sign of broad improvement in the
engineering labour market.10
As well as vacancies providing an indicator of the broad direction of the engineering labour market, they
are a gauge of trends for states and disciplines.
Demand by state
Engineering vacancies were down in every state and territory in 2020 compared to 2019.
The greatest contractions in engineering vacancies were in Victoria and New South Wales with declines
of 35.5 per cent and 37.1 per cent in the number of job ads to December 2020 respectively. State figures
confirm that vacancies stabilised and rose steadily in the second half of 2020 with engineering job ads
trending upwards in the first quarter of 2021.11
Figure 1 - Median percentage increase in salaries by sector of employment

PERCENTAGE INCREASE
AVERAGE MONTHLY
AVERAGE MONTHLY AVERAGE MONTHLY PERCENTAGE DECLINE IN IN ENGINEERING JOB ADS PROPORTION OF
ENGINEERING VACANCIES
STATE ENGINEERING VACANCIES ENGINEERING VACANCIES ENGINEERING JOB ADS IN 1ST QUARTER OF 2021 NATIONAL ENGINEERING
IN 1ST QUARTER OF 2021
IN 2019 IN 2020 OVER 2019/2020 (%) COMPARED TO AVERAGE VACANCIES (%)
(JAN-MAR)
OVER 2020
NSW 1,442 930 1,189 -35.5 27.8 26.3

VIC 1,166 734 956 -37.1 30.2 20.8
QLD 973 752 910 -22.6 21 21.3
WA 904 757 948 -16.2 25.2 21.4
SA 212 165 213 -21.9 29.1 4.7
ACT 143 123 150 -13.7 22 3.4
Numbers too small to Numbers too small to
NT 47 38 53 1.1
report4 report4
Numbers too small to Numbers too small to
TAS 40 31 50 0.9
report4 report

Demand by discipline
Increases in demand were evident across all disciplines in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the
December 2020 quarter with the exception of telecommunications engineering professionals. Demand
increased most for ICT support and test engineers, Engineering managers, Civil engineers and Electrical
engineers.12
Table 2 - Percentage change in job ads - December 2020 quarter to March 2021 quarter
TOTAL JOB ADS TOTAL JOB ADS % INCREASE IN
ENGINEERING JOB TITLE DECEMBER 2020 MARCH 2021 JOB ADS
QUARTER QUARTER
ICT SUPPORT AND TEST ENGINEERS 1,372 1,758 28.1
OTHER ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS 787 959 21.9
ENGINEERING MANAGERS 503 608 20.9
CIVIL ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS 4,086 4,912 20.2
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS 720 858 19.1
INDUSTRIAL, MECHANICAL AND 1,571 1,845 17.4

PRODUCTION ENGINEERS
ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS 132 153 15.9
MINING ENGINEERS 1,710 1,870 9.3
Demand by industry
The COVID pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the Australian labour market over the last
18 months and while it is generally recovering more quickly than expected, some of the engineering-
intensive industries including manufacturing, construction, mining and utilities13 appear to be recovering
more slowly than the broader economy.14
In response to the pandemic, Professionals Australia called for investment in the ongoing design and
delivery of critical infrastructure and major nation-building projects in transport, energy, recycling,
construction, agriculture, water, the environment and manufacturing industries. The pipeline is currently
dominated by a series of major transport projects with an estimated individual cost of $1 billion or more
accounting for approximately 60 per cent of the Government's total infrastructure project investment.15
Spending is heavily concentrated in New South Wales and Victoria - in line with where the greatest
declines in job ads were over 2019/20.
Challenges remain in delivering these major projects in spite of the significant Government infrastructure
spending announced in the October 2020 and May 2021 Budgets. While the public sector funds major
projects, it is generally the private sector that actually delivers them. Not only are there serious questions
around whether the public sector has in place the engineering capabilities to properly scope, design and
contract out projects to the private sector, but there are also clear concerns about the private sector's
capacity to deliver on projects. With the number of consulting firms willing to accept risk and bid on
major projects declining, along with possible interruptions to the supply chain on key building materials,
and a finite pool of skilled labour,16 the capacity of the private sector to deliver on projects is far from
guaranteed.

The latest National Skills Commission figures show that for the industries that account for the majority
of engineering employment, the global pandemic impacted employment most in the Information media
and telecommunications (employment down 4.7 per cent - see note below), Education and training
(down 3.2 per cent), Manufacturing (down 2.3 per cent and Construction (down 2.5 per cent) industries
(annual change). Manufacturing and Retail trade picked up over the quarter to February 2021 (6.5 per
cent and 2.9 per cent respectively). The largest annual gains were in Retail trade (employment up 6.2
per cent), Professional, scientific and technical services (up 4.9 per cent) and Transport, postal and
warehousing (up 3.9 per cent).17
Note: IT employment sits across the Information, media and telecommunications and the Professional,
scientific and technical services industries and while the Information, media and telecommunications
industry was one of the hardest hit industries with an annual drop of 4.7 per cent in employment,
the Computer system design and related services sector which sits within the Professional, scientific
and technical services industry led growth in this industry recording employment gains of 9.5 per
cent. Employment was also up for Software and applications programmers, Other information and
organisation professionals, and Multimedia specialists and web developers, so it is clear changes in
employment opportunities are variable within the IT sector.
Engineering commencements and completions

New entrants to the Australian engineering job market come from university engineering enrolments
and completions and skilled migration. Both have been impacted by COVID with border closures affecting
migration levels and the number of international students studying engineering degrees.
Domestic enrolments
The latest figures show that the number of domestic students commencing an entry-level degree in
engineering in 2019 decreased by 0.3 per cent on the previous year. This was offset by a 3.5 per cent
increase in domestic post-graduate commencements.18
Overseas student enrolments

The latest figures show that the number of overseas students commencing an entry-level degree in
engineering in 2019 declined by 2.1 per cent on the previous year. This was compounded by a decrease
of 0.8 per cent in overseas student post-graduate commencements.19
Table 3 - Engineering commencements by course level and citizenship category for 2018
and 2019
ENROLMENT COUNT
Postgraduate 2,944
2018
Undergraduate 15,990
Domestic
Postgraduate 3,046
2019
Undergraduate 15,937
Postgraduate 11,151
2018
Undergraduate 9,327
Overseas
Postgraduate 11,061
2019
Undergraduate 9,127
Source: Department of Education, Skills and Employment - Higher Education Statistics Data Cube (uCube) which is based on the student and staff data
collections.

Domestic and overseas engineering course commencements combined
Domestic commencements of undergraduate and post-graduate degrees combined increased by 0.3
per cent. Overseas student commencements of undergraduate and post-graduate degrees combined
decreased by 1.4 per cent. Commencements between 2018 and 2019 decreased overall due to a very
modest increase in domestic commencements that did not offset the drop in overseas commencements.
We would expect substantial declines in overseas enrolments and possible increases in domestic
enrolments in the coming year.
Domestic completions
The latest figures show that the number of domestic students completing an entry-level degree in
engineering in 2019 decreased by 6.1 per cent on the previous year. This was compounded by a 1.5 per
cent decline in domestic post-graduate completions.20
Overseas student completions

The latest figures show that the number of overseas students completing an entry-level degree in
engineering in 2019 increased by 5.3 per cent on the previous year. This was in addition to a strong
increase of 11.0 per cent in overseas student post-graduate completions.21
Table 4 - Engineering completions by course level and citizenship category for 2018 and 2019
ENROLMENT COUNT
Postgraduate 2,789
2018
Undergraduate 9,119
Domestic
Postgraduate 2,748
2019
Undergraduate 8,559
Postgraduate 7,497
2018
Undergraduate 5,942
Overseas
Postgraduate 8,320
2019
Undergraduate 6,257
collections.

Domestic and overseas engineering course completions combined
Domestic completions of undergraduate and post-graduate degrees combined decreased by 5.0 per
cent. Overseas student completions of undergraduate and post-graduate degrees combined increased
by 8.5 per cent. Completions increased overall between 2018 and 2019 due to strong completions by
overseas students.22
Course commencements for women

The proportion of women commencing engineering courses has slowly increased over the past four years
with the level of increase of 1.5 per cent in 2019 well down on the increases from 2015 to 2018.23
Table 5 - Female engineering commencements count and percentage change on previous

year
ENROLMENT PERCENTAGE
YEAR ENROLMENT COUNT
CHANGE ON PREVIOUS YEAR
2015 6,332 8.1%
2016 6,615 4.5%
2017 7,051 6.6%
2018 7,381 4.7%
2019 7,489 1.5%
collections.
Note: These figures are for entry-level and post-graduate courses and include domestic and overseas student citizenship categories.
In 2019, 19.1 per cent of total engineering course commencements were from women compared to
18.7 per cent in 2018. Post-graduate course enrolments in 2019 were higher than for entry-level degrees
(22.0 per cent of commencements compared to 17.6 per cent), following the same pattern as in 2018.24
Table 6 - Proportion of female engineering commencements as proportion of total com-

mencements
MALE/ COURSE PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL

YEAR COMMENCEMENTS
FEMALE LEVEL COURSE COMMENCEMENTS
Postgraduate 11,147 79.1%
Undergraduate 20,872 82.5%
MALE
Both post-graduate and
32,019 81.3%
undergraduate
2018
FEMALE
7,381 18.7%
undergraduate
MALE
31,633 80.9%
undergraduate
2019
FEMALE
7,486 19.1%
undergraduate
collections.

Total employment
Total employment figures confirm that the 2021 first quarter shows signs that the engineering
employment market is picking up with increasing vacancies for Engineering Managers, Electrical
Engineers, Electronics Engineers, Mining Engineers, ICT Support and Test Engineers. The exceptions
were job ads for Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers which dropped 2.6 percentage points
in the quarter to February 2021 but gained 10.1 per cent over the previous year, Other Engineering
Professionals for which employment dropped 40.5 per cent over the quarter and 58.3 per cent over the
previous year and Telecommunications Engineers for whom total employment dropped by 18.8 per cent
in the first quarter and 38.3 per cent in the previous 12 months. Total employment increased by the
greatest percentage for Electrical Engineers (up 25.1 per cent for the quarter to February 2021 and by
31.1 per cent over the previous year). Employment for ICT Support and Test Engineers rose by 25.0 per
cent in the first quarter and was up 14.3 per cent on the previous year.25
This compares with an increase of 1.2 per cent for all occupations in the quarter to end February 2021
and all occupations increasing by 4,900 and holding even in percentage terms over the previous year.26
Table 7 - Total employment - Engineering professionals February 2021 (seasonally adjusted)
TOTAL
CHANGE IN PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN PERCENTAGE
EMPLOYMENT
OCCUPATION NUMBER OVER CHANGE OVER NUMBER OVER CHANGE OVER NUMBER OVER CHANGE OVER
AT FEBRUARY
QUARTER QUARTER YEAR YEAR FIVE YEARS FIVE YEARS
2021
ENGINEERING MANAGERS 27,100 ↑ 240 ↑ 0.9% ↓ 1,800 ↓ 6.1% ↑ 1,800 ↑ 7.3%
CHEMICAL AND MATERIALS 4,700 ↓ 2,000 ↓ 30.1% ↓ 1,000 ↓ 18.2% ↓ 1,800 ↓ 27.8%
ENGINEERS
CIVIL ENGINEERING 48,900 ↓ 16,000 ↓ 25.3% ↓ 13,800 ↓ 22.0% ↑ 14,800 ↑ 43.2%

PROFESSIONALS
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS 33,600 ↑ 6,800 ↑ 25.1% ↑ 8,000 ↑ 31.1% ↑ 12,800 ↑ 61.7%
ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS 5,900 ↑ 410 ↑ 7.4% ↓ 2,800 ↓ 31.6% ↑ 1,300 ↑ 29.1%
INDUSTRIAL, MECHANICAL 43,600 ↓ 1,200 ↓ 2.6% ↑ 4,000 ↑ 10.1% ↑ 18,200 ↑ 71.7%

AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERS
MINING ENGINEERS 11,300 ↑ 340 ↑ 3.1% ↑ 1,400 ↑ 14.1% ↑ 3,000 ↑ 35.2%
OTHER ENGINEERING 7,800 ↓ 5,300 ↓ 40.5% ↓ 10,900 ↓ 58.3% ↑ 1,400 ↑ 21.9%

PROFESSIONALS
ICT SUPPORT AND TEST 15,400 ↑ 3,100 ↑ 25.0% ↑ 1,900 ↑ 14.3% ↑ 10,900
↑ More than
ENGINEERS 100.0%
TELECOMMUNICATIONS 10,600 ↓ 2,500 ↓ 18.8% ↓ 6,600 ↓ 38.3% ↑ 550 ↑ 5.4%

ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS
ALL OCCUPATIONS 13,016,600 ↑ 157,300 ↑ 1.2% ↑ 4,900 0.0% ↑ 1,082,700 ↑ 9.1%
Source: Labour Market Information Portal data visualisations - Occupation and industry analysis.
Labour market shortages

The June 2021 edition of the Skills Priority List identified shortages and strong future demand for
Electrical, Civil, Structural, Geotechnical, Transport, Mining, Petroleum and Software Engineers.
Engineering Managers were identified as in shortage with moderate future demand.27

Migrant engineers
Skilled migration is an important part of Australia’s migration program and migrant engineers are an
important source of engineering skills for Australia. One of the key issues with the engineering skilled
migration program is that migrant engineers are arriving in Australia to meet a policy objective of
boosting domestic engineering capability but only 40.9 per cent go on to work in core engineering roles.
The rates are lower again for female engineers and those in regional centres. The unemployment rate for
Australian-born engineers was 3.7 per cent while the figure for migrants was 7.6 per cent (6.9 per cent
for men and 11.3 per cent for women). The rates of unemployment for overseas-born migrants is higher
than for Australian-born engineers but also higher than for the unskilled labour force. This shows there is
a mismatch between the policy objective of enhanced engineering capability and what is being achieved
on the ground. To more effectively ensure that engineering skilled migration is meeting its policy
objective, it is essential that more support is provided to skilled migrants to ensure better employment
outcomes.28 This will include initiatives such as internship opportunities; mentoring programs; re-
skilling/upskilling - programs and support initiatives that the Association of Professional Engineers
Australia has long been arguing for.
Engineering labour market projections

Employment in engineering is projected to increase by 27,000 (or 13.7 per cent) over the five years to
November 2025, reflecting ongoing strength in demand for the services of professional engineers across
the economy. Most of the projected growth is forecast to be in Civil engineering, Industrial, mechanical
and production engineering and Mining engineering.29
Table 8 - Engineering employment projections to 2025
NATIONAL SKILLS COMMISSION PROJECTIONS
EMPLOYMENT
PROJECTED EMPLOYMENT GROWTH -
OCCUPATION LEVEL - NOVEMBER PROJECTED FIVE YEARS TO NOVEMBER 2025
2020 ('000) EMPLOYMENT
LEVEL - NOVEMBER
2025 ('000) ('000) (%)
ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS 196.8 223.8 27 13.7
CHEMICAL AND MATERIALS 7 7.4 0.4 5.7

ENGINEERS
CIVIL ENGINEERING 67 77.1 10.2 15.2

PROFESSIONALS
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS 26.8 29.9 3.1 11.4
ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS 5.4 5.9 0.5 9.1
INDUSTRIAL, MECHANICAL AND 45.5 52.8 7.3 15.9

PRODUCTION ENGINEERS
MINING ENGINEERS 11 12.5 1.5 13.9
OTHER ENGINEERING 13.2 14.6 1.4 10.8

PROFESSIONALS
ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS 19.2 21.8 2.7 14
Source: Labour Market Information Portal - Employment projections.
Under-representation of women in the engineering workforce

The latest figures show disappointing progress in the participation of women in the engineering labour
market. The Office of the Chief Scientist puts women's participation rate at 15.0 per cent, an increase of
2 percentage points since 2011.30

ENGINEER
R E M U N E R AT I O N
Across the broader economy, pay freezes and cuts hit wages hard in both the private and public sectors
in response to the pandemic with wage growth dropping to 1.2 and 1.5 per cent respectively mid-2020.31
Over the 12 months to end May 2021, the survey found that engineering remuneration had experienced
moderate growth, with median wages rising steadily by 1.6 per cent. This was down on the rate recorded
the same time in 2020, but ahead of major economic indicators. Engineering salaries across the public
sector increased by 1.8 per cent, notably stronger than in the private sector with median wage growth
of 1.4 per cent. As a result, the average engineer saw their pay increase in real terms, outperforming
the Consumer Price Index (CPI)32 over the past year, which increased by 1.1 per cent to March 2021,
but the average engineer employed in the private sector saw their pay slip slightly behind that of other
Australians comparatively with the Wage Price Index (WPI)33 at 1.5 per cent to March 2021.
This result indicates engineering wage growth in the public sector has edged slightly ahead of wages
growth in the broader economy with the private sector falling slightly behind.
Figure 1 - Median percentage increase in salaries by sector of employment
2.00%
1.80%
1.60%
1.40%
1.20%
1.00%
1.8%
0.80% 1.5% 1.6%
1.4%
0.60% 1.1%
0.40%
0.20%
0.0%
0.00%
All Private All Public All Other WPI CPI All Sectors
(Mar '21) (Mar '21)

SEC TOR
There was a small difference in public and private sector wage outcomes in 2021 in terms of median base
salary, total package and salary growth. Private sector respondents reported an average increase of 1.4
per cent compared to 1.8 per cent in the public sector (see Figure 1).
Public sector respondents reported a median total package of $149,000 compared to $136,875 in the
private sector.
Figure 2 - Median base salary and total package by sector

$160K
$140K
$120K
$100K
$80K $149,600
$136,875 $143,375
$60K $120,000 $123,011 $120,092
$40K
$20K
$0K
All Private All Public All Sectors
Base Salary Total Package
Differences between the remuneration of participants in the private and public sector were much less
clear across standard levels of responsibility (see About the survey section for level definitions). Public
sector engineers reported higher base salaries at Levels 1 and 2, which represent more junior roles
with few to no subordinates. At Levels 4, 5 and beyond, the private sector offered higher base salaries.
These roles are typically more senior and involve exercising autonomy, judgment, management skills
and authority. The premium in base salary for working in the private sector was greater the more
responsibility a role involved.
Figure 3 - Median base salary by sector across levels of responsibility
$250K
$200K
$150K
$230,000
$230,000
$172,000
$165,000
$158,211
$148,849
$100K
$142,850
$130,334
$114,500
$113,430
$113,000
$103,259
$90,750
$86,500
$72,691
$70,000
$70,000
$50K
SNR
$0K
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Above Level 5
Private Sector Public Sector All Sectors

The survey found that 33.5 per cent of respondents received no pay rise at all in the previous 12 months.
However, this issue was more prevalent in the private sector, with 38.5 per cent of respondents receiving
no pay rise, compared with 25.3 per cent in the public sector. Interestingly, the number of people
receiving no pay increase was less for 2021 than 2020 despite the impacts of the pandemic being fully
felt. However, when the number of people receiving an increase of 1.5 per cent or less is factored in the
number of people receiving low or no increase was notably higher than the previous year.
Engineering skills will be critical to the government’s plan for growth and employers that fail to maintain
market pay rises will likely face the prospect of losing skilled staff, potentially costing more over the
longer-term due to the cost of recruiting and training new staff, and/or outsourcing with short-term
savings but higher whole of life/long-term costs.
Figure 4 - Annual salary movements - All sectors
6% or more 6.1%
4.5% to 6% 3.1%
Annual Increase
3% to 4.5% 6.6%
1.5% to 3% 18.7%
0% to 1.5% 32.0%
No increase 33.5%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
% of Respondents
Figure 5 - Annual salary movements - Private sector
6% or more 7.3%
4.5% to 6% 3.1%
Annual Increase
3% to 4.5% 5.8%
1.5% to 3% 13.6%
0% to 1.5% 31.5%
No increase 38.5%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

% of Respondents
Figure 6 - Annual salary movements - Public sector
6% or more 3.8%
4.5% to 6% 3.1%
Annual Increase
3% to 4.5% 7.9%
1.5% to 3% 27.6%
0% to 1.5% 32.4%
No increase 25.3%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

% of Respondents

Enterprise bargaining increases in public and private sector
Federal and state enterprise agreements combined cover a total of around 37.9 per cent of all Australian
employees. Federal enterprise agreements cover around 30.4 per cent of all Australian employees.34
The 2021 March quarter Attorney-General's Departments Trends in Federal Enterprise Bargaining Report
showed that private sector bargains are yet to recover from the pandemic. Private sector agreement
increases averaged 2.6 per cent a year, down on the 2.9 per cent growth in the 2020 March quarter
before the economy had felt the impact of the pandemic. The 2021 March quarter figures show that
public sector agreement increases averaged 2.4 per cent, up on 2.3 per cent in the 2020 March quarter.35
Our survey's findings confirmed the modest wage growth over the last 12 months for those covered by
state and federal enterprise agreements with 1.5 and 1.9 per cent growth in private and public sectors
respectively for those respondents covered by agreements. Enterprise agreement coverage only provided
a premium for those employed in the public sector, where those not covered by an agreement only
received increases of 1.5 per cent.
Figure 7 - Median annual salary movement across sectors by enterprise agreement

coverage
2.0%
1.5%
1.0%
1.9%
1.5% 1.5% 1.5%
0.5%
0.0%
Private sector Public sector
Enterprise Agreement Covered Not Covered

INDUSTRY
Wage growth by industry
Growth in salaries across the engineering profession is closely linked to the performance and strength of
each industry.
Strong wage growth in Defence reflects the extensive construction work that has been undertaken on
major defence projects since 2019. At that time, the Federal Government announced $32 million initial
investment in Defence projects over the next three years as part of a $200 billion commitment to a
Defence Industry Skilling and STEM Strategy. The investment has had positive knock-on effects for the
Shipbuilding and Repair Services industry and Aircraft Manufacturing and Repair Services Industry with
the key drivers of employment and wages being the Joint Strike Fighter program and the upgrade of the
$500 million high-tech frigate shipyard in Adelaide. The impact of the decision to terminate the contract
with France for the construction of 12 new submarines and to replace those arrangements with plans for
a nuclear-powered submarine fleet under the new AUKUS pact will become clearer over the coming 12
months.
Wages growth across the Road, Construction and Water, sewerage and drainage industries was strong
reflecting ongoing large-scale investment and October 2020 and May 2021 budget investment in
transport infrastructure and renewable energy projects. Ongoing concerns remain about project delays
for a range of reasons including site shutdowns, domestic and international supply chain interruptions
and bottlenecks, shortages of equipment and materials and travel restrictions as well as doubts about
the private sector's capacity to deliver on publicly-funded infrastructure projects but it is likely stimulus
measures will continue with infrastructure spending a key means of driving economic recovery.
Deloitte's December 2020 Investment Monitor found that the infrastructure pipeline remained
dominated by a series of major transport projects (accounting for around 60 per cent of total
infrastructure project investment).36 Demand for engineers in transport is reflected in wage growth in the
Consulting and technical services industry and the Road and Rail industries.
Figure 8 - Major government infrastructure investment projects
Forecast
$35b ACT
South Australia

Western Australia
$30b Multiple States

Queensland

Victoria

$25b New South Wales

$20b

$15b

$10b

$5b

$0
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Source: Deloitte Access Economics Investment Monitor December 2020
Reproduced with permission

Wage growth was strongest in Defence with annual growth at 2.1 per cent while growth in the Road,
Water, sewerage and drainage and Construction industries stood at 2.0, 1.7 and 1.7 per cent respectively.
Figure 9 - Median percentage increase in salaries by industry
Defence 2.1%
Road 2.0%
Other 1.9%
Water, Sewerage and Drainage 1.7%
Construction 1.7%
Public Administration and Safety 1.5%
Consulting & Technical Services 1.5%
Manufacturing 1.5%
Other Transport, Postal and Warehousing 1.2%
Rail 1.1%
Mining (inc. Oil/Gas extraction) 0.6%
Information Media and Telecommunications 0.5%
Electricity 0.4%
Education and Training 0.0%
Gas Supply 0.0%
0 0.5% 1.0% 1.5% 2.0% 2.5%
% of Responses

Average wages by industry
Respondents in Education and training reported the highest total remuneration package ($190,167),
followed by engineers in the Electricity industry ($171,329) and Transport, Postal and Warehousing
industry ($169,725). While engineers in Education and training reported the highest overall wages, they
also reported the lowest wage growth of 0.0 per cent (see Figure 9). The strength of pay levels in the
Education and training industry reflects the experience and responsibility of survey respondents that
teach engineering courses in the tertiary sector, while low pay growth reflects the large impact of the
pandemic on the tertiary sector.
Conversely, engineers in the Consulting and technical services industry reported the lowest median total
packages ($125,506), a concern given this industry services so many other industries and is responsible
for employing a large number of engineers. The rate of growth in the Manufacturing industry was also
low in terms of both total packages and wage growth ($133,926, 1.5 per cent), but with the focus on
manufacturing as a potential source of recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, increased growth is likely over
the medium-term.
Figure 10 - Median base salary and total package by industry
Education and Training $154,222 $190,167
Electricity $148,794 $171,329

Other Transport, Postal and Warehousing $145,000 $169,725
Gas Supply $132,000 $164,540
Rail $136,000 $158,374
Defence $129,035 $149,035

Information Media and Telecommunications $128,000 $146,875
Water, Sewerage and Drainage $115,000 $145,349
Construction $112,000 $140,512
Public Administration and Safety $120,181 $140,400
Mining (inc. Oil/Gas extraction) $120,000 $138,618
Road $125,000 $138,299
Manufacturing $113,400 $133,926
Consulting & Technical Services $110,000 $125,506
Other $105,000 $120,452
$0K $50K $100K $150K $200K

Differences in pay reported by industry are influenced by both remuneration levels and the distribution
of respondents across responsibility levels. Table 2 below provides a breakdown of salaries by industry as
well as responsibility level. Responsibility level definitions can be found in the About the survey section.
Table 9 - Median base salary and total package by industry and responsibility level
LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 3 LEVEL 4 LEVEL 5 ABOVE LEVEL 5
BASE TOTAL BASE TOTAL BASE TOTAL BASE TOTAL BASE TOTAL BASE TOTAL
SALARY PACKAGE SALARY PACKAGE SALARY PACKAGE SALARY PACKAGE SALARY PACKAGE SALARY PACKAGE
CONSULTING & TECHNICAL SERVICES $65,877 $74,523 $81,928 $90,650 $110,000 $121,950 $145,000 $164,250 $154,000 $182,211 - -
CONSTRUCTION $66,625 $73,192 $91,324 $103,695 $111,000 $131,400 $135,000 $169,900 $185,000 $233,150 - -
MINING (INC. OIL/GAS EXTRACTION) $76,463 $83,921 $95,000 $120,650 $130,000 $142,350 $178,500 $212,100 $150,383 $181,961 - -
ELECTRICITY $73,500 $80,483 $110,000 $127,865 $144,490 $163,983 $155,000 $187,706 $175,000 $206,625 - -
GAS SUPPLY - - - - - - - - - - - -
WATER, SEWERAGE AND DRAINAGE $68,500 $77,398 $87,000 $98,896 $107,440 $127,331 $132,995 $157,531 $145,000 $182,392 - -
INFORMATION MEDIA AND - - - - $120,000 $131,400 $150,000 $179,963 - - - -

TELECOMMUNICATIONS
DEFENCE $73,250 $80,209 $100,000 $117,165 $108,000 $118,260 $150,000 $167,330 $169,711 $194,369 - -
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND SAFETY - - $99,260 $122,883 $106,215 $125,587 $120,000 $142,380 $157,000 $173,190 - -
ROAD - - $103,000 $121,931 $119,000 $132,457 $140,000 $159,422 $141,056 $168,964 - -
RAIL - - $118,000 $132,237 $134,133 $156,798 $153,602 $171,863 $243,143 $274,742 - -
OTHER TRANSPORT, POSTAL AND - - - - $127,500 $154,185 $153,025 $172,260 - - - -

WAREHOUSING
EDUCATION AND TRAINING - - - - - - - - - - - -
MANUFACTURING - - $84,525 $98,658 $105,000 $119,672 $130,000 $152,825 $176,000 $208,050 - -
OTHER - - $98,350 $107,693 $100,011 $117,833 $125,000 $136,875 $145,000 $172,053 - -
ALL INDUSTRIES $70,000 $77,233 $90,750 $104,025 $113,430 $131,401 $142,850 $166,166 $165,000 $196,080 $230,000 $297,115

DISCIPLINE
Average annual total packages were highest for engineers qualified in the Manufacturing and Information
technology and communications disciplines. Total packages were lowest for those qualified in the
Mechatronics, Biomedical and Structural disciplines where there was substantial responding.
Figure 11 - Median annual base salaries and total package by engineering discipline
Manufacturing $145,000 $169,725

Information Technology
and Communications $139,000 $162,975
Naval Architecture $129,500 $162,970
Systems $141,000 $161,414
Electrical $135,000 $159,299
Mining $113,750 $147,885
Electronics $130,000 $147,538
Other $112,400 $144,940
Civil $120,000 $141,847
Geological $112,500 $138,196
Mechanical $120,000 $137,940
Aeronautical $117,500 $137,288
Environmental $110,000 $133,940
Chemical $112,000 $133,875
Materials $117,000 $129,210
Structural $106,500 $123,188
Biomedical $107,455 $120,507
Mechatronics $100,000 $113,180
$0K $40K $80K $120K $160K $200K

Average annual salary movements were greatest for engineers qualified in the Manufacturing and
Aeronautical disciplines with increases of 2.5 per cent each.
Movements were lowest in the Systems, Geological, Materials and Electronics disciplines with
movements of 0.0 per cent for all of these disciplines.
Figure 12 - Median annual percentage base salary movements by engineering discipline
Manufacturing 2.5%
Aeronautical 2.5%
Structural 2.1%
Chemical 2.1%
Naval Architecture 1.9%
Environmental 1.9%
Biomedical 1.9%
Electrical 1.7%
Civil 1.6%
Other 1.5%
Mechanical 1.5%
Information Technology
and Communications 1.3%
Mechatronics 0.8%
Mining 0.2%
Systems 0.0%
Materials 0.0%
Geological 0.0%
Electronics 0.0%
0 0.5% 1.0% 1.5% 2.0% 2.5% 3.0%

STAT E
In 2021, respondents from New South Wales reported the highest annual median total package at
$149,378, followed by Queensland at $145,852 and the ACT with $144,250.
Annual salary movements were greatest in Tasmania and the ACT with growth of 2.5 and 2.1 per cent
respectively.
Prospects for wage growth by state in the coming 12 months will depend on a range of factors. These
include the number of COVID-19 cases, the proportion of the state's population that is vaccinated, the
size of the state's population, the size of cities and degree of urbanisation, whether the state has large
older or indigenous populations, the concentration of workers in at-risk occupations and industries such
as tourism, the extent, number and success of lockdown measures, the extent and impact of stimulus
measures, the extent to which the state relies on overseas arrivals and/or international students for
growth, the extent to which the state public sector can provide a floor to job losses, the position of the
state's economy prior to the crisis and the impact on markets for particular state-manufactured products
and services.37
In the previous 12 months, salaries increased across all states based on a combination of all or some of
these factors.
Figure 13 - Median total package and percentage increase in salary by state
NT QLD
SNR $145,852
0.9%
WA ANNUAL GROWTH
$131,400
SA
0.7% $131,400
ANNUAL GROWTH
2.0% NSW
ANNUAL GROWTH
$149,378
1.7%
ANNUAL GROWTH
ACT
$144,250
VIC 2.1%
$136,875 ANNUAL GROWTH
1.8%
ANNUAL GROWTH TAS
$127,854
2.5%
ANNUAL GROWTH
Deloitte's December 2020 Investment Monitor found a significant proportion of infrastructure stimulus
heavily concentrated in New South Wales and Victoria so we might expect that to be reflected in solid
market rates and/or wages growth in these two states.

RESPONSIBILITY LEVEL
The Professional Employees Award 2010, which covers the majority of professional engineering positions
in the private sector, defines standard levels of responsibility for engineering roles. Individuals can place
their unique role within this broadly applicable structure for the purpose of comparison to other roles.
Descriptions of each level can be found in the About the survey section at the end of this report.
Average annual movements in median base salary were highest at Level 1 with a median increase of
3.6 per cent. This result is not surprising, as larger percentage movements are required at this level in
order to have a tangible effect on take-home pay and professionals tend to acquire experience at the
greatest rate at this stage in their career. The average salary increase fell as responsibility level rose, with
respondents at Level 4 reporting an average 1.4 per cent increase.
Figure 14 - Median annual salary movements across responsibility levels by sector

4.0%
3.5%
3.0%
2.5%
2.0%
3.6%
2.9%
1.5%
2.5%
2.3%
2.1%
1.8%
1.0%
1.7%
1.8%
1.6%
1.4%
1.2%
1.4%
0.3%
0.5%
0.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.7%
SNR
0.0%
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Above level 5
Private sector Public sector All sectors
The median base salary for a Level 1 engineer across all sectors was $70,000 with a median total package
of $77,233. Salaries not surprisingly were greatest above Level 5 where the median base salary was
$230,000 and the median total package was $297,115. Median base salaries ranged from $70,000 at
Level 1 to $230,000 above Level 5 for the Private sector, $72,691 at Level 1 to $158,211 at Level 5 for the
Public sector. There was an insufficient number of respondents in the Public sector responding to the
survey at Above Level 5 to estimate rates of pay.
Table 10 - All full-time respondents - base salary and total package by responsibility level -
All sectors
BASE SALARY TOTAL PACKAGE
N LOWER UPPER LOWER UPPER
MEDIAN MEAN MEDIAN MEAN
QUARTILE QUARTILE QUARTILE QUARTILE
LEVEL 1 74 $65,000 $70,000 $76,000 $70,966 $71,175 $77,233 $85,410 $80,611
LEVEL 2 184 $80,000 $90,750 $106,827 $95,239 $89,790 $104,025 $127,512 $111,069
LEVEL 3 326 $98,700 $113,430 $135,000 $117,930 $112,238 $131,401 $159,975 $137,298
LEVEL 4 358 $120,000 $142,850 $160,000 $144,233 $142,350 $166,166 $194,350 $170,434
LEVEL 5 119 $142,000 $165,000 $193,000 $176,158 $165,760 $196,080 $238,161 $211,999
ABOVE LEVEL 5 7 $224,000 $230,000 $260,000 $243,143 $246,375 $297,115 $343,900 $299,065
ALL RESPONDENTS 1068 $96,000 $120,092 $150,000 $126,892 $109,500 $143,375 $175,424 $149,343

Private sector
ANNUAL
BASE SALARY TOTAL PACKAGE SALARY
N MOVEMENT
LOWER UPPER LOWER UPPER
MEDIAN MEAN MEDIAN MEAN MEDIAN
LEVEL 1 57 $64,000 $70,000 $75,800 $70,525 $71,175 $76,650 $85,191 $79,564 3.6%
LEVEL 2 136 $77,154 $86,500 $100,000 $91,753 $87,326 $98,595 $118,926 $106,003 2.1%
LEVEL 3 209 $98,000 $113,000 $135,000 $117,295 $109,500 $131,400 $154,055 $135,325 1.7%
LEVEL 4 200 $126,425 $148,849 $168,000 $149,299 $147,825 $170,301 $199,007 $175,914 0.3%
LEVEL 5 60 $150,000 $172,000 $225,346 $186,555 $168,630 $197,100 $260,425 $223,923 1.2%
ABOVE LEVEL 5 5 $225,000 $230,000 $250,000 $225,400 $246,375 $285,249 $297,115 $270,006 0.0%
ALL RESPONDENTS 667 $90,000 $120,000 $150,000 $124,727 $100,412 $136,875 $175,200 $145,731 1.4%
Public sector
ANNUAL
N MOVEMENT
LEVEL 1 17 $67,000 $72,691 $76,040 $72,446 $74,241 $81,030 $87,568 $84,121 1.4%
LEVEL 2 47 $90,000 $103,259 $113,000 $105,076 $108,509 $119,983 $145,021 $125,371 2.5%
LEVEL 3 116 $99,950 $114,500 $135,000 $118,970 $115,748 $135,511 $162,488 $140,724 1.8%
LEVEL 4 154 $112,800 $130,334 $155,500 $137,632 $135,347 $158,211 $183,960 $163,068 1.6%
LEVEL 5 56 $138,000 $158,211 $183,350 $164,586 $163,730 $182,864 $236,361 $199,398 0.7%
ABOVE LEVEL 5 SNR - - - - - - - - -
ALL RESPONDENTS 392 $105,000 $123,011 $150,000 $129,995 $121,718 $149,600 $175,245 $154,767 1.8%
Other sectors (inc. Education)
ANNUAL
N MOVEMENT
LEVEL 1 SNR - - - - - - - - -
LEVEL 2 SNR - - - - - - - - -
LEVEL 3 SNR - - - - - - - - -
LEVEL 4 4 - $142,611 - $145,056 - $186,727 - $180,062 -
LEVEL 5 3 - - - $184,230 - - - $208,742 -
ABOVE LEVEL 5 SNR -
ALL RESPONDENTS 9 $130,000 $154,222 $184,389 $152,212 $152,100 $190,167 $210,600 $180,716 0.0%

JOB FUNC TION
Average annual base salaries and total packages were highest for engineers employed in Teaching or
training functions, followed by those employed in Management functions and Sales and marketing
functions. The high total package for engineers employed in Sales and marketing was driven by more
valuable additional benefits than annual base salary.
Average annual salary movements were greatest for engineers in Construction supervision, followed by
those employed in Project study and analysis with increases of 2.1 and 2.0 per cent respectively.
Movements were lowest in the Sales and marketing function with annual salaries holding level with the
12 months prior (0.0 per cent).
Figure 15 - Median base salary and total package by job
function
Figure 15 - Median annual base salaries and total package by job function
Teaching or Training $167,111 $192,596
Management $150,000 $181,961
Sal es & Marketi ng $119,000 $152,002
Asset Management $130,000 $150,123
Project Management $120,259 $145,530
Construct ion Supervision $107,500 $136,080
Research & Development $116,250 $136,042
Other $110,000 $132,825
Project Study and Analysi s $111,963 $132,290
Production, Quality, Maintenance $115,000 $129,210
Design $106,500 $119,514
$0K $50K $100K $150K $200K

Figure 16 - Median percentage increase in salaries
by jobbase
Figure 16 - Median annual percentage function
salary movements by job function
Construct ion Supervision 2.1%
Project Study and Analysi s 2.0%
Design 1.8%
Project Management 1.7%
Production, Quality, Maintenance 1.7%
Asset Management 1.5%
Other 1.5%
Research & Development 1.3%
Management 1.2%
Sal es & Marketi ng 0.0%
Teaching or Training SNR
0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 1.5% 2.0% 2.5%

BENEFITS
With wage growth fairly stagnant due to pay freezes and the postponement of pay increases, particularly in the private sector,
the importance of packaged benefits has increased. The following table outlines the value and prevalence of each of the benefits
reported by engineers in this year’s survey.
Table 14 - All full-time respondents - Value of packaged benefits
N = 1068 LOWER QUARTILE MEDIAN UPPER QUARTILE MEAN RESPONSE %
LEAVE LOADING $1,236 $1,575 $1,938 $1,614 12.60%
AWARD ALLOWANCES $3,000 $4,096 $6,000 $5,497 6.00%
OVERTIME PAYMENTS $5,000 $10,000 $20,000 $14,089 6.60%
CAR ALLOWANCE $9,326 $14,750 $18,000 $14,287 7.10%
VALUE OF VEHICLE PROVIDED $35,000 $42,000 $50,000 $44,409 11.50%
BENEFITS SUBJECT TO FBT $2,500 $4,100 $5,000 $5,925 2.40%
BENEFITS EXEMPT FROM FBT $600 $1,000 $5,000 $4,688 5.80%
EMPLOYER SUPERANNUATION $9,381 $11,923 $15,111 $12,922 100.00%

CONTRIBUTIONS
PERFORMANCE-BASED INCENTIVES $4,266 $9,843 $16,056 $12,911 21.90%
• Superannuation Guarantee - the most common packaged benefit engineers received was the government-mandated
superannuation contribution from their employer. This is set by legislation at a minimum of 9.5 per cent (10 per cent as of 1 July
2021).
• After government-mandated superannuation, performance-based incentives were the next most commonly offered benefit.
Performance based incentives increase or decrease as an organisation and the individual achieve certain key performance
metrics for the year. These are commonly referred to as a ‘bonus’. 21.9 per cent of respondents reported receiving
performance-based incentives.
• Leave loading was the next most commonly received benefit. It is an additional payment provided to employees to compensate
the inability to work overtime hours during a period of annual leave. This is often paid as a loading on top of regular payment
during a period of annual leave, or once a year as a lump sum on the annual leave accumulated over that year. You do not
need to work overtime in your regular hours to receive this payment. 12.6 per cent of respondents reported that they received
annual leave loading.
• Value of vehicle provided - instead of a car allowance, or even in addition to, an employer may provide a company car to an
employee for use during work hours that the employee also has private use of. Often that vehicle becomes the property of the
employee and when this is the case, it is an additional benefit that should be valued in a package. 11.5 per cent of respondents
reported receiving a motor vehicle as part of their package.
• Car allowance - some employers may provide an allowance to their staff to compensate that person for using their personal
vehicle for work purposes. This is intended to cover the cost of running the vehicle during that time. 7.1 per cent of
respondents reported receiving a car allowance.
• Overtime payment - one method of compensating overtime worked is to provide additional compensation for those hours
directly. This compensation in additional of any annual salary is recorded here. 6.6 per cent of respondents reported receiving
overtime payments.
• Award allowances - some modern industrial awards specify additional payments that should be made to employees who meet
a pre-requisite, such as holding a certain accreditation. 6.0 per cent of respondents reported receiving Award allowances.
• Benefits subject to Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) - there is a range of things an employer might provide their employee as part of
their package that attract FBT. FBT is a tax that prevents employees from avoiding income tax on these non-cash benefits. Most
benefits received subject to FBT are taxed at a rate of 47.0 per cent irrespective of that employee’s annual income. Employer
provided vehicles have their own FBT treatment and are not included here. 2.4 per cent of respondents reported receiving
benefits subject to FBT.
• Benefits exempt from FBT - while many non-cash benefits are punitively taxed through FBT, there are a variety of exemptions
for common items that have a direct relationship to someone’s work. For example, portable electronic items like phones
typically don’t attract FBT. 5.8 per cent of respondents reported receiving benefits exempt from FBT.

UNION/PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION
MEMBERSHIP
The 2017 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey with a sample of 80,000
workers showed that union members earned higher wages per hour than non-union members.38
Our survey data is consistent with the findings of that survey, with members of Professionals Australia
earning more than their non-union peers from levels 1 to 3, and having consistent earnings with non-
members at levels 4 and 5.
Professionals Australia membership delivered a premium of 15.7 per cent in median total packages.
Figure 17 - Median base salary by Professionals Australia membership – Levels 1 to 5

$250K
$200K
$150K
$196,080
$195,546
$100K
$168,247
$165,443
$137,875
$125,550
$117,755
$98,550
$50K
$80,756
$76,650
$0K
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5
Professionals Australia member Not a member
POST-GRADUATE QUALIFICATIONS
In investigating the impact of post-graduate qualifications on salary levels, the survey found that
additional qualifications deliver a real wage premium for professional engineers. Respondents holding
a Masters degree delivered a wage premium to their base salary of 12.8 per cent when compared with
a Bachelor degree, while a Graduate diploma delivered a wage premium of 22.5 per cent. Respondents
with a Doctorate/PhD received the highest wage premium at 25.6 per cent.
These results highlight the importance of growing the technical skill and knowledge base of the
engineering workforce, with employers willing to pay a premium for highly-skilled engineers with post-
graduate qualifications. The results are also useful for employees seeking to improve their remuneration
with skill acquisition linked to career opportunities and higher wages.
Figure 18 - Median total package by qualification
Diploma $110,000 $142,380
Bachelor Degree (inc. Hons) $115,000 $134,972
Graduate Diploma $137,253 $165,396
Masters Degree (inc. MBA) $133,000 $152,307
Doctorate/PhD $150,000 $169,725
$0K $50K $100K $150K $200K

The Association of
To look at the
benefits of
Professionals
Australia
membership, visit:
PROFESSIONALENGINEERS.ORG.AU/JOIN
ACCREDITATION
Accreditation is a critical risk management mechanism for organisations. It ensures recognition of
qualified, competent and up-to-date engineers which in turn ensures high standards of engineering
output, current skill and knowledge, a strong capacity to protect community safety and the efficient
movement of engineering capability across domestic and international boundaries.
The survey found that the remuneration of engineers who hold accreditation was notably higher
than those who did not. The extra remuneration received by accredited engineers demonstrates the
additional value that these engineers provide to their employers. Accredited engineers are recognised as
experts in their field providing a high-level of engineering capability and high standards of engineering
practice. Accredited engineers are also required to continuously improve their engineering skills through
CPD, ensuring that they are up-to-speed on changes in engineering practice and standards.
The survey found that accreditation in the form of RPEng, CPEng or RPEQ delivered a premium of
27.3 per cent higher remuneration (and $30,000 as measured by median base salary across levels of
responsibility).
Accreditation by responsibility level

Across all levels, respondents holding accreditation reported earnings greater than their non-accredited
counterparts. Respondents with accreditation reported a median base salary of $140,000, compared
with $110,000 for those respondents not holding an accreditation. This premium was evident across all
levels of responsibility from Level 2, the point at which accreditation becomes available. (Note: There
was an insufficient number of engineers employed above level 5 that did not hold accreditation for
comparison at this level.)
Figure 19 - Median base salary by accreditation across responsibility levels
$250K
$200K
$150K
$227,000
$100K
$162,306
$169,000
$148,897
$140,000
$135,000
$127,000
$103,000
$110,000
$110,000
$90,000
$50K
SNR
$0K
Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Above Level 5 All Levels
Holds accreditation Does not hold accreditation

Accreditation by industry
The survey found solid rates of accreditation across industries. Engineers in the Electricity industry
reported the highest proportion of engineers who held accreditation at 51.5 per cent of respondents,
followed by the Rail industry at 45.0 per cent, Gas supply at 44.4 per cent and the Consulting and
technical services industry at 40.8 per cent.
Information media and telecommunications reported the lowest rate of accreditation, followed by
Manufacturing.
Figure 20 - Proportion of engineers holding an accreditation by industry
Electricity 51.5%
Rail 45.0%
Gas Supply 44.4%
Road 37.8%
Construction 29.7%
Defence 24.3%
Manufacturing 19.0%
Information Media and Telecommunications 8.3%
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0%
% of Responses

Accreditation cost
Engineers in the Gas supply industry were most likely to have their accreditation paid for by their
employer, followed by engineers in Consulting and technical services, Electricity, Rail and Defence.
Engineers in Information media and telecommunications, Manufacturing, and Public administration and
safety industries were least likely to have their accreditation paid for by their employer.
Figure 21 - Proportion of engineers whose employer pays for accreditation by industry
Gas Supply 55.6%
Electricity 51.1%
Rail 46.4%
Defence 43.9%
Road 27.7%
Construction 25.8%
Manufacturing 15.2%
Information Media and

Telecommunications
8.7%
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0%
% of Responses
HOW MUCH MORE

DO ACCREDITED
ENGINEERS EARN?
$30,000
Accredited engineers earn 27.3% more on average than non-accredited engineers
as measured by median base salary across levels of responsibility from 2021-22
Professional Engineers Employment and Remuneration Report.
Visit the RPEng website at www.rpeng.org.au

RECENT GRADUATES
By sector, recent graduates in the Public sector reported higher commencing salaries (median base
salaries - see note below) at $69,600, compared with $65,877 in the Private sector. Commencing salaries
in the Public sector are usually set by enterprise bargaining agreements that often include graduate
commencing salaries that are higher than in the Private sector.
Civil and Mechanical engineers accounted for the largest group of recent graduate respondents,
suggesting that these roles are providing the largest number of entry-level opportunities for graduate
engineers.
By discipline, graduates qualified in Chemical engineering reported the highest median commencing
salaries at $71,000, followed by Mechatronics engineering at $70,850.
In terms of industry, Consulting and technical services accounted for the largest share of respondents.
This result is not surprising as consulting engineers effectively provide their services across the whole
economy. Mining also accounted for a large proportion of graduate respondents.
By industry, recent graduates in Mining reported the highest median commencing salaries at $80,000
followed by engineers in Rail ($75,000) and Manufacturing ($75,000). The Construction industry offered
some of the lowest median commencing salaries among those surveyed at $60,000.
Table 15 - All full-time recent graduates commencing salaries
COMMENCING SALARY
LOWER UPPER
N MEDIAN MEAN
QUARTILE QUARTILE
PRIVATE 56 $60,825 $65,877 $75,500 $68,857

SECTOR
PUBLIC 17 $65,000 $69,000 $74,000 $73,074
AERONAUTICAL SNR - - - -
BIOMEDICAL SNR - - - -
CHEMICAL 6 $64,000 $71,000 $85,000 $70,798
CIVIL 27 $59,360 $65,000 $69,000 $65,908
STRUCTURAL 3 - - - $54,947
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS 4 - $62,500 - $64,250
ELECTRICAL 8 $65,000 $70,000 $82,500 $73,875
ELECTRONICS 4 - $70,000 - $75,250
ENVIRONMENTAL 4 - $65,500 - $64,563
GEOLOGICAL 3 - - - $58,613
DISCIPLINE
INDUSTRIAL OR PRODUCTION SNR - - - -
MANUFACTURING SNR - - - -
MATERIALS SNR - - - -
MECHANICAL 12 $65,000 $70,000 $77,500 $73,667
MECHATRONICS 8 $67,500 $70,850 $77,500 $72,338
MINING SNR - - - -
NAVAL ARCHITECTURE SNR - - - -
PETROLEUM SNR - - - -
SYSTEMS SNR - - - -
OTHER SNR - - - -

COMMENCING SALARY
LOWER UPPER
N MEDIAN MEAN
QUARTILE QUARTILE
OTHER JOB FUNCTIONS 6 $68,000 $76,313 $80,000 $75,438

ASSET MANAGEMENT 5 $74,000 $90,000 $95,000 $85,550
CONSTRUCTION SUPERVISION 4 - $70,500 - $72,250
DESIGN 24 $60,000 $65,377 $70,500 $67,048
JOB FUNCTION MANAGEMENT 3 - - - $61,333

PRODUCTION, QUALITY, MAINTENANCE 9 $65,000 $65,000 $69,000 $66,654
PROJECT MANAGEMENT 11 $58,000 $64,000 $75,000 $68,373
PROJECT STUDY AND ANALYSIS 5 $67,000 $70,000 $75,000 $71,200
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT 6 $65,000 $67,850 $80,000 $71,283
DIPLOMA SNR - - - -
BACHELOR DEGREE (INC. HONS) 56 $61,825 $69,500 $76,813 $70,430
HIGHEST GRADUATE DIPLOMA SNR - - - -
ENGINEERING
QUALIFICATION MASTERS DEGREE (INC. MBA) 14 $60,000 $65,000 $67,000 $67,437
DOCTORATE/PHD SNR - - - -
NONE SNR - - - -
OTHER SNR - - - -
CONSULTING & TECHNICAL SERVICES 16 $60,000 $65,375 $69,000 $64,312
CONSTRUCTION 7 $55,200 $60,000 $60,000 $60,080
MINING (INC. OIL/GAS EXTRACTION) 11 $65,000 $80,000 $85,000 $77,011
ELECTRICITY 5 $65,000 $65,000 $80,200 $73,240
GAS SUPPLY SNR - - - -
INDUSTRY WATER, SEWERAGE AND DRAINAGE 6 $67,000 $67,500 $69,000 $67,958

INFORMATION MEDIA AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS 4 - $65,000 - $61,750
DEFENCE 3 - - - $67,267
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND SAFETY SNR - - - -
ROAD 7 $60,000 $70,000 $88,000 $74,857
RAIL 4 - $75,000 - $80,000
MANUFACTURING 5 $62,000 $75,000 $80,000 $70,158
Please note that these figures are base salaries and do not include annual leave loading, overtime, award
allowances, employer superannuation contributions, a motor vehicle if that's part of your package,
parking, performance pay and the value of any other non-cash benefits included in your remuneration
package.
The latest National Skills Commission Survey of Employers’ Recruitment Experiences identifies how job
seekers can address the needs of employers and improve their employment prospects.
Their Transitioning from university to work report notes that key skills employers were looking for in
graduates in addition to the relevant technical skills included teamwork, interpersonal skills and relevant
work experience.39 Their report on what employers are looking for highlights work readiness skills
including a good work ethic, punctuality, the ability to work in a team, someone who is a good fit for
their business, resilience, reliability, motivation, adaptability and a positive attitude.40

GENDER
The contribution that a diverse workforce makes to organisational effectiveness is well-documented,
and higher levels of participation and retention for female engineers remains one of the most significant
challenges in achieving a diverse and sustainable engineering workforce.
Women in the engineering workforce

The latest figures show disappointing progress in the participation of women in engineering. The Office
of the Chief Scientist puts women's participation rate at 15.0 per cent, an increase of 2 percentage points
since 2011.41
Women are one of the largest under-represented pools of talent in engineering and organisations will
need to devote greater attention to addressing the employment practices that create barriers and
disadvantage for women if they wish to attract and retain highly-skilled women to the engineering
profession.
Gender pay gap

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency's (WGEA) Gender Equality data show a gender pay gap of 22.0
per cent in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services Industry (including Engineering) compared
to an average pay gap of 14.0 per cent across all industries.42
In the top two industries that employ engineers after the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
Industry - Manufacturing, and Construction - the national gender pay gap for professionals is 12 per cent
and 26.1 per cent respectively in favour of males.43 44
The reported earnings of survey respondents confirmed a gender pay gap with an average median base
salary of $122,000 for males compared to $110,000 for their female counterparts, meaning female
engineers reported average earnings of 90.2 per cent of male engineers’ earnings - a gender pay gap of
9.8 per cent. This is consistent with the gender pay differential found in previous years’ surveys.
Figure 22 - Median male and female base salary for all respondents across survey sample
$140K
$120K
$100K
$80K
$60K $122,000
$110,000
$40K
$20K
$0K
Male Female

Years of experience
The survey found a gender pay gap when comparing like-for-like roles based on years of experience and
level of responsibility.
A “scissor effect” was evident by years of experience suggesting that while female engineers’ starting
salaries may be slightly higher than for their male counterparts, the salaries of female engineers
increased at a much slower rate than those of male engineers as they accumulated experience. With the
point of convergence at around three years’ experience, the data suggest this is the career stage at which
contributing factors combine to result in a gender pay gap.
Figure 23 - Trend lines - Median base salary by years of experience and gender ($)
$170K
$150K
$130K
$110K
$90K
$70K
$50K
1 6 11 16 21 26 31
Years of Experience
Male Female

Responsibility levels
Women at senior, management and executive levels in Engineering
Office of the Chief Scientist research found that the Engineering profession had the lowest representation
of university-qualified females in senior occupations compared to other STEM professions. While 15
per cent of the total employed population were female, only 11 per cent of managers and 6 per cent of
executives were female.45
Our survey found female engineers being paid on average less than their male counterparts at Level 4. A
lack of women employed in more senior roles in the sample made comparison at Level 5 and beyond not
possible in this year's survey, but a notable differential has been found in previous years' surveys.
Figure 26 - Median base salary across responsibility levels by
Figure 24 - Median base salary across responsibility
gender levels by gender
$250K
$200K
$150K
$230,000
$100K $166,336
$144,000
$128,500
$118,000
$113,430
$100,000
$90,000
$50K
$70,160
$69,000
SNR
SNR
$0K
Male Female

Workforce distribution - responsibility level and age
A concentration of female respondents in less senior roles and attrition by age in the survey population is
a major contributor to the pay differential.
The data confirmed a clear difference in the distribution of male and female respondents across
responsibility levels, with males being more likely to be employed at higher levels of responsibility,
and females more likely to be employed at less senior responsibility levels. 67.9 per cent of female
respondents reported being employed at Level 3 or below, and only 32.1 per cent were employed at
Level 4 or above. By comparison, 54.3 per cent of males were engaged at Level 3 or below, while 45.7
per cent were employed at Level 4 and above. The most notable difference was at Level 2, where the
number of female respondents was much higher than their male counterparts, even though more males
are employed at this level due to being a much larger group in the engineering profession overall.
Figure 25 - Workforce distribution by responsibility level and gender

40%
35%
30%
% of Respondents
25%
20%
33.8%
31.0%
31.5%
28.6%
15%
22.6%
10%
16.4%
14.3%
3.6%
11.2%
5% 0.7%
6.4%
0%
0%
Male Female
The 2002 CREW report found:
… a striking disparity in the age profiles of female and male engineers. After peaking at 51% in the 20-
29 age bracket, the age profile for all women surveyed falls steadily.46
The distribution of male and female engineers in the Professionals Australia survey population mirrors
the CREW report findings regarding the decline in the participation of women in the engineering
workforce as they grow older but our survey found the decline occurred beyond the 30-39 age bracket
rather than 20-29 age bracket. 49.8 per cent of males compared with 40.7 per cent of females in the
survey population were aged over 40.
Figure 26 - Workforce distribution by age and gender

35%
30%
25%
% of Respondents
20%
30.6%
28.8%
27.8%
15%
27.1%
22.5%
22.2%
10%
15.8%
11.8%
11.8%
1.8%
5%
0%
20 - 29 30 - 39 40 - 49 50 - 59 60+
Male Female

Discrimination by gender
The survey asked respondents whether they had experienced discrimination in their workplace over the
previous three years and, if so, the type of discrimination they had experienced.
Over one-third (34.9 per cent) of female respondents reported that they had experienced discrimination
on the basis of gender.
Discrimination on the basis of age was the second most frequently reported type of discrimination
reported with 10.5 per cent of males and 14.7 per cent of females reporting age discrimination. Males
were much more likely to have not experienced discrimination on any of the bases listed with 81.0
per cent of male respondents reporting no discrimination, compared with 57.8 per cent of female
respondents.
Figure 27 - Types of discrimination experienced in the workplace over previous three years
by gender
10.5%
Age
14.7%
1.0%
Disability
0.9%
6.1%
Gender
34.9%
6.3%
Race
8.3%
1.2%
Religion
0.9%
0.6%
Sexual identity
0.0%
81.0%
None of the above
57.8%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

% of Respondents
Male Female

Gap between policy and implementation
• 60.6 per cent of respondents said their employer had in place formal policies to deal with
discrimination.
• 52.2 per cent said their employer had in place formal policies to promote diversity.
• 22.9 per cent said that while their employer had formal policies in place around diversity and
discrimination, they did not have strategies in place to actually implement them.
The survey confirmed that while over half of workplaces had policies in place to support diversity and
deal with discrimination, many did not have the strategies in place to give effect to the policies. The
challenge remains to ensure that policy, strategy and workplace culture are integrated and support the
implementation of diversity and anti-discrimination policies.
Sexual harassment
25.4 per cent of female respondents reported having experienced sexual harassment in the course of
their employment compared to 2.5 per cent of male respondents. 16.7 per cent of female respondents
reported being sexually harassed once while 8.8 per cent reported being sexually harassed frequently.
Table 16 - Engineers' experience of sexual harassment by gender

ALL
MALE FEMALE
RESPONDENTS
RESPONSE (%) RESPONSE (%) RESPONSE (%)
NO 97.5 74.6 95.2

HAVE EXPERIENCED SEXUAL
HARASSMENT IN ENGINEERING YES, ONCE 1.6 16.7 3.1
PROFESSION
YES, FREQUENTLY 0.9 8.8 1.6
These figures highlight sexual harassment as a serious workplace health and safety issue in the
engineering workforce.

Professional development
The survey found a clear difference in the number of hours of CPD undertaken by male and female
respondents, with males reporting an average 41.5 hours of CPD in the previous 12 months compared
with 29.9 hours for females.
Table 17 - Hours of CPD completed in previous 12 months
HOURS CPD COMPLETED OVER LAST 12 MONTHS
MEAN
MALE 41.5
FEMALE 29.9
Differential access to CPD a barrier to Engineering

registration for women
Engineering registration ensures those certified or accredited meet minimum codes of practice,
standards or levels of competence. National accreditation supports the dispersal of Engineering
talent across state jurisdictions, ensures currency in skills and knowledge, provides protection for the
community from unqualified Engineers carrying out work that should be undertaken and signed off by
qualified, accredited professionals and provides legal recourse against those who deliver sub-standard
work.
The survey found that 35.4 per cent of male respondents held some form of accreditation compared
to 26.8 per cent of female respondents. There is a strong link between access to CPD and engineering
registration with professional development undertaken being a key enabler of career progression
and advancement, and a means of gaining and maintaining professional Engineering registration. The
gendered difference in the Engineering registration and the relative levels of continuing professional
development (CPD) undertaken by survey respondents is of serious concern.
Work priorities
Work priorities were shared across gender lines with each of the priorities ranked the same by male and
female respondents (refer Table 23).
Professional intentions
The survey found differences in the reasons for considering leaving the profession by gender. Male
respondents were much more likely than women to cite intending to leave the profession due to poor
pay while women were much more likely than men to cite intending to leave the profession due to
workplace culture issues, discrimination or bias in the workplace, or parenthood. (Refer to Figure 44 for
further detail.)
For further analysis and commentary on barriers

to women's participation and retention in the
Engineering workforce
CLICK HERE
to read Professionals Australia's Women in
Engineering Report.

SATISFAC TION WITH CURRENT
REMUNERATION
Maintaining strong job satisfaction among employees is a major challenge for many organisations
and effective recognition and reward strategies are vital if they wish to attract and retain skilled staff.
The survey however found a concerning level of dissatisfaction with remuneration - 32.5 per cent of
respondents across all sectors reported being dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their current level of
remuneration. This result represents a small increase on last year’s figure of 30.5 per cent.
A total of 48.8 per cent said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their level of remuneration, slightly
down on the result of last year (49.0 per cent). Satisfaction levels were essentially the same for both
Private and Public sectors.
Figure 28 - Satisfaction with current remuneration by sector

60%
50%
% of Respondents
40%
30%
43.9%
43.9%
20% 43.9%
7.7%
7.5%
25.0%
25.0%
7.3%
25.0%
5.1%
4.9%
18.9%
4.8%
18.4%
18.7%
10%
0%
Very dissatisfied Dissatisfied Unsure Satisfied Very satisfied
In addition, respondents were asked about how they saw their remuneration package in the context of
others undertaking similar work and whether or not they saw their package as adequately reflecting their
responsibilities.
The survey found that around half the respondents did not feel their remuneration was keeping up and
did not adequately reflect the responsibility level of their role.
• 48.6 per cent said they believed their remuneration package was falling behind what others
undertaking similar work were being paid.
• 48.1 per cent said they did not believe their package appropriately reflected the level of responsibility
they undertook in their day-to-day work.

Figure 29 - Perception remuneration package is falling behind others undertaking similar
engineering work
35%
30%
25%
% of Respondents
20%
33.2%
15%
27.5%
10% 21.1%
15.5%
5%
0%
2.7%
Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree or Agree Strongly agree
disagree
Figure 30 - Perception remuneration package does not reflect level of responsibility

undertaken in day-to-day work
35%
30%
25%
% of Respondents
20%
15% 31.8%
26.3%
10% 21.8%
18.0%
5%
2.0%
0%
Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree or Agree Strongly agree
disagree

WORKPLACE ISSUES
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Engineers in the Consulting and technical Services and Electricity industries engaged in a greater number
of hours of continuing professional development (CPD) than their counterparts in other industries,
reporting a median of 40 hours and 30 hours of CPD in the previous 12 months respectively.
Figure 31 - Median hours of CPD engaged in over last year by industry
Consulting & Technical Services 40
Electricity 30
Gas Supply 23
Rail 20
Road 20
Defence 20
Water, Sewerage and Drainage 20
Mining (inc. Oil/Gas extraction) 20
Construction 20
Information Media and Telecommunications 18
Manufacturing 15
Other 10
Public Administration and Safety 10

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Hours of CPD

The Road industry and predominantly government-owned or heavily-regulated areas such as Defence
reported the highest proportion of CPD provided by their employer.
Figure 32 - Median proportion of CPD provided by employer by industry
Road 50.0%
Defence 50.0%
Gas Supply 50.0%
Electricity 50.0%
Construction 30.0%
Rail 17.5%
Other 0.0%
Manufacturing 0.0%
Information Media and
Telecommunications 0.0%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Proportion employer-provided
The median number of CPD hours was consistent across sectors at 20 hours, however employers in the
Public sector were likely to provide a greater amount of that CPD for engineers.
Figure 33 - Median hours of CPD and proportion of CPD provided by employer by sector
21 100.0%
90.0%
Proportion of employer-provided
80.0%
70.0%
20
Hours of CPD
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
19 20 20 20 30.0%
50%
20.0%
23.3% 10.0%
15.0%
18 0.0%
Hours of CPD Proportion Employer Provided

HOURS OF WORK
Respondents reported working a median 41.1 hours per week in the public sector and 44.2 hours in the
private sector, longer than the standard 38-hour week in both cases. This included an average of 4.7
hours overtime in the Public sector and 6.1 hours in the Private sector.
Figure 34 - Mean hours worked and overtime per week by sector
45 7
44
6
Hours worked per week
43
Overtime per week

42 5
41 4
40
39 44.2 6.1 3
43.1 5.6
38 41.1 4.7 2
37
1
36
35 0
Mean hours worked per week Mean overtime per week
By job function, engineers employed in Asset management, Management and Construction supervision
reported working the longest hours at 47.2, 46.5, and 46.2 hours per week respectively. Hours of
overtime worked were also higher for these functions, with those working in Construction supervision
reporting working the most at 10.0 hour per week or 2 hours a day. By comparison, those employed in
Teaching and training reported the shortest weekly hours with a mean of 41.3 including 4.5 hours of
overtime per week. This is a dramatic shift from 2020/21 where those employed in Teaching and training
reported working the longest hours. This may reflect the effect of the pandemic enrolments into courses
and a shift to more online delivery of education.
Figure 35 - Mean hours worked and overtime per week by job function
Asset Management 8.1 47.2
Management 7.2 46.5
Construction Supervision 10.0 46.2
Research & Development 6.7 44.6
Production, Quality, Maintenance 6.6 43.9
Sales & Marketing 5.1 43.5
Design 4.6 43.0
Project Study and Analysis 5.3 42.5
Project Management 4.2 41.7
Other 4.4 41.4
Teaching or Training 4.5 41.3
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Mean overtime per week Mean hours worked per week

Overtime compensation
The way in which overtime is compensated differs by sector. Public sector engineers are more likely to
receive time off in lieu of payment, with 34.4 per cent of respondents citing this form of compensation,
compared with only 12.5 per cent in the Private sector. Conversely, 34.1 per cent of Private sector
engineers reported that overtime was built into their base salary compared with 15.4 per cent in the
Public sector.
Figure 36 - Compensation for overtime worked by sector
41.3%
No compensation received
45.2%
15.4%
Overtime built into base salary
34.1%
34.4%
Time off in lieu of payment
12.5%
8.9%
Monetary payment at hourly rate
8.3%
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0%
% of Responses
Overall, engineers in the Public sector are less likely to receive no payment for overtime worked with
41.3 per cent of respondents reporting no compensation, compared with 45.2 per cent in the Private
sector, but the difference has narrowed in 2021/22.
Among those who reported some form of compensation for overtime, remuneration tended to be
higher no matter how many hours were worked in an average week. Although working longer hours
was associated with higher incomes for those that did not receive overtime compensation as well those
with paid overtime, compensation tended to be remunerated at a higher level if respondents worked
more than 42 hours in an average week. Given the average engineer works 43.1 hours a week, more
explicit forms of compensation for working additional hours provided tangible benefits for professional
engineers.
Figure 37 - Median base salary by hours worked per week and overtime compensation
$190K
$170K
$150K
$130K
$110K
$90K
$70K
$50K
37.5 42.5 47.5 52.5 57.5
Average Hours Worked per Week
Overtime Compensated No Compensation for Overtime

PROFESSIONAL INTENTIONS
To understand respondents’ professional intentions for their potential impact on the engineering
workforce and achievement of organisational objectives, survey participants were asked whether they
were considering leaving the profession either permanently or temporarily.
8.3 per cent said they were considering permanently leaving the profession in the next five years
suggesting that measures to increase and/or incentivise retention of engineering talent are likely to be
critical to meeting workforce demand for engineering skills over this period.
Leaving employer
12.9 per cent of respondents had already changed employer over the past year, with 82.1 per cent of
them having done so voluntarily.
Figure 38 - Proportion of engineers that changed employer Figure 39 - Proportion of engineers that voluntarily changed
in last 12 months employer
12.9%
Changed 17.9%
employer Not
voluntary
87.1%
82.1%
Didn't change
employer
Voluntarily
changed
The survey provides useful insights into the factors that influence engineers changing employer. Of those
who voluntarily changed, professional development opportunities were the most commonly reported
factor, followed by seeking a pay increase and leaving an unhealthy workplace culture.
Figure 40 - Factors that drove change of employer

Professional development
opportunities 51.7%
A pay increase 49.2%
Unhealthy workplace culture 36.4%
A more challengin workload 34.7%
Seeking better management 33.1%
Improved work/life balance 27.1%
Working closer to home 25.4%
Promotion 22.0%
Greater job security 20.3%
Flexible working arrangements 18.6%
Other 8.5%
None of the above 4.2%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

% of Respondents

Leaving profession
Survey respondents were asked whether they intended to leave the engineering profession and, if so,
the time frame in which they expected that to occur as a basis for adding to our understanding of the
stability or otherwise of the engineering workforce.
Overall, 8.3 per cent of respondents said they were considering leaving the profession permanently,
and 5.3 per cent said they were considering leaving temporarily. 86.4 per cent did not intend to leave
the profession. Those that intended to leave the profession most commonly had an outlook of only
remaining for another one to three years (43.8 per cent).
Figure 41 - Proportion of engineers that intend to leave profession
86.4% 8.3%
Permanently
No intention
to leave
5.3%
Temporarily
Figure 42 - Intended time until leaving profession
50%
45%
40%
35%
% of Respondents
30%
25%
20%
43.8%
15% 33.3%
10%
5% 13.9%
9.0%
0%
In under In the next In the next In over
12 months 1 to 3 years 3 to 5 years 5 years time

The most common reason for wanting to leave the profession was to pursue another career, however
there were noticeable differences in the reasons for wanting to leave the profession by gender. Male
respondents were much more likely than female respondents to cite intending to leave the profession
due to poor pay. In comparison, female respondents were much more likely than male respondents
to cite intending to leave the profession due to workplace culture issues, discrimination or bias in the
workplace, or parenthood. Males were also more likely to cite intending to leave due to retirement. This
is likely due to a combination of historically low representation of females in the engineering profession
at more senior levels, and women being more likely to leave the profession before reaching retirement
age.
Figure 43 - Reasons for intention to leave profession
To pursue another career 44.8%
Lack of recognition or opportunities 40.0%
Lack of career advancement 35.9%
Workplace culture issues 33.8%
Poor pay 31.0%
Retirement 18.6%
Lack of flexible work options 15.2%
Discrimination or bias in the workplace 11.7%
Parenthood 11.0%
None of the above 8.3%
Insecure work 7.6%
Illness 0.0%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
% of Respondents

Figure 44 - Reasons for intention to leave profession by gender
46.7%
To pursue another career
44.6%
33.3%
Lack of recognition or opportunities
40.8%
40.0%
Lack of career advancement
35.4%
46.7%
Workplace culture issues
32.3%
13.3%
Poor pay
33.1%
Retirement
6.7%
20.0%
20.0%
Lack of flexible work options
14.6%
40.0%
Discrimination or bias in the workplace
8.5%
Parenthood
33.3%
8.5%
0.0%
None of the above
9.2%
0.0%
Insecure work
8.5%
Illness
0.0%
0.0%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
% of Respondents
Male Female

WORK PRIORITIES
Consistent with previous years, engineers ranked job satisfaction, remuneration and job security as
their top three work priorities. Interestingly, at the time of the survey (April 2020 compared with April
2021), respondents' work priorities were unchanged by the pandemic with priorities consistent with the
previous year.
Table 18 - Ranking of work priorities - All respondents
RANK PRIORITY
1ST Job satisfaction
2ND Remuneration
3RD Job security
4TH Work/life balance
5TH Positive workplace culture
6TH Flexible work arrangements
7TH Career progression
8TH Continuing professional development
9TH A challenging workload
10TH Occupational health and safety
11TH Option to work remotely
Work priorities were shared across gender lines with each of the priorities ranked the same by male and
female respondents.
Table 19 - Ranking of work priorities by gender

MALE FEMALE
RANK PRIORITY RANK PRIORITY
1ST Job satisfaction 1ST Job satisfaction
2ND Remuneration 2ND Remuneration
3RD Job security 3RD Job security
4TH Work/life balance 4TH Positive workplace culture
5TH Positive workplace culture 5TH Work/life balance
6TH Flexible work arrangements 6TH Flexible work arrangements
7TH Career progression 7TH Career progression
8TH Continuing professional development 8TH Continuing professional development
9TH A challenging workload 9TH A challenging workload
10TH Occupational health and safety 10TH Option to work remotely
11TH Option to work remotely 11TH Occupational health and safety

WORKER FATIGUE, STAFF MORALE
AND PRODUC TIVITY
Survey respondents were asked to consider how the attitudes and output of their peers had changed
over the previous 12 months in the areas of worker fatigue, staff morale and overall productivity.
• 51.5 per cent said worker fatigue had increased, the figure well up on the 39.2 per cent who reported
increasing fatigue in 2020/21.
• 42.9 per cent of respondents said staff morale had declined while 49.1 per cent said it had remained at
the same level as the previous year.
• 22.3 per cent said overall productivity in their organisation had declined while 59.8 per cent said it had
remained at the same level as the previous year.
Table 20 - Changes in worker fatigue, staff morale and productivity by sector
WORKER FATIGUE STAFF MORALE OVERALL PRODUCTIVITY
STAYED THE STAYED THE STAYED THE

DECREASED INCREASED DECREASED INCREASED DECREASED INCREASED
SAME SAME SAME
RESPONSE % RESPONSE % RESPONSE %
PRIVATE SECTOR 4.8% 45.9% 49.3% 39.5% 51.2% 9.3% 18.4% 62.5% 19.1%
PUBLIC SECTOR 4.2% 40.6% 55.2% 48.6% 45.5% 5.9% 28.9% 55.3% 15.8%
ALL SECTORS 4.6% 43.9% 51.5% 42.9% 49.1% 8.0% 22.3% 59.8% 17.9%

FAC TORS IMPAC TING ENGINEERING
CAPABILITY
Survey participants were asked about the factors that impacted engineering capability in their
organisation.
In the Public sector, the clearest change over the last 12 months impacting engineering capability was
the lack of in-house engineering capacity, noted by 53.4 per cent of respondents. A reduced number of
engineers in decision-maker roles, insufficient skills development, poorly scoped or designed projects
and cost-cutting were also key concerns in the Public sector (noted by 46.6, 49.3, 42.1 and 43.1 per cent
of respondents respectively).
The Private sector shared insufficient skills development, cost-cutting, a lack of in-house engineering
capacity and poorly scoped or designed projects as issues occurring over the previous 12 months with
the Public sector (45.4, 41.1, 33.6 and 32.0 per cent respectively).
Figure 45 - Changes occurring in engineering workplaces over last 12 months
43.1%
Cost-cutting
45.4%
49.3%
Insufficient skills development
41.1%
42.1%
Poorly scoped or designed projects
33.6%
Lack of in-house 53.4%
engineering capacity 32.0%
28.8%
Poor graduate development
28.2%
33.5%
Misallocation of resources
24.4%
36.2%
Less engineering driven innovation
18.9%
Reduced number of engineers 46.6%
in decision maker roles 18.4%
Increased outsourcing of 36.9%
engineering functions 17.8%
Reduced commitment 21.4% Public sector
to service quality 13.5% Private sector
Reduced adherence to 22.4%
professional standards 11.7%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
% of Respondents

The survey also asked respondents about the extent to which they agreed engineering capability was
regarded as a source of innovation within their organisation.
25.7 per cent of public sector respondents said their organisation did not regard engineering capability
as a source of innovation compared with 10.3 per cent of engineers in the private sector.
On a more positive note, 41.9 per cent of Public sector and 68.1 per cent of Private sector respondents
said their organisation saw engineering capability as a source of innovation. These findings suggest that
the Public sector may be lagging behind the Private sector when it comes utilising their engineering
capability to drive innovation. It may also suggest that innovation is a higher priority for Private sector
businesses and that Public sector organisations may need to review the way they support innovation.
Figure 46 - Extent to which engineers agree they are seen as a source of innovation in their
workplace
50%
45%
40%
35%
% of Respondents
30%
25%
43.7%
20%
15% 33.3%
30.4%
24.4% 21.6%
10%
16.9%
5% 11.5%
7.7% 2.6% 7.8%
0%
Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly disagree
or disagree

FAC TORS IMPAC TING MENTAL HEALTH
AND WELL-BEING
Survey respondents identified workplace stress, poor workplace management, unreasonable workload
and long hours as the top four factors negatively impacting their mental health and well-being.
These findings suggest that employers need to seriously consider how they balance the demands they
place on their staff if they want to avoid the serious toll poor mental health can take on individuals and
their performance in the workplace.
Figure 47 - Factors negatively impacting mental health and well-being
Workplace stress 43.1%
Poor management 38.4%
Unreasonable workload 31.6%
Long hours 27.7%
Poor workplace culture 24.9%
Conflict with peers/colleagues 9.3%
Workplace bullying 7.6%
Discrimination 6.5%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
% of Respondents

I M PA C T O F
C O V I D -19
The survey found respondents had experienced contract non-renewals in various forms over the last 12
months as a consequence of the COVID-19 health crisis.
The level of contract non-renewal was highest for those employed in smaller organisations. Termination
as a result of the pandemic was also more common for less experienced engineers.
Table 21 - Contract non-renewals, stand-downs and job terminations
% OF SAMPLE WHO HAD

NATURE OF STAND-DOWN EXPERIENCED
MY EMPLOYMENT WAS TERMINATED BY MY EMPLOYER 1.9
MY CONTRACT HAS NOT BEEN RENEWED 1.1
I HAVE BEEN STOOD DOWN WITHOUT PAY BY MY EMPLOYER 0.6
I HAVE BEEN STOOD DOWN WITH PAY BY MY EMPLOYER 0.3
Figure 48 - Prevalence of contract non-renewals and job terminations by number of

employees in organisation
0.4%
200 or more (n=802)
0.4%
0.9%
20 to 199 (n=232)
3.4%
1.7%
19 or less (n=118)
3.4%
0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 1.5% 2.0% 2.5% 3.0% 3.5% 4.0%
% of Responses
My contract has not My employment was
been renewed terminated by my employer
Figure 49 - Terminations by responsibility level
Above level 5 (n=19) 0.0%
Level 5 (n=144) 0.7%
Level 4 (n=391) 1.3%
Level 3 (n=344) 0.9%
Level 2 (n=181) 2.2%
Level 1 (n=81) 2.5%
0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 1.5% 2.0% 2.5%

% of Responses

HOURS OF WORK
Roughly one in six engineers in the survey (15.7 per cent) said their paid work hours had increased, while
one in twenty (5.5 per cent) reported their hours had decreased. The more senior the engineer, the
greater the likelihood was that they reported working increased hours.
Figure 50 - Prevalence of weekly hours being increased by responsibility level
Above Level 5 (n=19) 26.3%
Level 5 (n=144) 25.7%
Level 4 (n=391) 15.3%
Level 3 (n=344) 18.0%
Level 2 (n=181) 9.9%
Level 1 (n=81) 3.7%
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0%
% of Responses

WORKING FROM HOME
36.6 per cent of respondents reported that they had opted to work from home while 71.3 per cent said "The rapid adoption
they had been instructed to work from home in the previous 12 months.
of technology
The survey figures suggest that larger businesses were better placed to roll out remote work solutions has resulted
arrangements for their employees than smaller employers. Employees in the Australian Public Service in frustration at times
and Government Business Enterprise sectors were most likely to be compelled to work from home.
but also improved
Figure 51 - Prevalence of being instructed to work from home by number of employees
business efficiency
in other cases (eg
200 or more (n=802) 78.2% remote meetings)."
- Survey respondent
20 to 199 (n=232) 67.7%
19 or less (n=118) 50.0%
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0%
% of Responses
Figure 52 - Prevalence of being instructed to work from home by sector
Australian Public service (n=31) 90.3%
Government Business Enterprise (n=69) 89.9%
State Public service (n=143) 80.4%
Education (n=13) 76.9%
Private sector (n=687) 73.8%
Local government (n=160) 60.6%
Private sector - proprietor/director (n=55) 45.5%
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0%
% of Responses

CARER RESPONSIBILITIES AND HOME "[My well-being has]
improved because I
SCHOOLING have control over my
Only 6.8 per cent of respondents said caring for children/home schooling had reduced their ability to flexible arrangement:
work but the burden was much greater for female engineers than male engineers. Women were also I care for a special
notably more likely to indicate that anxiety/mental distress due to the pandemic was impacting their
needs teenager."
ability to work.
- Survey respondent
Figure 53 - Prevalence of caring for children reducing engineers’ ability to work by gender
Female (n=115) 14.8%
Male (n=1032) 5.8%
0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0% 12.0% 14.0% 16.0%
% of Responses
Figure 54 - Prevalence of anxiety/mental distress from the pandemic impacting ability to

work by gender
Female (n=115) 20.0%
Male (n=1032) 10.9%
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0%
% of Responses

INDEPENDENT
CONTRACTORS
A trend in the engagement of professional engineers is the increasing number appointed under
independent contractor arrangements. Employers of professional engineers are making greater use
of such arrangements as a means of meeting peak workloads or to engage contract professionals for
specific projects or tasks.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that up to 20 per cent of the workforce is now engaged in
non-standard work arrangements with professionals operating as independent contractors or consultants
among the fastest growing group.
Ultimately, the hourly rate charged by independent contractors depends on the market for the service
provided and there is no substitute for specific knowledge of the particular industry and the value of
the service being offered to a client, but the rates below can be used as a benchmark to ensure that
contractors do not undercharge for their services.
The hourly rate for contract engineers set out below take into account the conditions of employment
which apply to employee professional engineers, as professionals operating under independent
contractor arrangements must meet these costs themselves.
Professional engineer employees have access to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and
National Minimum Standards. They receive annual leave, sick leave, paid public holidays, long service
leave, superannuation, jury leave, compassionate leave, family leave, professional development and
retrenchment/redundancy provisions.
Independent contractors may be engaged on an hourly basis and generally do not have access to these
provisions and standards. The contract engineer must therefore take such provisions into account when
determining the hourly fee to be charged. Based on a 38-hour week, the hourly fee is calculated using a
1980 hour year (i.e. 38 hours by 52.1 weeks) and deducting from the year the following factors:
Table 22 - Value of items independent contractors do not receive
ITEM VALUE VALUE IN HOURS
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS 12 days 92

ANNUAL LEAVE 20 days 152
LONG SERVICE LEAVE 4.3 days 33
SICK LEAVE 10 days 76
SALARY CONTINUANCE 3% 60
SUPERANNUATION 10% 198
PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY 3% 60
INSURANCE
MISCELLANEOUS LEAVE 3 days 23
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 5 days 38
TERMINATION/REDUNDANCY 5 days 38
TOTAL 770 hours
Thus the hourly rate should be calculated on the basis of about 1210 hours (1980 - 770).

Figure 55 - Proportional value of components in a full-time employment contract
Public Holidays
Long Service Leave
Sick Leave
Annual
Leave Salary Continuance
Superannuation
Professional Indemnity Insurance

Base Salary Miscellaneous Leave
Professional Development
Termination/Redundancy
Any travel costs and workers’ compensation would be on top of these rates, and it may be necessary to
factor in an additional charge to cover legal and accounting fees. Care should also be taken to allow for
professional indemnity insurance premiums. ASIC fees may also need to be covered depending on the
particular business entity or structure the consultant or contractor has in place.
If the contract engineer is engaged on a short-term basis, a further factor should be included to allow for
the time and overheads involved in seeking contracts. A factor of 20 per cent would not be unreasonable
for this purpose. The hourly rate should then be based on 1000 hours. Short-term contracts are
considered to be those which last for less than 12 months.
Using the formula described here, a contract engineer seeking a salary equivalent of say $100,000 per
annum would calculate the hourly fee as follows:
Short-term contract $100,000p.a. / 1000 hours = $100.00 p/h

Long-term contract $100,000p.a. / 1210 hours = $82.65 p/h

Recommended hourly rates
Based on full-time Professional Engineer remuneration identified in this survey and the methodology
outlined in this section, Professionals Australia recommends rates in the following ranges for short-
term and long-term contracts if contractors wish to be remunerated commensurate with their full-time
employed peers at each responsibility level. (These rates are derived using the methodology set out in
this section and from the data set out in Table 10.)
Table 23 - Contractor hourly rates charged by duration of contract and responsibility level
(derived from full-time equivalent salaries)
LONG TERM SHORT TERM
MEDIAN MEAN MEDIAN MEAN
LEVEL 1 $53.72 $57.85 $62.81 $58.65 $71.18 $77.23 $85.41 $80.61
LEVEL 2 $66.12 $75.00 $88.29 $78.71 $89.79 $104.03 $127.51 $111.07
LEVEL 3 $81.57 $93.74 $111.57 $97.46 $112.24 $131.40 $159.98 $137.30
LEVEL 4 $99.17 $118.06 $132.23 $119.20 $142.35 $166.17 $194.35 $170.43
LEVEL 5 $117.36 $136.36 $159.50 $145.59 $165.76 $196.08 $238.16 $212.00
ABOVE LEVEL 5 $185.12 $190.08 $214.88 $200.94 $246.38 $297.12 $343.90 $299.07
Table 24 - Contractor hourly rates charged by duration of contract and responsibility level
(as reported by respondents)
LONG TERM SHORT TERM

N MEDIAN MEAN N MEDIAN MEAN
LEVEL 1 SNR - - - - SNR - - - -

LEVEL 2 SNR - - - - SNR - - - -
LEVEL 3 3 - - - $97.33 SNR - - - -
LEVEL 4 7 $91.00 $110.00 $149.00 $111.29 7 $125.00 $150.00 $224.00 $163.43
LEVEL 5 SNR - - - - 11 $80.00 $150.00 $200.00 $151.09
ABOVE LEVEL 5 SNR - - - - SNR - - - -
ALL LEVELS 14 $91.00 $120.00 $150.00 $121.14 24 $88.50 $125.00 $192.50 $147.46
The rates set out in the table above were those actually reported by respondents and while sample
size was limited, they generally indicate that contractors charge near the rate Professionals Australia’s
methodology would suggest.
Contract agency rates

If the independent contractor is engaged through a contract agency, some components such as workers’
compensation/disability insurance and superannuation contributions would normally be paid for by the
agency. These components would be removed from calculations.
A typical calculation made by a contract agency might see the annualised hours rise to around 1600 after
the removal of superannuation from the calculation as it is provided by the agency, so that the hourly
rate for an equivalent $100,000 annual base salary would be:
$100,000p.a. / 1600 hours = $62.50 per hour

Advertorial
W H AT H A P P E N S I F I
CANCEL MY PROFESSIONAL
INDEMNITY COVER?
CAN I DO WITHOUT IT?
I F YOU S ELL YOU R CAR YOU CAN STO P I NS U R I NG I T; MOTO R
VE HI CL E I NSU R ANC E COVE RS R I S KS O N AN “O CCU R R E NCE ”
BAS I S A ND ONC E TH E C AR I S G O NE S O I S T HE R I S K.
Professional indemnity is different.

Professional Indemnity works on a “claims made” basis and you must have insurance in place at the time a claim is made against you. This
means that even if your business has wound down or you have ceased providing service entirely, you still carry ongoing exposure for past
work.
This is especially true for professional engineers, with many claims relating to building or construction work coming several years after the
member had completed their part of the work, in fact in April 2020 a Professional Indemnity claim was lodged for a Professionals Australia
member relating to engineering work undertaken in 2014!
Example:
Work for a client is completed on 4 February. Your Professional Indemnity Insurance is due for renewal
on 20 June but you choose to lapse it. That client decides on 1 August they were unhappy with the
service and alleges problems arising from it have caused them losses, so they make a demand against
you for compensation. In this scenario there would be no Professional Indemnity Insurance protection
even though insurance was in place when the work was done.
Key considerations towards Get professional advice. There may be

maintaining Professional Indemnity other avenues to consider to assist you
Insurance
• Reviewing your premium on renewal due to reduced actual
• Ongoing protection for past claims – if you lapse or cancel all income and reduced projected income
protection for past work ceases
• If your business has reduced to zero, discuss “run off” cover at
• Professional licensing or accreditation – Many professional renewal which reduces your insurance to covering past work only
engineers will have their licence or registration (eg VBA or NSW
• Reviewing your sum insured (buy less cover) where not restricted
BPB) conditional upon holding valid professional indemnity
by professional licence or contracts
insurance
• Review your excess (retain more risk) which reduces your
• Contractual liabilities – there may be a requirement to maintain
premium
professional indemnity for several years after the work
• Reduced future cover – if you lapse or cancel and seek to re-
purchase in the future, some cover like Retroactive Cover for past
work and Continuous Cover may not be available

RISING INSURANCE COSTS
About the professional indemnity What can I do?
insurance market Get advice on how to manage the best outcome from the
The professional indemnity market has come under pressure in Insurance market. With Insurers taking a more conservative and
2019 and 2020 with premiums increasing, and insurers reducing selective approach to their underwriting, a good broker and quality
capacity. Some PA members may have been forced to change submission to insurers can often be the difference between turning
insurer due to their prior insurer no longer offering cover. These a decline into getting your business a favourable quote.
market pressures have particularly affected any professionals
It is no longer about just a standard proposal form. Some elements
involved in the construction space. Given the myriad of issues
that make a quality insurance submission include:
surrounding cladding, non-compliant building products, the Opal
Tower, and Mascot Towers insurers have been reducing their • CVs of Directors
capacity and seeking to increase premiums between 20%-40%.
• Risk management plans
• Advice on your contractual engagements, do you use a standard
contract form, or do you limit liability or consequential loss?
• Advice on how your business has been impacted by COVID-19
and what changes you have made such as changes to on-site
inspections, changes to cyber security and working from home,
and remote peer review processes
INSURAN CE BRO K I NG AND SUPE R ANNUAT I O N SE R VI C E S
Professionals Australia Insurance Broking & Superannuation Services gives advice to clients - not
just Professional Indemnity Insurance but also on contractual indemnity clauses, their insurance
implications and the adequacy of professional services descriptions contained within insurance policies.
If you would like an obligation free professional indemnity insurance quotation, please contact
Professionals Australia Insurance Broking and Superannuation Services on 1800 800 998, complete
the online form here: https://abcountrywide.com/professionals-australia-pi-proposal-form/ or let
them know your renewal date and they can contact you at the appropriate time to provide you with a
quotation.
Disclaimer - This advice and comments are provided in the capacity as an insurance broker and should not be construed as legal advice.
Separate legal advice relating to the interpretation and implication of this article for your individual circumstances should be obtained.

ABOUT THE
SURVEY
The Professional Engineer Remuneration Survey was conducted online during April 2021 using the
present engineering member base of Professionals Australia. Non-members were also invited to
participate in the survey through a combination of social media and direct e-mail. Non-member
engineers contacted were those that had previously demonstrated interest in the Association’s
remuneration reports, surveys or campaigns. In total, 1,566 responses were used for the analyses
contained in this report.
Social media continued to be a less effective medium for promoting the survey than previous years due
to additional restrictions placed on communications through these platforms because of the COVID-19
pandemic. It is unclear how these restrictions impacted on responding beyond reducing the overall
sample size compared to the 2019/20 report.
Duplicate respondents were screened for using a variety of variables collected during the survey in
conjunction with IP addresses associated with each response. Where a duplicate was identified the most
complete response was retained.
Participants were not required to answer all questions in full. As a result many questions have a different
sample size reported and the sum of all returned data in any given table may not add up to the total
number of responses received. Where a specific analysis has less than three responses no results are
reported. Means are reported where there are three or more responses, medians where there are four
or more responses and quartiles where there are five or more.
Professionals Australia has been conducting regular salary surveys of members since 1974.
In order to provide comprehensive information on professional engineers’ remuneration, Professionals

Australia publishes its detailed survey report annually. The survey is the largest of its kind undertaken in
Australia and as such represents an authoritative picture of the remuneration of professional engineers.

Sample characteristics
The gender breakdown of survey respondents was 90.1 per cent male and 9.8 per cent female.
New South Wales was the most strongly represented state across respondents accounting for 36.5
per cent of participants, with each state receiving similar levels of representation to their population
as a proportion of the Australian population. Queensland was slightly over-represented relative to its
population.
Figure 56 - Geographic breakdown of survey population
21.2%
QLD 22.8%
VIC
2.7% 0.3%
ACT NT
6.4%
SA
7.5% 36.5%
WA NSW
2.5%
TAS
The Consulting and technical services industry was the most strongly represented industry in the
survey at 21.5 per cent of respondents, followed by the Manufacturing industry with 10.9 per cent of
respondents. Civil was the most common branch of engineering for respondents to be qualified in (34.5
per cent) followed by Mechanical (22.4 per cent) and Electrical (18.9 per cent).

Terms used
Base salary Statistical terms used
Refers to the annual salary component of the contract of For the purposes of salary analysis, the following statistics were
employment for a participant, exclusive of any additional allowances, used:
payments or non-cash benefits.
• N: The number of observations recorded for each category;
Total package
• Lower Quartile (25th Percentile): The value below which 25 per
The total remuneration package received by a participant, including cent of observations were recorded. Not reported where N is less
the value of all components of remuneration. Total package includes than 5;
the following: • Median (50th Percentile): The value below which 50 per cent of
observations were recorded. Not reported where N is less than 4;
• Base salary;
• Upper Quartile (75th Percentile): The value below which 75 per
• Annual leave loading;
cent of observations were recorded. Not reported where N is less
• Overtime; than 5;
• Award allowances; • Mean: The sum of individual salary values divided by the number
of observations; Not reported where N is less than 3;
• Employer superannuation contributions;
• Response %: Proportion of the survey sample represented by the
• Motor vehicle;
number of observations in a given category.
• Parking;
Statistics for Base Salary and Total Package are calculated separately
• Performance pay; for each of the sample respondents, and then ranked. The median
• Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT); is not, therefore, a reflection of the middle ranked respondent
across all categories, but rather, the middle value of the particular
• Other items eligible for FBT; and component when all values of that component are ranked. As a
• Other items not eligible for FBT. consequence, the component statistics will not add up to the value
given by the overall statistic.
Where a non-cash benefit such as a motor vehicle is provided, an
estimate is made of the salary equivalent value of the benefit. Where a significant difference exists between the value of the mean
and the median, this will indicate the following:
SNR
• where the mean is higher than the median, a number of high
Sample Not Representative - indicates a category for which there values were recorded, sufficient to skew the mean upwards away
were not enough respondents to produce reportable statistics. from the median;
• conversely, if the mean is lower than the median, a number of low
values were recorded, sufficient to skew the mean downwards,
away from the median.
If the mean and median are relatively close, the distribution was
approximately normally distributed.

Responsibility level definitions
Level 1 Professional Engineer Level 4 Professional Engineer

The graduate engineer (as defined) commencement level. A professional engineer required to perform professional engineering work involving
considerable independence in approach, demanding a considerable degree of
The engineer undertakes initial professional engineering tasks of limited scope and originality, ingenuity and judgement, and knowledge of more than one field of, or
complexity, such as minor phases of broader assignments, in office, plant, field or expertise (for example, acts as his/her organisation’s technical reference authority) in a
laboratory work. particular field of professional engineering.
Under supervision from higher-level professional engineers as to method of approach The professional engineer:
and requirements, the professional engineer performs normal professional engineering
work and exercises individual judgement and initiative in the application of engineering • initiates or participates in short-range or long-range planning and makes independent
principles, techniques and methods. decisions on engineering policies and procedures within an overall program;
In assisting more senior professional engineers by carrying out tasks requiring accuracy • gives technical advice to management and operating departments;
and adherence to prescribed methods of engineering analysis, design or computation, • may take detailed technical responsibility for product development and provision of
the engineer draws upon advanced techniques and methods learned during and after specialised engineering systems, facilities and functions;
the undergraduate course.
• co-ordinates work programs; and
Training, development and experience using a variety of standard engineering methods
and procedures enable the professional engineer to develop increasing professional • directs or advises on use of equipment and material.
judgement and apply it progressively to more difficult tasks at Level 2.
The professional engineer makes responsible decisions not usually subject to technical
Decisions are related to tasks performed, relying upon precedent or defined procedures review, decides courses of action necessary to expedite the successful accomplishment
for guidance. Recommendations are related to solution of problems in connection to the of assigned projects, and may make recommendations involving large sums or long-
tasks performed. range objectives.
Work is reviewed by higher-level professional engineers for validity, adequacy, methods Duties are assigned only in terms of broad objectives and are reviewed for policy,
and procedures. With professional development and experience, work receives less soundness of approach, accomplishment and general effectiveness.
review, and the professional engineer progressively exercises more individual judgement
until the level of competence at Level 2 is achieved. The professional engineer supervises a group or groups including professional engineers
and other staff, or exercises authority and technical control over a group of professional
The professional engineer may assign and check work of technical staff assigned to work staff, in both instances engaged in complex engineering applications.
on a common project.
Level 5 Professional Engineer
Level 2 Professional Engineer
A professional engineer usually responsible for an engineering administrative function,
Following development through Level 1 he/she is an experienced engineer (as defined) directing several professional and other groups engaged in inter-related engineering
who plans and conducts professional engineering work without detailed supervision, responsibilities, or as an engineering consultant. Achieving recognition as an authority in
but with guidance on unusual features and who is usually engaged on more responsible an engineering field of major importance to the organisation.
engineering assignments requiring substantial professional experience.
The professional engineer independently conceives programs and problems to be
Level 3 Professional Engineer investigated and participates in discussions determining basic operating policies,
devising ways of reaching program objectives in the most economical manner and of
A professional engineer performing duties requiring the application of mature meeting any unusual conditions affecting work progress.
professional engineering knowledge. With scope for individual accomplishment and co-
ordination of more difficult assignments, the professional deals with problems for which The professional engineer makes responsible decisions on all matters, including
it is necessary to modify established guides and devise new approaches. the establishment of policies and expenditures of large sums of money and/or
implementation of major programs, subject only to overall policy and financial controls.
The professional engineer may make some original contribution or apply new
professional engineering approaches and techniques to the design or development of The professional engineer receives administrative direction based on organisation
equipment or special aspects of products, facilities and buildings. policies and objectives. Work is reviewed to ensure conformity with policy and co-
ordination with other functions.
Recommendations may be reviewed for soundness of judgement but are usually
regarded as technically accurate and feasible. The professional engineer makes The professional engineer reviews and evaluates technical work, selects, schedules,
responsible decisions on matters assigned, including the establishment of professional and co-ordinates to attain program objectives and/or as administrator, makes decisions
engineering standards and procedures, consults, recommends and advises in speciality concerning selection, training, rating, discipline and remuneration of staff.
engineering areas.
Work is carried out within broad guidelines requiring conformity with overall objectives,
relative priorities and necessary co-operation with other units. Informed professional
engineering guidance may be available.
The professional engineer outlines and assigns work, reviews it for technical accuracy
and adequacy, and may plan, direct, co-ordinate and supervise the work of other
professional and technical staff.

Methodology
The Professional Engineers Employment and Remuneration Survey tracks annual
changes in compensation for full-time professional engineers in Australia. In addition to
presenting national trends, it includes analysis by separate indices including engineering
discipline, levels of responsibility, years of experience and job function.
Base salary
Participants were asked to provide both their base salary and an hourly rate of pay.
Where a participant did not provide a base salary, but did provide an hourly rate, this
was used in conjunction with their reported hours worked each not including overtime
to determine an equivalent base salary.
Superannuation
The dollar value of a participant’s superannuation as a component of their total package
was calculated by multiplying their employer’s contribution percentage by their base
salary. Where a participant did not specify their employer’s contribution percentage
but did indicate they received superannuation as part of their role the government
mandated minimum rate of 9.5 per cent was used. A rate of 9.5 per cent was used
because the newly legislated increases were not in effect at the time the survey was
conducted.
Annual salary movement

Annual salary movements were calculated by taking the percentage change from a
participant’s annual base salary 12 months ago to their annual base salary at the time
of the survey. The calculation is only performed for participants indicating they had not
received a promotion or changed employers in the last 12 months. The calculation was
also not performed for individuals with less than one year of experience.
Valuation of motor vehicles

The value given to a motor vehicle provided as part of a salary package has been
determined based on the following formula:
22.5 per cent of Cost of Vehicle + 25 cents per km.
Cost of vehicle is the original cost of the car inclusive of government taxes and charges
and dealer delivery fees. Capital costs within the formula are based on 22.5 per cent
straight-line depreciation over 4 years with a 10 per cent salvageable value at the end of
those 4 years.
Vehicle running costs are based on an average derived from the Royal Automobile
Club of Victoria annual survey of car running costs. These costs include registration,
insurance, fuel and servicing.
For the purposes of the analysis contained in this report, the Fringe Benefits Tax
statutory rate of 20 per cent is used in calculating the FBT liability component of a motor
vehicle.
Report preparation
Alex Crowther, Surveys Manager, Professionals Australia
Kim Rickard, Director Surveys and Research, Professionals Australia

EMPLOYMENT
O B L I G AT I O N S
National Employment Standards Modern Awards
The NES are 10 minimum employment entitlements that must be Professional employees are covered by a range of Modern Awards
provided to all employees. The national minimum wage and the and particular Awards underpin Enterprise Agreements. The major
NES make up the minimum entitlements for employees in Australia. Award covering Professional Engineers in the private sector is the
An Award, employment contract, enterprise agreement or other Professional Employees Award 2010.
registered agreement can't provide for conditions that are less than
the national minimum wage or the NES. They cannot exclude the The major provisions of a modern award will most commonly relate
NES. to:
The 10 minimum entitlements of the NES are: • Rates of pay;

• Classification levels;
• maximum weekly hours;
• Working hours and public holidays;
• requests for flexible working arrangements;
• Overtime and penalty rates;
• parental leave and related entitlements;
• Allowances;
• annual leave;
• Annual leave;
• personal/carer's leave, compassionate leave and unpaid family
and domestic violence leave; • Personal leave;
• community service leave; • Rest breaks;
• long service leave; • Engagement and termination of employment;
• public holidays; • Superannuation; and
• notice of termination and redundancy pay; and • Dispute settlement procedures.
• Fair Work Information Statement. For a list of relevant Awards and links to the Awards, visit:
All full-time and part-time employees in the national workplace http://www.professionalsaustralia.org.au/support/rights-wages-

relations system are covered by the NES regardless of the award, conditions/modern-awards.
registered agreement or employment contract that applies. For
further information on the National Employment Standards and Individual employment contracts
their application, visit the Employee entitlements section of the
Fair Work Ombudsman’s website at Where individuals are engaged under an individual employment
https://www.fairwork.gov.au/employee-entitlements. contract, the remuneration information contained in this report can
provide a basis for negotiating a base salary and total remuneration
package to be included in the contract. Employment conditions
to be included and referred to in the contract can be negotiated
and agreed so long as employers observe the NES or the relevant
underpinning Award which must apply. Some enterprise agreements
also provide for employees to enter into individual agreement/
contracts in relation to some aspects of their employment so in
these cases the employment conditions set out in the enterprise
agreement underpin the employment conditions set out in the
employment contract.

Remuneration packaging
Remuneration packaging is a legitimate way for employees
to increase their take-home pay and improve their overall
remuneration at no additional cost to their employer. Employees
agree to forgo part of their future salary in return for a benefit
provided by their employer.
It is important to review salary packaging arrangements each time

income tax thresholds are adjusted or the salary is increased beyond
the next income tax bracket. Different strategies are appropriate for
different levels of income. This is particularly important given the
top marginal tax is only payable on income above $180,000. As a
consequence, many employees now pay income tax at a lower rate
than the Fringe Benefits Tax rate.
Personal income tax rates from 1 July 2020*
INCOME RATE
0 – $18,200 Nil
$18,201 – $45,000 19c for each $1 over $18,200
$5,092 plus 32.5c for each $1 over

$45,001 – $120,000
$45,000
$29,467 plus 37c for each $1 over

$120,001 to $180,000
$120,000
$51,667 plus 45c for each $1 over

$180,001 and over
$180,000
* This table does not include the Medicare Levy or the Low Income Tax Offset.

While the government charges employers Fringe Benefits Tax Motor vehicles
(FBT) equal to the top marginal tax rate plus Medicare levy (47 per
cent) on most non- salary benefits provided to an employee or an Motor vehicles are one of the most popular items to be included
associate of the employee (usually a family member) in respect of in a salary package, partially because of their concessional Fringe
the employee’s employment, there are still ways to structure your Benefits Tax (FBT) treatment.
remuneration to benefit from salary packaging.
FBT is calculated using either the ATO Statutory Rate or Operating
However, it is important for employees to ensure the terms of their Cost method. Generally the Statutory Rate method is used due to its
salary sacrifice arrangement includes an agreement to retain the greater simplicity and lesser record-keeping requirement.
normal (pre-sacrificed) salary as the basis for calculating benefits
Since April 2014 the FBT charge for a salary packaged motor vehicle
such as employer superannuation, overtime payments, annual leave
has become a flat 20 per cent fraction, irrespective of the distance
loading and the like.
travelled by the vehicle.
To determine if it is in your interests to salary package a specific
FBT = purchase price * statutory rate * FBT rate * gross-up factor
benefit, you need to compare the amount of FBT charged as a
proportion of the total salary sacrifice with the amount of income Generally the greatest tax saving accrues to those employees in the
tax as a proportion of gross income required to obtain that benefit. highest income tax bracket (those earning more than $180,000 per
year). There are, however, methods to deliver additional savings to
The salary sacrifice required to package a benefit = cost of benefit
employees on a lower marginal tax rate.
+ (cost of benefit * FBT rate * gross-up factor) – input tax credit.
If the amount of salary sacrificed for a car would otherwise have
Note there should be no difference in the salary sacrifice required
been subject to income tax of less than 47 per cent (including
to package GST-inclusive and GST-exclusive items that are subject
Medicare levy), the employee will gain a benefit from making an
to the same rate of FBT. For all benefits subject to the full rate of
after-tax contribution equivalent to the taxable value of the car
FBT, the amount of salary sacrifice required to pay for each $1.00 of
benefit, as they will be effectively taxed at their lower marginal tax
benefit is $1.961.
rate instead of the FBT rate.
Example 1: Employee wishes to package $1,100 worth of school
For example, an employee on a salary of $60,000 who makes an
fees (nil GST)
after-tax contribution equivalent to the taxable value of the car
Salary sacrifice required = $1,100 + ($1,100 * 0.47 * 1.8868) – 0 benefit effectively pays only 32.5 per cent tax instead of 47 per cent
= $2,075 tax on the taxable value of packaged motor vehicle.
Example 2: Employee wishes to package $1,100 worth of home Limitations on the type and number of motor vehicles that can be
renovations (full GST) packaged include:
Salary sacrifice required = $1,100 + ($1,100 * 0.47 * 2.0802) – • Any car, either new or second-hand, can be packaged but most
($1,100 * 1/11) = $2,075 finance companies will not create a lease for a low-value second-
hand car. They will also generally charge a higher rate for second-
Due to FBT being charged at a rate equivalent to the top marginal hand vehicles;
tax rate plus Medicare, it is generally only effective to package
• Luxury cars and four wheel-drive vehicles may be packaged -
FBT-exempt and concessional taxed items.
there is no upper limit in terms of the value of the car;
• There is no restriction on the number of vehicles that can be
packaged, although multiple vehicle packaging would only
be worthwhile from a taxation perspective by those earning
sufficient income; and
• Motorcycles, goods-carrying vehicles with a capacity of one tonne
or more and vehicles designed to carry nine or more passengers
cannot be packaged as they are specifically excluded from the
ATO definition of a car and do not attract concessional FBT
treatment.

How Fringe Benefits Tax is calculated Superannuation
FBT is not calculated on the direct cost of the benefit but rather Contributions to superannuation made under a salary sacrifice
to a “grossed-up” taxable value that reflects the amount of pre- arrangement are considered employer contributions. They are
tax income an employee on the top marginal tax rate (including exempt from FBT but incur a 15 per cent employer contributions tax.
Medicare) of 47 per cent would have to earn to obtain the same The contributions tax is well below the usual marginal tax rates of
benefit. professionals, which is generally at least 34.5 per cent (inclusive of
Medicare levy).
Gross-up rates also take account of whether benefits are subject to
GST, this reflects the fact that employers are able to recover the cost Employees should be aware that if they sacrifice $10,000 of pre-
of the GST paid on a benefit supplied to an employee as an input tax tax salary for superannuation, for example, only $8,500 will be
credit. credited to their superannuation account due to the contributions
tax. If an employee wishes to ensure $10,000 was credited to a
FBT payable by employer = cost of benefit * gross-up factor * FBT
superannuation account, they would need to sacrifice $11,765 of
rate
pre-tax salary.
For the period April 2021 to 31 March 2022 the gross-up factor
Employer superannuation contributions are preserved until
applying to items subject to GST is 2.0802 and the gross-up factor
retirement and cannot be accessed unless significant financial
applying to items not subject to GST is 1.8868.
hardship can be demonstrated.
FBT exempt items
Superannuation Guarantee Legislation
One laptop, notebook or similar portable computer can be packaged
Under Superannuation Guarantee legislation, employers are
each year without incurring a Fringe Benefits Tax liability. Devices
required to contribute a minimum 10.0 per cent of an employee’s
that are packaged must be primarily used for business.
ordinary time earnings, as defined, to a complying superannuation
To qualify as a laptop, the computer must be small in size, portable fund or retirement savings account of the employee. This rate has
and able to be operated without an external power source. Built-in been legislated to increase by 0.5 per cent per year until the 1st of
internal features (such as a modem or fax), external accessories July 2025, when it will be 12.0 per cent of an employee's ordinary
required for basic operation of the computer, (such as a mouse) time earnings.
and preloaded software part of the basic operating system can be
Superannuation Guarantee applies for full-time, part-time and casual
included as part of the laptop cost.
employees, including those who work under a contract principally
Salary-packaged laptop cannot also be depreciated for the extent it for the labour of the person.
is used for income producing purposes.
There are some limited exceptions including:
Other FBT exempt items include:
• Employees paid less than $450 gross in a calendar month;
• Employer-provided child care; • Employees aged under 18 years working 30 hours or less per
• Briefcase, calculators and other tools of trade; week;
• Income protection insurance, professional subscriptions, business • Non-resident employees paid for work done outside Australia;
software, home office expenses and mobile phones used mainly • Resident employees paid for work done outside Australia for a
for business; and non-resident employer;
• Superannuation. • Employees covered by a Bilateral Superannuation Agreement;
• Some foreign executives who hold certain visas or entry permits;
• Members of the Army, Navy, or Air Force Reserve for work carried
out in that role;
• Employees receiving salary or wages under the Commonwealth
Government Community Development Employment Program; and
• Employees paid to do work of a domestic or private nature for 30
hours a week or less.
Many professionals already receive additional employer-sponsored
superannuation well in excess of the legislated minimum amount.
Employers must report on employee payslips the amount of

superannuation paid into the employee’s superannuation account,
and superannuation funds will notify employers and employees if
regular payments cease.

Employees over preservation age Payment summary disclosure
Employees who are under the age of 65 and have reached Fringe benefits provided to employees must be reported on group
preservation age (55 for those born before 01/07/1960 increasing certificates where the grossed-up value of benefits exceeds $2,000
up to 60 for those born after 30/06/1964) but remain gainfully in this FBT year. These benefits must be grossed-up using a factor of
employed on a full-time or part-time basis, may access their 1.8868.
preserved benefits and restricted non-preserved benefits as a non-
commutable income stream. The amount disclosed on the group certificate will have no bearing
on income tax liability. The information is to be used by the
This enables them to sacrifice salary (subject to a maximum of Australian Tax Office to calculate employee liability in respect of the
$100,000 per annum) into superannuation where it is taxed at only following:
15 per cent, while drawing an income subject to no or concessional
tax to live on from their superannuation fund. This can result in • Medicare levy surcharge;
substantial tax savings and increase in retirement benefits. • HECS;
Anyone considering this should discuss their options with a • Family allowances;
registered financial planner.
• Social security benefits; and
Car parking • Personal superannuation contributions.
Generally, a car parking benefit will exist where an employer The taxable value of a benefit will normally be based on the actual
provides car parking facilities within business premises owned or cost of the benefit however some benefits may be valued using
leased by the employer. existing valuation guidelines produced by the ATO (e.g. motor
vehicles).
A car parking fringe benefit arises if a commercial car parking facility
available for all day parking and which charges more than $9.25 per
day (FBT year ending 31 March 2022) is located within one kilometre
of the employer-provided car parking facility.
If there is no commercial car parking facility within a one kilometre

radius, there will be no benefit.
Company loans
A loan fringe benefit arises from the provision of a loan to an

employee where low or no interest is charged on the loan. A loan
includes:
• an advance of money;
• the provision of credit; and
• the payment of an amount on behalf of a person.
Whether or not a fringe benefit arises depends on whether the
interest charged is less than the Australian Tax Office ‘statutory
interest rate’. The statutory rate for the year ending 31 March 2022
is 4.52 and the rate to 31 March 2021 was 4.80 per cent (to 31
March 2020 was 5.37 per cent).

HOW TO ORDER THE
EXTENDED ENGINEERS
EMPLOYMENT AND
R E M U N E R AT I O N
REPORT
Gain access to more detailed data to benchmark remuneration for
your engineering workforce for only $330 (inc. GST).
Professionals Australia has been conducting regular surveys of

professional engineer remuneration for over 40 years. Our reports
are the most detailed source of information available when it comes
to pay and conditions for Australia’s engineering workforce.
Purchase a full copy of the Professionals Australia Employment &

Remuneration Report to gain access to detailed breakdowns for
engineering pay across industry, discipline, levels of experience, and
more.
The full report is available for only $330.00 (inc. GST). Purchase by
visiting the following link https://www.professionalengineers.org.au/
Engineers/What_we_do/Our_Services/Remuneration/Engineers/
Content/Services_Content/Pay.aspx
Members of Professionals Australia can purchase the report for a

discounted $99.00 (inc. GST).
By purchasing you also get access to our Engineer Remuneration

Calculator. This tool allows you to perform custom analysis of
engineer remuneration using a wide range of demographics.
Members of Professionals Australia get access for free. Click here
to access the calculator, you will need to log in to your members
dashboard https://members.professionalsaustralia.org.au/APEA/
Engineers_Salary_Calculator.aspx
Not a member? Look at the benefits of joining here! http://www.

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DID YOU KNOW

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We can accredit you to become a Registered Professional Engineer of
Professionals Australia (RPEng). And it meets the highest legislated standard.
*Based on median base salary from 2021-22 Professional Engineers Employment and Remuneration Report
REGISTER TODAY
Start your free self-assessment online today to see if you are eligible.
www.rpeng.org.au
Endnotes
1. IBISWorld Australia Industry Reports (ANZSIC). 26. Labour Market Information Portal data visualisations at https://public.
tableau.com/profile/occupation.and.industry.analysis#!/. Industry and
2. Deloitte Access Economics (2021). Investment Monitor (4 February 2021). Available Occupation Quarterly Employment Update, February 2021. Available at
at https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/media-releases/articles/investment- https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/occupation.and.industry.analysis/viz/
monitor.html. IndustryOccupationquarterlyemploymentupdate/CoverPage and Employment by
industry.
3. Infrastructure Partnerships Australia (2020). Infrastructure Budgets Monitor.
Available at https://infrastructure.org.au/budget-monitor-2020-21/. 27. Australian Government, National Skills Commission (June 2021). Skills Priority
List. Available at https://www.nationalskillscommission.gov.au/sites/default/
4. Federal Budget Insights (2021). Available at https://business.nab.com.au/2021- files/2021-06/Skills%20Priority%20List%20Occupation%20List_0.pdf.
federal-budget-what-it-means-for-infrastructure-and-transport-46238/.
28. Engineers Australia (2021). Australia's skilled migration program - Submission for
5. Deloitte Weekly Economic Briefing 9 February 2021 Joint Standing Committee on Migration Inquiry, March 2021, p.7.
6. RBA Update, February 2021. Available at https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/ 29. Australian Government, National Skills Commission (2020). Industry Employment
smp/2021/feb/economic-outlook.html. Outlook five years to November 2025, p.3. (Published 15.3.2021, available at
https://lmip.gov.au/default.aspx?LMIP/GainInsights/EmploymentProjections.
7. Deloitte Access Economics (2021). Business Outlook, 21 April 2021.
30. Office of the Chief Scientist (2020). Australia's STEM Workforce, p.168.
8. Roy Morgan (2021). Image of Professions Survey. Available at https://
www.roymorgan.com/findings/8691-image-of-professions-2021- 31. Deloitte Weekly Economic Briefing, 25 May, 2021.
april-2021-202104260655.
32. ABS Catalogue 6401.0, March 2021 (All groups)
9. Department of Employment Internet vacancies Index. Available at https://lmip.gov.
au/default.aspx?LMIP/GainInsights/VacancyReport. 33. ABS Catalogue 6345.0, March 2021 (Trend)
10. Labour Market Information Portal, IVI Detailed Occupation Data. Available at https:// 34. Attorney-General's Department (2021). Trends in Federal Enterprise Bargaining.
lmip.gov.au/default.aspx?LMIP/GainInsights/VacancyReport Note, these figures are as at May 2018 which are the latest figures available.
Available at https://www.ag.gov.au/system/files/2021-06/trends-in-federal-
11. Labour Market Information Portal, IVI Detailed Occupation Data. Available at https:// enterprise-bargaining-report-march-quarter-2021.pdf.
lmip.gov.au/default.aspx?LMIP/GainInsights/VacancyReport
35. Attorney-General's Department (March 2021 quarter). Trends in Federal Enterprise
12. Labour Market Information Portal, IVI Detailed Occupation Data. Available at https:// Bargaining.
lmip.gov.au/default.aspx?LMIP/GainInsights/VacancyReport
36. Deloitte Access Economics Investment Monitor December 2020
13. Deloitte Access Economics (2021). Business Outlook (18 January 2021). Available at
https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/media-releases/articles/business-outlook. 37. Deloitte Access Economics, Weekly Economic Briefing, 28 April 2020.
html.
38. Daehoon Nahm, Michael Dobbie & Craig MacMillan (2017) Union wage effects
14. Engineers Australia (2021). Effect of COVID-19 on engineering jobs: what we know in Australia: an endogenous switching approach, Applied Economics, 49:39,
so far. Available at https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/News/effect-covid-19- 3927-3942, DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2016.1273492.Available at https://
engineering-jobs-what-we-know-so-far. theconversation.com/why-union-members-earn-higher-wages-than-their-non-
union-colleagues-93122.
15. Deloitte Weekly Economic Briefing 9 February 2021
39. National Skills Commission (June 2021). Transitioning from university to
16. Deloitte Weekly Economic Briefing 9 February 2021. Available at https://www2. work. Available at https://lmip.gov.au/default.aspx?LMIP/GainInsights/
deloitte.com/au/en/blog/economics-blog/2021/investment-outlook-improves.html EmployersRecruitmentInsights.
17. National Skills Commission (February 2021). Employment by industry, occupation 40. National Skills Commission (June 2021). What are employers looking
and skill level. Available at https://lmip.gov.au/ (Employment by Industry for? Available at https://lmip.gov.au/default.aspx?LMIP/GainInsights/
Occupation and Skill Level Quarterly Labour Force Survey analysis). EmployersRecruitmentInsights.
18. Department of Education, Skills and Employment - Higher Education Statistics Data 41. Office of the Chief Scientist (2020). Australia's STEM Workforce, p.168.
Cube (uCube). Available at http://highereducationstatistics.education.gov.au/
Default.aspx. 42. WGEA Gender Equality Agency (2020). Australia’s gender pay gap statistics.
Available at Gender Equity Insights series | WGEA
19. ibid
43. Workplace Gender Equality Agency (Australia's gender equality scorecard,
20. ibid November 2020), p.6. Available at https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/
documents/2019-20%20Gender%20Equality%20Scorecard_FINAL.pdf.
21. ibid
44. For top industries employing engineers, Office of Chief Scientist (2020). Australia's
22. ibid STEM Workforce, p.167.
23. ibid 45. Office of the Chief Scientist (2020). Australia's STEM Workforce, p.215.
24. ibid 46. Roberts, P. and Ayre, M. (2002). Counting the losses: the Careers Review of
Engineering Women: an investigation of women’s retention in the Australian
25. Labour Market Information Portal data visualisations at https://public. engineering workforce. Commissioned by the National Women in Engineering
tableau.com/profile/occupation.and.industry.analysis#!/. Industry and Committee Engineers Australia. Available at file:///C:/Users/krickard/AppData/
Occupation Quarterly Employment Update, February 2021. Available at Local/Packages/Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/occupation.and.industry.analysis/viz/ Counting_the_losses_The_Careers_Review_of_Engineer.pdf.
IndustryOccupationquarterlyemploymentupdate/CoverPage and Employment by
occupation.

The Association of
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
EMPLOYMENT AND
REMUNERATION REPORT
2021/22
STREET ADDRESS
152 Miller Street, West Melbourne, Victoria, 3003, Australia
POSTAL ADDRESS
GPO Box 1272, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia
TELEPHONE
1300 273 762
EMAIL
surveys@professionalsaustralia.org.au
WEB
www.professionalengineers.org.au

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2 | Professional Engineers Employment and Remuneration Report 2021-22

Professional Engineers Employment and Remuneration Report 2021-22 | 3

Professionals Australia is a not-for profit organisation and is owned by its members.

4 | Professional Engineers Employment and Remuneration Report 2021-22

The Professionals Australia survey identified wage growth for

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6 | Professional Engineers Employment and Remuneration Report 2021-22

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Figure 1 - Median percentage increase in salaries by sector of employment

NSW 1,442 930 1,189 -35.5 27.8 26.3

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OTHER ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS 787 959 21.9

ENGINEERING MANAGERS 503 608 20.9

CIVIL ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS 4,086 4,912 20.2

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS 720 858 19.1

INDUSTRIAL, MECHANICAL AND 1,571 1,845 17.4

ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS 132 153 15.9

MINING ENGINEERS 1,710 1,870 9.3

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Engineering commencements and completions

Overseas student enrolments

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Overseas student completions

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Course commencements for women

Table 5 - Female engineering commencements count and percentage change on previous

Table 6 - Proportion of female engineering commencements as proportion of total com-

MALE/ COURSE PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL

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ENGINEERING MANAGERS 27,100 ↑ 240 ↑ 0.9% ↓ 1,800 ↓ 6.1% ↑ 1,800 ↑ 7.3%

CIVIL ENGINEERING 48,900 ↓ 16,000 ↓ 25.3% ↓ 13,800 ↓ 22.0% ↑ 14,800 ↑ 43.2%

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS 33,600 ↑ 6,800 ↑ 25.1% ↑ 8,000 ↑ 31.1% ↑ 12,800 ↑ 61.7%

ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS 5,900 ↑ 410 ↑ 7.4% ↓ 2,800 ↓ 31.6% ↑ 1,300 ↑ 29.1%

INDUSTRIAL, MECHANICAL 43,600 ↓ 1,200 ↓ 2.6% ↑ 4,000 ↑ 10.1% ↑ 18,200 ↑ 71.7%

MINING ENGINEERS 11,300 ↑ 340 ↑ 3.1% ↑ 1,400 ↑ 14.1% ↑ 3,000 ↑ 35.2%

OTHER ENGINEERING 7,800 ↓ 5,300 ↓ 40.5% ↓ 10,900 ↓ 58.3% ↑ 1,400 ↑ 21.9%

TELECOMMUNICATIONS 10,600 ↓ 2,500 ↓ 18.8% ↓ 6,600 ↓ 38.3% ↑ 550 ↑ 5.4%

ALL OCCUPATIONS 13,016,600 ↑ 157,300 ↑ 1.2% ↑ 4,900 0.0% ↑ 1,082,700 ↑ 9.1%

Labour market shortages

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Engineering labour market projections

Table 8 - Engineering employment projections to 2025

NATIONAL SKILLS COMMISSION PROJECTIONS

ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS 196.8 223.8 27 13.7

CHEMICAL AND MATERIALS 7 7.4 0.4 5.7

CIVIL ENGINEERING 67 77.1 10.2 15.2

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS 26.8 29.9 3.1 11.4

ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS 5.4 5.9 0.5 9.1

INDUSTRIAL, MECHANICAL AND 45.5 52.8 7.3 15.9

MINING ENGINEERS 11 12.5 1.5 13.9

OTHER ENGINEERING 13.2 14.6 1.4 10.8

ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS 19.2 21.8 2.7 14

Source: Labour Market Information Portal - Employment projections.

Under-representation of women in the engineering workforce

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Figure 1 - Median percentage increase in salaries by sector of employment

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Figure 2 - Median base salary and total package by sector