Software Salary and Job Market in Australia 2026

You are applying for software roles in Australia and every job ad you open skips the pay. Then an offer lands, and you have no idea whether the number in front of you is good. Here is what the market looks like, and how to push back on an offer without wrecking it.

What the listings actually say about demand#

On 14 October 2026, JobRise's live jobs feed showed 56 open Software jobs in Australia. Of those, 44 were posted in the last 30 days and 32 in the last 7 days. That is a fresh slice, not a market survey.

Read the 44-of-56 figure the right way, because it does not mean the market is booming and it does mean most open roles are recent, so your applications land on live ads rather than stale ones. Good news.

The employers with the most open listings in this slice were Mongodb (6), Elastic (5), Corto Pty Ltd (3), UpGuard (3), Datadog (3), Australian Payments Plus (3), Stripe (3), Centorrino Technologies (3), Catalyst Metals (2), and Caterpillar Inc (2). Some of these names are recruiters or staffing firms, so the role may end up sitting somewhere else entirely.

Sydney dominates: 29 of the 56 listings. Melbourne has 3, Perth 3, and the rest scatter to places like Helensvale. A couple of listings sit outside Australia entirely, such as the 2 in Seoul, so check the location line before you get excited.

Almost everything is full-time: 55 listings, with 1 contract role. If you want contracting money, this slice will not help you much.

Who is hiring and for what#

The titles tell you where the demand sits, and senior specialist work is the norm here: "Senior Consultant- Built Environment and Infrastructure" at Control Risks, "Site Reliability Engineer" at Eagle Eye, "Senior DevOps Engineer" at Corto Pty Ltd, "Director, Global Solutions Engineering" at UpGuard, "Senior Incident and Escalations Manager" at Datadog, "Lead Quality Engineer" at Australian Payments Plus, "Senior Solutions Architect - Public Sector - (Canberra)" at Elastic, and "Infrastructure Development Lead - Australia" at Fuse Energy.

Infrastructure, reliability, solutions architecture, and quality engineering are the recurring themes. Pure application development is thinner than you might expect.

Entry-level openings are rare. Only 2 of 56 titles look junior or graduate-friendly, including "Entry-Level Software Developer" at Centorrino Technologies and "Junior/Senior Operations Engineer" at EBC Group. If you are early career, treat those two as high-value targets and expect a lot of competition for them.

Apply anyway. One listing can turn into two roles if the team is growing.

For wider context, the JobRise Hiring Report: Australia showed 462 open listings across all categories in the country, with 346 posted in the last 30 days. Software's 56 listings are roughly one in eight of that total, which tells you tech is a real but minority slice of hiring.

The pay problem#

Here is the blunt part. Not one of the 56 listings in this slice shows a salary. Zero. So you cannot benchmark yourself against the ads, and employers know that silence usually works in their favour.

This is common in Australian tech ads, but the trend is toward more transparency, and you can use that. When you see no range, ask for one early, before you invest three interview rounds. Ask early.

Typical reported ranges by seniority#

The figures below are typical reported ranges for full-time software roles in Australia, and they are indicative only, they vary by city, company size, and stack, and they are not drawn from the JobRise listings. Verify current numbers with official sources and with live market data before you rely on them.

• Junior developer: AUD 70,000 to 90,000 per year, excluding superannuation
• Mid-level developer: AUD 95,000 to 130,000 per year, excluding superannuation
• Senior developer or engineer: AUD 135,000 to 180,000 per year, excluding superannuation
• Staff or principal engineer: AUD 175,000 to 230,000 per year, excluding superannuation
• Engineering manager or director: AUD 180,000 to 250,000 per year, excluding superannuation

Sydney and Melbourne sit at the top of those bands. Regional roles and smaller companies usually sit lower. Contract day rates exist, but this slice has only one contract listing, so treat any rate you hear as a separate negotiation.

How Australian pay packages actually work#

Superannuation is the big one. Employers pay it on top of your base salary into your super fund, at a rate set by law. The current rate changes over time, so check the official superannuation source before you quote a number in an interview.

Always confirm whether a quoted figure is "plus super" or "including super", because the same headline number means different take-home pay depending on which one it is, and most professional tech ads quote base plus super. Get it in writing.

There is no standard 13th month pay in Australia. Annual bonuses do exist, usually at larger or overseas-owned firms, and they are often discretionary rather than guaranteed.

Equity shows up at startups and at international vendors like Stripe or Datadog, but treat it as upside, not salary. Ask what the vesting schedule is, what the last valuation was, and what happens to your options if you leave.

Some employers package a car allowance, phone, or learning budget. Nice, but do not let them inflate the base number with these. Compare base plus super first, then everything else.

Salary figures in Australia are usually quoted per year. When you see monthly numbers on overseas job boards, convert carefully and confirm the currency.

A negotiation plan that works#

Do your homework before the offer call, not during it, because walking in with a number you can defend and a clear reason for it is what separates a real negotiation from a nervous guess. Prepare.

• Confirm whether the offer is base plus super or total package
• Ask for the salary range for the band, in writing if possible
• Research comparable pay for the same title and city
• Pick a target number and a walk-away number before you talk
• Ask about bonus, equity, and review timing in the same conversation
• Get the final offer in writing before you resign anywhere
• Use our free salary negotiation guide to rehearse the exact wording

A worked example. Suppose the ad says "Senior DevOps Engineer" at a firm like Corto Pty Ltd and the offer is AUD 150,000 plus super. You want 165,000. You would say something like this.

"Thanks, I am excited about the role. Based on comparable senior DevOps roles in Sydney and the scope we discussed, I was expecting closer to AUD 165,000 plus super. Is there room to move on base, or on the bonus target?"

Short, specific, no threats. Then stop talking and let them answer.

If they cannot move on base, ask what else is on the table, because an extra week of leave, a signing payment, an earlier review, or a higher super contribution can all be worth real money to you. Worth real money.

What to do before you apply#

• Read the whole ad for location, visa sponsorship wording, and pay transparency
• Tailor your resume to the exact title in the listing
• Note whether the employer is a recruiter or the end company
• Track your applications so you know which roles are still live
• Prepare one pay question for the first recruiter call

For legal pay rules, including minimum wage, award coverage, and any visa salary thresholds, use the official government source for the current figure. Do not rely on a blog post or a number someone quoted you at a pub.

FAQ#

Is software pay in Australia quoted including or excluding superannuation?

Most professional ads quote base salary plus superannuation, so the super sits on top. Always confirm in writing, because the difference changes your real package by a noticeable amount.

Why do so few software job ads in Australia list a salary?

Employers often keep pay quiet to preserve negotiating room, and there is no single rule forcing every private ad to publish a range. That silence is exactly why you should ask for the band early.

Are these salary figures guaranteed?

No. The ranges here are typical reported figures for full-time roles and vary by city, seniority, and company. Verify current numbers with official sources and live market data before making decisions.

Should I negotiate a software offer if I really need the job?

Yes, but keep it proportionate. A polite request backed by a specific number rarely costs you an offer, and the worst realistic outcome is that they say the number is fixed.

Where can I find current software roles in Australia?

Check live listings rather than old aggregator pages, and filter by city and title. The JobRise software feed is updated continuously, so you see what is actually open this week.