If you only followed the headlines, you’d think the financial services sector is being driven by large-scale AI transformation. It’s not.

Across Australia, banks, insurers and fintechs are navigating a mix of regulatory scrutiny, cost-cutting, evolving cyber threats, fragmented transformation programs, and targeted investment in areas like data, cyber and platform modernisation. While AI is part of the conversation, it has yet to materially reshape organisations at scale.

Instead, hiring is being influenced by a series of overlapping shifts:

• Heightened regulatory scrutiny and risk accountability
• Ongoing restructuring to fund transformation and reduce cost bases
• Smaller teams expected to deliver broader, more technical outcomes
• AI embedding into workflows rather than driving standalone transformation

We sat down with our in-house Financial Services specialists to unpack what they’re seeing across risk, cyber, infrastructure, software and AI and how it’s shaping hiring.

Regulation is driving more work

The most consistent driver across the market right now is regulation.

According to Chris Huggett, Practice Director – Financial Services at Talent Sydney:

“There’s a lot more pre-emptive work happening right now around risk and governance, but not all of it is directly driven by AI. Previously, it was reactive, particularly post-Royal Commission. Now organisations are trying to get ahead of issues before they happen.”

That shift is being reinforced by public scrutiny.

Ongoing issues with the ASX have triggered intense regulatory pressure around operational resilience and governance standards.

“That level of scrutiny inevitably drives transformation, particularly around resilience and risk culture,” says Elliott Howard, Account Director.

At the same time, AI-enabled fraud is becoming more sophisticated and scalable from deep fakes and voice cloning to synthetic identities and large-scale loan scams.

What this means for hiring: Demand is increasing for governance, resilience and risk capability, embedded within broader programs rather than standalone initiatives.

AI is being contained, not scaled

AI is being adopted in controlled, low-risk environments.

“We’re seeing smaller-scale initiatives in niche pockets with specific use cases,” says James Bertollo, Account Manager. “They’re what you’d consider minor implementations like customer service, internal automation, agent-based workflows, but nothing like enterprise-wide transformation.”

The constraint is risk.

“For banks, using AI on private customer data is still a major concern,” James adds. “There’s a real fear of making a mistake that is both costly and leads to regulatory consequences.”

The caution is being reinforced by a combination of factors:

• Increasing regulatory scrutiny around data handling and decision-making
• The potential for AI-driven errors at scale
• A lack of clear, consistent frameworks for AI governance

As a result, organisations are taking a segmented approach. Rather than pursing a single, enterprise-wide AI program, most are:

• Deploying AI within specific business units
• Ringfencing higher-risk data environments
• Building internal guardrails as they go

“I don’t think you’ll see one singular transformation program around AI,” says Chris. “It will sit within different areas of the business, with different levels of control depending on the risk.”

What this means for hiring: Steady but fragmented demand for AI capability, creating pockets of hiring rather than large-scale workforce shifts.

AI’s immediate impact is at the operational level

While AI isn’t driving enterprise transformation, it is already reshaping day-to-day execution.

“In cyber, what used to take one or two days can now be done in 30 minutes using AI agents,” says Elliott.

This pattern is consistent across functions: faster analysis, reduced manual effort and compressed delivery timelines. And it’s already changing expectations of output, speed and team structure.

What this means for hiring: Expectations of output are increasing and teams are being designed around speed and efficiency, raising the bar for individual capability.

Hiring demand is concentrating at the execution layer

The clearest signal of change has been an increasing demand of talent at the execution layer.

According to James:

“Over the past two years, we’ve seen very senior AI roles put in place to set strategy and frameworks and kick off initiatives. In a lot of cases, those roles have been brought in externally, while the middle layer—product owners, project managers—has largely stayed the same and been upskilled.

Where we’re seeing the highest demand, and the most volume, is at the doing level. These are the engineers and practitioners who are actually building and implementing AI. That’s consistent across banking, financial services and insurance. Those are the roles we’re seeing come through most frequently.”

At the same time, AI capability has become a baseline expectation.

“Every role now has ‘AI’ as either a nice-to-have or a must-have,” says Chris.

Roles are being redefined:

• Engineers are expected to work end-to-end
• Technical roles require stronger business engagement
• Pure specialisation is declining

“You won’t ever hire a pure Python developer anymore,” says James. “You need someone who can design, build, implement and engage with stakeholders. With specialisations like coding becoming less central, the core defining skill required of an end-to-end software engineer is now what our clients call a ‘solution mindset’.”

What this means for hiring: Highest demand for hands-on, end-to-end practitioners who can deliver outcomes not just define them.

Cost pressure is reshaping team structures

With budgets tightening, teams are becoming leaner.

Over the past 12–18 months, major financial institutions have reduced headcount significantly.

Elliott explains:

“Last year, we saw one of the biggest years in redundancies and cost-cutting across the banks, probably since the GFC. Whether that’s translating into continued investment in tech transformation, it’s more likely a cost-cutting exercise and what’s now widely described as ‘AI washing’.”

As a result, organisations are being forced to do more with fewer people, emulating the operating models and ways of working of technology companies.

“We’re seeing smaller teams and higher expectations,” says Chris. “People are being asked to cover multiple functions.”

This means combining roles that were previously separate, such as:

• Project Manager / Product Owner = Project Manager + Business Analyst + Tester
• Engineer = Engineer + Tester + UI Designer + sometimes Business Analyst
• Scrum Master = Project Manager + Business Analyst

But this introduces delivery risk.

“If you’re asking someone to test their own work, it creates risk and ultimately sets the program up for failure,” Chris explains. “But ultimately, it comes down to cost constraints.”

What this means for hiring: There’s greater demand for multi-skilled individuals holding higher accountability, but also increased risk where separation of duties is lost.

Some roles are already in decline

Not all roles are being affected equally. Some are already in clear decline.

Project Managers, Business Analysts, Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, and layers of middle management.

“It’s a very challenging time to be a Project Manager in the market right now,” says Elliott. “We’re seeing hundreds of applicants for a single role. We recently had a general Project Manager role receive 200–300 applications within 48 hours, and many of those candidates have been looking for work for months.”

This reflects a shift away from large, program-based transformation towards smaller, incremental initiatives delivered within existing product and engineering teams.

“Agile isn’t a standalone role anymore,” says Chris. “It’s just part of the job.”

What this means for hiring: Roles focused on coordination, governance and process are being absorbed into more technically capable, end-to-end positions.

The offshore delivery model is coming under pressure

AI is also beginning to challenge traditional offshore delivery models.

Historically, offshore teams have been used to handle repetitive developer work and high volume support tasks. The same areas where AI is now most effective.

“There are conversations happening about whether AI reduces the need for offshore models,” says Chris. “Because that type of work is increasingly automatable.”

While this shift is not fully realised at this stage, it is becoming a recurring theme in how organisations are thinking about future operating models.

If this direction continues, the implications are significant:

• Reduced reliance on offshore execution capacity
• Greater emphasis on onshore, higher-value roles
• A shift from production-based work to orchestration and oversight

It has the potential to reshape how work is distributed across global teams.

Hiring strategies are diverging across subsectors

Not all financial services subsectors are responding to these pressures in the same way.

Different subsectors are taking materially different approaches to growth, cost and risk, and this is flowing through into how they hire.

In banking, the focus remains on consolidation, cost control and internal efficiency.

“Banks are focused on consolidating,” Chris shares. “It’s more about optimising what they already have.”

This means tighter headcount control, more selective hiring and a focus on roles that directly support priority initiatives.

In contrast, super funds are still actively pursuing growth through M&A and market expansion.

“We’re seeing more movement in the super space,” Chris notes. “There are still opportunities for growth and acquisition.”

This is creating demand in areas tied to integration, transformation and scaling capability.

Meanwhile, fintechs are operating with a different set of constraints. After a period of rapid expansion post-COVID, the focus has shifted towards sustainability.

“Fintechs are being much more measured now,” says Elliott. “It’s less about expansion and more about maintaining cost base and growing sustainably.”

As a result, fintech hiring is more cautious, with fewer speculative hires, greater emphasis on immediate value and tighter alignment to commercial outcomes.

Across all three, the underlying pattern is consistent: Hiring has become more targeted, more deliberate and more closely tied to business priorities.

Hiring is becoming more disciplined

Despite shifts across technology, regulation and operating models, the core drivers of hiring in financial services remain consistent.

“Transformation initiatives, regulatory pressure and remediation following failure. Those core reasons for hiring aren’t going away any time soon,” says James. “What changes is the lens and right now that lens is AI.”

While AI is influencing how work is delivered, how teams are structured, and what is expected from individual roles, it is not replacing the underlying reasons organisations hire.

What has changed is:

• Greater scrutiny on where value is created
• Higher expectations of individual capability
• Less tolerance for roles that do not directly contribute to outcomes

Instead of a completely new hiring model, the result is much more disciplined one where every role is expected to deliver measurable value.

The bottom line

AI may be changing how work gets done, but it’s not what’s driving hiring.

Across financial services, hiring is being dictated by risk, cost and accountability.

Organisations are becoming more selective, roles are being redefined, and expectations of individuals are increasing.

For leaders, the implication is clear: Hiring decisions are now more closely tied to measurable value than at any point in the past decade.

If you’re navigating cost pressure, regulatory change or shifting expectations, our Financial Services recruitment specialists can share what’s happening across the market. Reach out to discuss how these shifts are impacting your hiring priorities.

“I filled out my customs form. I just wrote ‘entertainer’ for my occupation.”

When Mitch Churi flew back home from a holiday, that’s what he landed on.

He’s a radio presenter, content creator, dabbles in stand-up comedy, the list goes on. Mitch is someone who has built his career by moving quickly, instinctively, and not by a defined path.

As a result, he’s often left without a clear title to tie it all together.

We recently sat down with Mitch for our latest episode of Not Just A…, and within minutes, it was clear his job title was the least interesting part about him.

Good for the vibes

Long before radio, content, or “entertainer” made its way onto his customs fork, Mitch had already figured out his role.

“I kind of lived my life bringing some vibes, being the morale guy,” he says. “I was a water polo player as a kid, for around 10 years. I loved it. I was in the position where I didn’t have to swim much, positioned right at the back. I was very much the morale hire.”

It’s something that completely tracks as he reflected on other opportunities he’s had.

“I was hired at KIIS FM as the morale guy as well. Very good for the team, good for the banter. And that kind of got me onto the air,” he shares.

Starting without a clear plan

Mitch started off as a theatre kid.

“I was a kid that grew up in theatre, studying theatre, and representing Australia at a national level ,” he says. “We toured London when I was 12, we toured to Hong Kong. I did shows all around the world with a theatre troupe.”

For a while, acting was the plan.

“I wanted to do theatre full time, but I was also intimidated by NIDA and WAAPA and these big schools. I genuinely thought that I wasn’t good enough at that age.”

So he pivoted to a journalism and performance double degree at University of Wollongong. That lasted about a month.

“Tertiary full-time study as we know it doesn’t work for me,” he says. “I don’t retain information in that way, I very much like to get hands-on and work and jump in. That’s how I learn.”

So he leaned into experience, moving to New York when he was 19 to study a bit at the Atlantic Theatre Company and then spending a few months in LA.

As a big believer in making what you want, his mantra in life is just: “Make the call. Do it. Nothing’s going to come to you.”

And he did.

Finding his voice on air

Mitch has worked under many titles, but he’ll always lead with radio.

“I lead with radio presenter only because that’s my craft,” he says. “That’s what I’ve honed my skills in for ten years on a commercial radio station. I love radio.”

Giving him the structure and momentum for his career, radio was a place he developed his voice in real time. And like most things, it wasn’t without its own layers to navigate.

“I’m openly gay, and I’m openly gay when I’m on air,” he says. “I had issues with that when I first started in radio. When I first got on air, it was 2016. The same sex plebiscite happened in 2017, and I was still in the closet. I was still 22 or 23 and hadn’t come to terms with it myself.”

But when he did come out in 2018, he never actually came out on air, it naturally became part of how he showed up authentically as he “just started talking about partners.”

This authenticity also came with some resistance.

“There’s also a lot of criticism,” he says. “You get a lot of people saying, ‘Well, you don’t have to talk about that. Just be yourself. If it comes up, it comes up. You don’t need to make it your whole personality.’ To which I tend to disagree. If you let these things fester and let them melt away and disappear into the shadows, that’s when you risk the loudest voices, which are homophobia or discrimination.”

And his approach of being honest about who he was carried into one of the biggest decisions of his career.

Making things happen

After a decade in radio, Mitch Churi was forced into his next move.

His departure from KIIS FM was public, unexpected and, in his own words, left him stuck.

“It was a very publicised exit, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do with myself,” he says. “I didn’t know what the right next step was. I was sort of crippled by the decisions and the weight of what to do next.”

For the first time in his career, the momentum stopped.

And instead of clarity, there was uncertainty.

“I thought, I’m struggling behind the scenes. I’m not sure how to get there. I’m trying to make this happen. I’ll just take everyone along on the journey with me.”

By documenting his process and being honest about his struggles, people connected with him and from there his audience grew.

And this instance was only one of many that has defined Mitch’s career.

“I’m a big believer in you gotta make what you want,” he says. “I’ve had the realisation that nothing will come to you. You have to make things happen in life or else. Just make the call. You know that Kris Jenner meme? ‘What if you just call Taylor [Swift] up? Just call her up.’”

His willingness to put himself forward and ask the question has become his default.

“I’d rather regret failing than not doing it at all.”

The person behind it all

Outside of work, Mitch is pretty much exactly who you’d expect.

“I’d argue I’m very similar,” he says. “I’m a more muted version of myself. One of my favourite things to do is drive. I love driving, putting on the radio or a podcast and just letting my mind wander because it can be a bit crazy inside there.”

He finds it’s something that grounds him, especially when his mind is usually running a hundred miles an hour.

“I’ve got many a hobby. I love cooking,” he says. “I’m a bit of a nerd, I love a good YouTube algorithm deep dive. The algorithm knows me so well. I can just lie there in bed and do a good 2-3 hours of YouTube algorithms.”

His favourite thing to cook at the moment?

“I’m big on toast right now,” he laughs. “Toast is so back. It’s just so easy, you can put so many things on that bread.”

And then there are the niche interests that feel slightly unexpected, but very on brand once he explains them.

“I can play the theremin. The X-Files instrument,” he shares. “Big wooden block with a big metal pole and you control it with the electromagnetic field of your body. I picked it up during COVID because I wanted to be different and stand out from the pack. It’s silly, it’s fun, it’s ridiculous.”

He also has a thing for planes.

“I love aeroplanes,” he says. “I love the livery of planes. I love Airbus and Boeing. I love researching the planes and the new editions and why they upgraded it. I love the Airbus A380 and I have a thing about planes.”

A mix of interests that don’t exactly neatly align but somehow still feel very him.

Not just a creator

Mitch Churi has spent most of his career in defined roles — radio presenter, content creator, cultural commentator, entertainer.

But after KIIS, he stopped waiting for the next role to define him and created his own.

Launching his own show, Mitch shifted from being part of someone else’s platform to building one himself on his terms, with his voice at the centre.

To hear more from Mitch in his own words, watch the full episode on our YouTube channel.

When budgets tighten, graduate hiring is often one of the first lines cut.

It makes sense; entry-level roles don’t immediately drive revenue. They require training and time to build up their skills. And in a market defined by caution, productivity and ROI, immediate impact feels safter than long-term investment.

However, the numbers suggest this may be a costly mistake.

Talent data shows entry-level hiring has dropped by 19% compared to two years ago. At the same time, organisations are talking about skills shortages, leadership capability gaps, and the need for future-ready workforces.

And these two trends will inevitably work against each other.

The pipeline problem

More than just filling junior roles, graduate and early-career hiring is about investing in and building capability depth.

“It might feel like a short-term cost saving, but it comes with long-term consequences,” says Simon Yeung, Managing Director at Talent Melbourne. “Cutting entry-level hiring weakens future talent pipelines and increases dependency on more experienced and more expensive hires to fill capability gaps down the track.”

Simply, if fewer graduates enter your business this year, fewer mid-level professionals will exist inside your organisation in three to five years, and fewer senior leaders will emerge organically in seven to ten.

Instead, you’re forced to buy experience at market rate — often at a premium — and hope cultural fit and context come quickly.

And when the market tightens again, that experience will become even more expensive.

A false sense of efficiency

In the short term, reducing graduate intake can look efficient. There are fewer training costs, managers aren’t stretched across mentoring responsibilities, and an overall faster productivity per headcount.

But capability isn’t built in isolation. It compounds over time and with experience.

Across Australia and New Zealand, we’re already seeing what happens when organisations hollow out the early-career layer.

There’s a widening gap between junior and senior capability, a thinner middle-management layer, and increased pressure on experienced professionals to carry operational and strategic load simultaneously.

It isn’t sustainable.

As highlighted in our latest More Than Money Salary Guide, many organisations are already facing a broader capability gap across leadership, skills and culture, and entry-level contraction is quietly feeding into that.

What young talent is experiencing

On the ground, the impact is immediate.

“With unemployment high and fewer entry-level roles available, it’s hard for young people not to lose confidence,” says Shanelle Partridge, Youth Program Manager at Rise by Talent. “Graduate hiring has seen cutbacks and employers are asking for ‘next-level’ capability without always creating the pathway to get there.”

Resulting in a paradox: organisations say they want critical thinkers, adaptable talent and AI-literate professionals. At the same time, they’re narrowing the traditional pathways that allow those capabilities to develop inside their business.

“We need our young people now so we can have leaders later,” Shanelle says. “If we don’t create those pathways, who manages the business in five or ten years?”

The AI misconception

As automation increases and AI tools take on administrative or repetitive tasks, some organisations assume fewer junior roles are required.

However, young professionals are often the most AI-fluent in the workforce. Many are experimenting confidently with workflow automation, content creation, data tools and AI-supported problem-solving.

The risk isn’t that AI replaces entry-level talent. The real risk is that organisations fail to integrate young, AI-native professionals into their teams and lose the innovation advantage they bring.

At the same time, AI adoption without pipeline investment creates another problem: leadership readiness.

If early-career cohorts shrink now, who develops the judgement, strategic thinking and context required to lead AI-enabled teams later?

The cost of buying experience

When pipelines narrow, organisations rely more on their experienced hires. And it has its limits.

In competitive capability areas such as cyber, cloud, data and transformation, experienced talent remains scarce and highly selective. Hiring at senior levels requires speed, a strong EVP, and competitive remuneration.

And when everyone is trying to hire the same experienced profile, salary pressure increases.

Simon sees this dynamic clearly in the Victorian market.

“Organisations are becoming more selective, which makes sense,” he says. “But if you consistently deprioritise early-career intake, you create structural dependency on the external market. That’s where costs escalate.”

In other words, today’s savings become tomorrow’s salary premiums.

Rethinking graduate hiring

Reinvesting in graduate hiring doesn’t necessarily mean returning to large-scale, traditional programs.

In fact, leaner, more targeted models may be more effective.

Shanelle points to practical approaches:

“Some organisations are reviewing each role that opens and asking: is there any component here that an entry-level person could take on? If there is, they create space for it.”

Others are:

• Embedding junior roles within project teams
• Offering short-term, structured placements tied to delivery outcomes
• Partnering with organisations like Rise to align training directly with industry need
• Reserving a small percentage of roles annually for emerging talent

Instead of reinventing the wheel with costly overhauls, consider these intentional pipeline strategies.

Playing the long game

Hiring markets are cyclical and talent shortages don’t disappear.

History suggests we’re likely to enter another tightening cycle in the coming years. When that happens, organisations with established pipelines will move from stability to strength, and those without will scramble.

Graduate hiring is a strategic decision that signals belief and investment in future growth, builds internal capability, and reduces long-term dependency on expensive external hires.

And perhaps most importantly, it creates opportunity at a time when confidence among young people is fragile.

Cutting graduate hiring may ease short-term pressure, but for organisations serious about sustainable capability, resilience and leadership depth, the long-term cost could be far greater than the savings.

As the co-founder of Mister Mister, Daniel Narvaez has built a business around tailoring. But spend some time chatting to him and it becomes clear his work has less to do with garments and everything to do with people.

Behind every fitting, every appointment, every suit, there’s a conversation, and that’s the part that matters most to Daniel.

From chasing money to chasing craft

Before Mister Mister, Daniel was working in finance as a business analyst, driven by ambition and the desire to succeed quickly.

“I was a bit of a snot-nosed kid chasing money,” he says. “I was focused on how quickly I could become the next big thing.”

His move away from the corporate world started with a shift back towards creativity, first through contemporary jewellery and then working in a gallery.

“That was me trying to get back into something physical,” he says. “Something you could actually see and touch.”

This pull towards design is what eventually set the direction for everything that followed.

Starting before you’re ready

For Daniel, the decision to leave finance was extremely casual.

“One day I just decided to quit,” he says. “I treated it like buying a coffee.”

Looking back, he recognises how unusual that was, but at the time it just felt like the right next step.

He remembers calling his brother in America, “He said, ‘What are you going to do?’ I said, ‘I’m going to leave my job.’ He goes, ‘What do you know about making suits? And I said, ‘I like wearing them.’”

“I hadn’t measured anyone before,” he says. “I’d sold a couple of suits, took a space in the Strand Arcade, quit my job… and that was it.”

The main thing that carried him through that moment was a willingness to start without really knowing exactly how it would work.

Learning by observation

Without a traditional pathway into tailoring, Daniel built his understanding by watching.

“Observation is the most important thing,” he says. “You can read as many books as you want, but if you’re not doing it, it doesn’t mean anything.”

He spent hours sitting with a tailor, asking questions, learning alternations and understanding the mechanics of the craft.

“Tailoring isn’t fashion,” says Daniel. “It’s a traditional craft. There are rules and there’s structure.”

At the time, he was still working his day job, splitting his time between corporate work and learning something new in the evenings.

Building Mister Mister

“I’m a designer by trade, not a craftsperson,” says Daniel.

As the business evolved, Mister Mister became a system that brought together specialist makers from around the world, from Hong Kong to Spain, while Daniel focused on design and client experience.

“We let craftspeople do what they’re best at,” he says. “And we focus on everything around that.

“We tried to create a contemporary Australian style. Something between English and Italian tailoring, but adapted to how we live here.”

For Daniel, he wanted to develop and translate traditional suits with a distinct point of view.

The job is conversation

One misconception about his job?

“90% of my job is conversation,” says Daniel.

What started as a retail space slowly became something else entirely.

“The store became place where people came to talk,” he says. “Clients would call and say, ‘Can you close the store? I just need someone to talk to.’”

Over time, he began to really understand his role.

“You’re not just making a suit,” he says. You’re part of something important in someone’s life — a wedding, a big moment, a transition. That deserves more than just a transaction.”

The skill that underpins all of it is listening.

“I didn’t listen enough when I was younger,” he says. “I thought I had something to say. Most of the time, I didn’t.”

As it changed over time, it reshaped his approach to business.

“You can have the gift of the gab,” he says. “But first you need to be a really good listener. That’s the foundation of everything.”

The person behind the work

“I’m a massive dork,” Daniel confesses.

He spends his time watching documentaries, following football, and revisiting 80’s cartoons for their storytelling.

“Everything followed the same structure,” he says. “Problem, challenge, resolution. The hero’s journey really fascinates me.”

He also shares that in another life, his passions for comics and cartoons may have taken him on a different path entirely.

“I always wanted to be an illustrator,” says Daniel. “In another life, I would’ve gone to art school, won awards, had a studio, painted… maybe worked for Disney.”

Showing up every day

When we asked him what has sustained his career, it was simply: consistency.

“If you say you’re going to be there, be there,” he says.

It’s a simple philosophy that he credits with building his business over time.

“Fourteen years later, I’m still showing up.”

Not just a tailor

While Daniel has built a career around tailoring, the craft itself is only one part of the story.

He’s a designer who understands systems, an observer, and someone who has built a business on meaningful relationships.

Daniel is someone who listens and uses his understanding to shape experiences around some of the most important moments in people’s lives.

Want to hear more of Daniel’s story? Watch the full podcast episode on our YouTube channel.

Over the past year, a pattern has been emerging across global businesses: teams are getting smaller, but the pile of work isn’t.

Artificial intelligence is changing how organisations operate, and companies are beginning to redesign their workforces around it.

For the past two years, conversations about AI and jobs have sounded the same. Some argue artificial intelligence will replace workers at scale, other insist the fears are overblown and AI is “simply another productivity tool”.

A third perspective is now emerging: Some employers are using AI as a catalyst to trim the fat and restructure their workforce.

Our view? None of these explanations are mutually exclusive. What we’re seeing across industries is likely a combination of all three.

The result is something more structural than a wave of mass layoffs. Instead, we’re at the beginning of a workforce reset shaped by human-AI collaboration.

The signals are already appearing

The last 12 months saw a growing number of companies linking major restructures directly to AI adoption.

Australian logistics software giant, WiseTech Global, recently announced plans to cut 2,000 staff from its global workforce as it integrates AI across its operations and software platforms.

Atlassian also announced approximately 1,600 layoffs in early March as part of an ongoing restructuring tied to AI and operational efficiency.

Globally, similar patterns are emerging. Amazon has cut tens of thousands of roles across multiple rounds of layoffs, while simultaneously investing heavily in AI-driven products and infrastructure.

Other organisations, including Citi, eBay and Meta, have also announced workforce reductions while reallocating investment towards AI and automation.

Individually, these can be seen as cost-cutting decisions but viewed together, they suggest something else:

Organisations are rebalancing their workforces around a new operating model.

As Thomas Mackenzie, Director of Client Services at Scale by Avec, puts it:

“AI isn’t stealing jobs, but it is reshaping them. We’re seeing smarter, leaner teams and a new operating model defined by human and machine collaboration.”

This is simply capital reallocation

Most coverage and public discussion have framed these recent layoffs as a reaction to AI disruption but, in many cases, organisations are making deliberate investment decisions.

When new technologies dramatically increase productivity, companies often rebalance resources to reduce effort in some areas while increase investment elsewhere.

Thomas draws a parallel with financial markets:

“When investors anticipate structural change, they liquidate certain assets and redeploy capital into areas with greater potential. We’re seeing something similar with human capital as organisations adapt to AI.”

In other words, the workforce changes happening today are signs of reallocation.

Capital freed up from traditional workflows is being reinvested into areas such as:

• AI infrastructure
• Data platforms
• Product innovation
• AI-enabled services

And many organisations making cuts today are simultaneously hiring in completely different capability areas.

Where AI is changing work fastest

The early impact of AI on work isn’t evenly distributed, and the roles most affected tend to share similar characteristics:

• High repetition
• Structured workflows
• Process-heavy tasks
• Large operational scale

These are all areas where AI can quickly deliver productivity gains.

Take software engineering.

Historically, large development teams spent significant time writing routine code, testing functionality and maintain systems. Today, generative AI tools can produce and review code at a dramatically faster speed.

This capability is what led WiseTech’s chief executive to state:

“The era of manually writing code as a core act of engineering is over.”

Importantly, this doesn’t wipe the need for engineers but instead changes the nature of their work as productivity tools improve.

Instead of spending most of their time writing code, developers will increasingly focus on:

• System design
• Architecture
• Problem solving
• AI oversight

Another emerging impact is being felt earlier in the talent pipeline.

Early-career roles, particularly graduate and junior positions, are among the first to be affected as AI reduces the need for large numbers of entry-level workers performing repetitive or structured tasks.

Based on Talent placement data, entry-level hiring has declined by 19% in the last two years.

Over time, this creates a structural risk for organisations. If fewer early-career professionals are entering the workforce and developing experience, the pipeline of mid-level and senior talent available in five to ten years may be significantly smaller.

Put simply: if organisations shrink the base of the talent pyramid today, they may struggle to fill the top of it tomorrow.

The new workforce will favour AI-native talent

Organisations are rebuilding around different capabilities and employees who understand how to work effectively with AI systems are becoming significantly more valuable.

Thomas summarises the shift:

“AI may not take your job, but someone who knows how to use it effectively will.”

While this doesn’t mean every worker needs to become an AI engineer, AI literacy is quickly becoming a core professional capability like how digital literacy became essential two decades ago.

People who can design workflows around AI, interpret outputs and combine machine insights with human discernment will increasingly sit at the centre of modern organisations.

Some companies will inevitably overcorrect

Periods of technological change rarely happen smoothly, and history shows that productivity breakthroughs often trigger cycles of over-correction and adjustment.

Some organisations cut too deeply, and others move too slowly but eventually, capability gaps become clear and hiring will rebound.

One emerging example of this dynamic is what some observers are calling the “AI layoff boomerang.”

Swedish fintech Klarna provides one example. After aggressively promoting AI-driven efficiency and reducing headcount, the company later acknowledged it needed to rebuild human capability in key areas after the cuts went too far.

And this pattern may be more common than many assume. A Careerminds survey from February 2026 found that 32.7% of organisations that conducted AI-led layoffs had already rehired between 25-50% of the roles they initially eliminated.

Another 35.6% reported they had already rehired more than half of the roles that were cut.

In other words, the labour market may already be seeing the early stages of an AI layoff boomerang.

Thomas believes the same pattern may emerge during the current transition:

“AI is a powerful tool, but it won’t replace people entirely. Some organisations will realise they’ve cut the capability they still need and will find themselves needing to rebuild it.”

If history is any guide, the current wave of restructures may eventually be followed by new hiring cycles focused on different skills.

What this means for organisations

The important question for leaders is: How do you design work in an AI-enabled world?

Three priorities are becoming increasingly clear.

1. Redesign work, not just roles

AI changes tasks first before changing entire jobs. Instead of asking ‘which roles can AI replace?’, organisations should ask:

How should work be structured so humans and AI each contribute their strength?

2. Invest in AI-native capability

Future teams will rely on a blend of technical and human capabilities:

• AI literacy
• Critical thinking
• Systems thinking
• Leadership and collaboration
• Resilience
• Adaptability

And the organisations that invest in these capabilities early will move faster than their competitors who are still adapting.

3. Think more strategically about workforce design

AI adoption also creates an opportunity to rethink how teams are structured.

Not every requirement needs to be filled through a permanent hire. In some cases, the work may be better delivered through specialist contractors or project-based expertise.

Blended workforce models can combine the stability of permanent teams with the flexibility of external specialists. This approach can help organisations scale skills up or down as demand changes, while still maintaining control of intellectual property and reducing operational risk.

The conversation moving forward

It isn’t enough to keep focusing on the single question, ‘Will AI replace workers?’

The bigger shift already underway is the redesign of the workforce itself.

Future organisations are likely to operate with fundamentally different workforce models, combining permanent employees, project-based contractors and AI-augmented teams working together to deliver outcomes.

These blended teams will allow organisations to scale capability and productivity more fluidly as demand changes, reducing the need for the large-scale redundancies that often follow rigid workforce structures.

However, this evolution also places greater responsibility on leaders to think more carefully about workforce design before building out their teams.

Organisations that can plan for flexibility by building contingency and adaptability into their workforce strategies will be better positioned to navigate technological change without repeatedly cycling through major layoffs when market conditions shift.

The question is no longer whether AI will reshape work. It’s whether organisations are designing their workforce to adapt to that reality.

We recently sat down with Yumi Stynes on our latest podcast episode, and within minutes it was clear: she’s the kind of person who has always pushed against the edges of where life might take her.

Before the television career, before the books, before the public platform, there was a younger version of Yumi who felt completely adrift.

Her solution?

Stick out her thumb and see what happened.

Hitchhiking towards possibility

“Before I started working at Channel V in the year 2000, I was someone who used to hitchhike,” she says.

Yumi would hitchhike from Byron Bay up through northern Queensland, sometimes travelling hundreds of kilometres with truck drivers and strangers who stopped to offer a ride.

“It was pretty fun, but it was also incredibly freeing,” she says. “There was this feeling that my destiny was literally in my thumb. I could go somewhere completely different based on who picked me up that day.”

At the time she had just finished university where she volunteered at a radio station and felt completely untethered.

“I had a part-time job as a bartender, as a kitchen hand. I was partying too much, and I didn’t really know what I was doing with my life.”

Hitchhiking gave her a sense of perspective.

“I just had this real sense of freedom,” she says. “I think there are moments in time when you’re pre-children and you don’t have a serious job where you can take those risks. There’s not much on the line.”

And in hindsight, that mindset would become a defining theme in her career.

Auditioning when you don’t feel invited

Despite always wanting to work in creative spaces, Yumi didn’t believe media was somewhere someone like her could belong.

“There weren’t many Asian people in media at the time,” she says. “So it didn’t feel like something that was available to me.”

The turning point came when a friend spotted an ad for auditions at Channel V and suggested she try.

“For a long time, I was extremely wary of doing anything cringey or embarrassing,” she says. “So, auditioning meant being humble enough to say, ‘I want this job badly enough to line up with hundreds of other hopefuls and try.’ At that point I thought, what have I got to lose? If I can’t give it a go now, I probably never will.”

That willingness to put herself out there ultimately opened the door to her career in youth media.

Preparation over panic

In the early days of music television, preparation wasn’t exactly a formalised process.

“We were flying by the seat of our pants,” Yumi says. “Trying to remember some Smash Hits article we read three years ago and hoping we remembered the band members’ names.”

Over time she realised that the key to confidence wasn’t personality or charisma. It was simply: preparation.

“I eventually realised there were a couple of things I needed to do,” she says. “I needed to be sober, I couldn’t be hungover or stoned, and I needed to do as much preparation as I could.”

Once she started approaching interviews that way, something shifted.

“When you arrive fully prepared and your body is good, I don’t think there’s any need for anxiety. You just feel quite psyched and joyful to be there.”

It was a simple revelation which she now applies across every part of her professional life.

Walking the fine line of authenticity

Authenticity is often celebrated in media, but living it can be complicated.

“It’s tricky because there have been times where being fully myself has got me into trouble and gotten my shows axed or in jeopardy,” Yumi admits.

Working in youth media meant constantly navigating the line between being authentic and being too provocative.

“You’re often asked to be edgy,” she says. “But sometimes you walk that fine line between edgy and, ‘Oh, I’ve crossed the line and I’m getting fired now.’ There have been times where I have been suspended from work, which wasn’t publicly known at the time. I had to take leave and just stay home and rot while pregnant with my first child.”

More recently, she found herself stepping into a very different challenge: emceeing the Feminist Roast at the Sydney Opera House’s annual All About Women festival with only two days’ notice.

“I thought, okay, I know how to work a big room,” she says. “I know how to talk feminism really fluently, and I’m just going to be very present and react according to my truth and my spirit.”

When one speaker delivered a heartbreaking story that left the audience in tears, Yumi had to guide the room through the emotional moment.

“You have to show a lot of sensitivity and be a really good listener and know what to say to move on to the next phase of a big show like that. I allowed them all to breathe and allowed them to see that I was having an emotional reaction too,” she says. “If I’m allowed to cry, that gives them permission to cry.”

Then came the reset.

“I said, ‘I want you to leave this room with your DNA re-arranged. I want you to be a different person when you get home to the person who left home this evening’… And then we wrestled the whole entire room towards a joyful finale.”

Learning to ask for help

One of the most transformative lessons in Yumi’s life came to her during her divorce.

“I’d get a lawyer letter or email and I’d freeze, unable to understand or process the words,” she says. “I had a group of friends who were good at analysing and would just translate it to me.”

The situation forced her to do something she always found herself resisting: asking for help.

“I never wanted to be the needy person, or the person who was a bit broken or was having a crisis and needed to ask for help,” says Yumi.

This discovery surprised her.

“I realised that asking for help isn’t weakness,” she says. “It really strengthens the bonds that you have with your existing peer group of friends. People feel really loved and special if they can help you.”

It also changed the way she thinks about relationships.

“I just fell wildly in love with my friends during that time,” she says. “And I realised that the whole partnership and coupling thing that had been sold to me all my life wasn’t necessarily what I needed.”

Instead, she began prioritising friendship in every part of her life, including work.

“I think every workmate is a potential friend,” she says. “I think it’s a really great place to make friends and the thing I have learned is to be courageous and make the first move when building friendships at work, home, or at the gym. I just really enjoy people.”

Feeding people who need it

While much of Yumi’s public work centres around broadcasting and writing, one of the things she imagines most vividly for her future has nothing to do with media.

“One of the things I can visualise for my distant future is I want to work in some sort of space where I feed people who are hungry,” she says. “Not fine dining, just feeding people who need to be fed. I have such an urge in me to work out how to scale nourishment to reach as many people as I possibly could.”

It’s an idea she’s carried quietly for her entire life.

“My entire life story is going to be leading to that, I hope,” she says. “Can you imagine? I’ll be 70 and so busy working trying to feed people who are hungry.”

Not just a broadcaster

For someone who has spent decades behind microphones and cameras, Yumi’s greatest skill might not be what people expect

When we asked about her hidden talent, she reveals, “I’m a really good listener.”

It’s a skill she believes many aspiring podcasters, authors, broadcasters and TV presenters underestimate.

“You can be a great talker, have the gift of the gab, but firstly, you need to be a really good listener. And that’s the foundation of everything — podcaster, author, friend.”

Beyond broadcasting, beyond books, beyond the public platform, it’s Yumi’s curiosity about people, and her ability to truly listen, that continues to shape how she moves through the world.

To hear more of Yumi’s story in her own words, watch the full episode on our YouTube channel.

Talent has been announced as one of nine top-performing private Australian companies recognised for their outstanding business performance in Deloitte Australia’s 2025 Best Managed Companies awards. It is the only Australian recruitment business to be recognised in the winners.

Now in its sixth year – and supported by Google Cloud – the Best Managed Companies program identifies and celebrates privately-owned and managed companies across Australia that set high standards of business performance and shines a light on the power of private businesses as innovators and major contributors to Australia’s economy.

The program uses a tried and tested framework for determining success, and winners are recognised based on achieving high scores across four key categories: strategy; culture and commitment; capabilities and innovation; and governance and financials.

Global CEO, Mark Nielsen, spoke on Talent’s commitment to leading change and empowering people to move forward without fear.

“Winning Deloitte’s Best Managed Companies award for the third year in a row is something we’re incredibly proud of. At Talent, change is our competitive advantage. Our vision is to change the game so that our customers and our people can move forward fearlessly, and that ambition drives how we innovate, invest and lead. With an 85% employee engagement rate, our culture remains a powerful foundation for performance. This recognition reflects the belief, resilience and commitment of our teams globally, who continue to push boundaries and deliver impact for our clients and contractors.”

Global COO, Megan Woodbury, said Talent’s continued success is driven by clarity and operational discipline.

“Sustained performance doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from clarity of strategy, disciplined execution and creating an environment where people can do their best work. As a people-powered business, attracting, developing and retaining exceptional talent is central to our success. Being recognised again by Deloitte reflects the consistency and commitment of our teams. We remain focused on delivering measurable impact for our clients and continued growth built on strong governance and operational excellence.”

Read more on Deloitte’s Best Managed Companies list here: www.bestmanagedcompanies.com.au

Organisations across Australia are hiring more selectively, but when they need niche capability delivered quickly, they’re still willing to pay a premium.

Architecture, AI, cyber, and large-scale program delivery dominate this year’s highest contractor day rates. And the pattern mirrors what we’re seeing across permanent hiring: depth, delivery experience, and commercial accountability command the strongest returns.

Based on Australian averages, here are the top 10 tech contractor day rates right now.

10. Data & AI Manager – $1,432 per day

As AI moves from experimentation into production, organisations are investing in leaders who can govern data platforms, manage AI adoption, and align delivery to business outcomes.

Strong demand for Data & AI Managers is emerging across:

• Sydney financial services and insurance
• Melbourne healthcare and utilities
• Brisbane state government transformation programs

AI requires strong data leadership and contractors with both delivery and governance experience are in high demand.

9. Cloud Architect – $1,448 per day

Cloud remains a core transformation pillar across businesses and contract Cloud Architects are being engaged across:

• Canberra federal cloud uplift programs (secure-by-design environments)
• Sydney enterprise modernisation initiatives
• Melbourne utilities and infrastructure transformation

With compliance requirements tightening and cloud spend under scrutiny, experienced architects who can balance scalability, security and cost control are commanding strong rates.

8. LLM Architect – $1,456 per day

Large Language Model deployment has shifted from proof-of-concept to production. LLM Architects who can design, deploy and secure LLM frameworks at enterprise scale are rare and priced accordingly.

We’re seeing strong short-term engagements across:

• Enterprise AI programs
• Consulting-led AI delivery
• Financial services and regulated environments

Real production experience is what drives premium rates.

7. AI Principal Engineer – $1,456 per day

AI Principal Engineers with end-to-end deployment experience remain in short supply and organisations are engaging contractors to:

• Accelerate AI implementation
• Validate vendor solutions
• Optimise model performance
• Build AI-enabled workflows

Demand is particularly strong in Sydney fintech, Melbourne enterprise environments, and Perth resources automation programs.

When speed matters, contractors win.

6. Agent Architect – $1,488 per day

Agentic AI has introduced a new specialist contracting niche and Agent Architects are being brought in to:

• Design intelligent automation frameworks
• Integrate AI agents into enterprise systems
• Build governance structures around autonomy

Consulting firms and enterprise transformation programs are leading demand, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne.

5. SOC Manager – $1,488 per day

Security Operations Centre (SOC) Managers remain critical across high-risk sectors.

We’re seeing elevated demand in:

• Canberra federal and defence environments
• Sydney financial services
• Perth critical infrastructure and mining

With threat volumes rising and compliance obligations tightening, real-time operational leadership continues to command strong contractor rates.

4. Cybersecurity Manager – $1,504 per day

Demand for cybersecurity leadership remains to outpace supply and demand for proven managers continues to outpace supply.

Contract engagements are typically tied to:

• Security uplift programs
• Regulatory remediation initiatives
• Incident response stabilisation

Across government, banking and utilities, experienced Cybersecurity Managers remain one of the most bankable contractor profiles in the market.

3. Master Scheduler – $1,504 per day

In an increasingly cost-controlled environment, delivery certainty matters more than ever.

Master Schedulers supporting large infrastructure, defence, and transformation programs are commanding high rates, particularly in:

• Canberra government portfolios
• Adelaide defence programs
• Perth infrastructure and resources projects

When multimillion-dollar programs are on the line, scheduling precision becomes commercially critical.

2. Enterprise Architect – $1,512 per day

Enterprise Architects continue to sit near the top of the contractor market with short-term engagements typically focusing on:

• Legacy rationalisation
• AI-readiness frameworks
• Cloud strategy alignment
• Cost optimisation programs

Demand remains strongest in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, particularly across banking, government and national transformation initiatives.

Even on a contract basis, strategic oversight commands a premium.

1. Program Manager – $1,520 per day

Program Managers top the contractor list in 2026.

Large-scale digital, cloud and AI programs require experienced leadership that can manage risk, stakeholder complexity and commercial accountability.

We’re seeing sustained contractor demand across:

• NSW and Victorian public sector
• Enterprise cloud transformation programs
• Cybersecurity uplift portfolios
• National infrastructure initiatives

When delivery timelines tighten and budgets are scrutinised, proven Program Managers remain the most valuable contractor asset in the market.

What does this tell us about contracting in 2026?

Three themes define the contractor market:

1. Architecture and governance roles dominate
2. AI production experience commands a premium
3. Cyber and program delivery demand are outpacing supply

While some sectors have moved back towards permanent hiring for long-term capability, contractor demand remains strong where speed, specialisation and risk mitigation are required.

In a more disciplined hiring market, contractors are being engaged with clearer scopes, defined outcomes, and stronger accountability.

Want deeper contractor insights?

Explore broader contracting trends and search detailed salary benchmarks in our More Than Money Salary Guide to ensure your rates and offers reflect where the market truly sits.

Last updated: 6 March 2026

Across Australia, tech salaries have stabilised compared to the post-pandemic peak. But at the top end of the market, specialist architecture, AI capability, and enterprise-wide oversight continue to command significant premiums.

Based on Talent’s Australian average permanent salary data, this year’s rankings tell a clear story: enterprise architecture and AI-led capability now define the highest-paid roles in tech.

Compared to 2025, traditional platform-specific architecture and operational security leadership roles have edged down, while AI-native and enterprise-wide architecture positions have climbed.

Here are the 10 highest paying tech jobs in Australia right now.

10. Applications Solution Architect – $230k

Applications Solution Architects remain critical across enterprise transformation programs, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne across retail, healthcare, education, and financial services.

With hiring framed around ROI and delivery impact, these professionals are responsible for translating business strategy into scalable, integrated solutions. We’re seeing strong demand in:

• Sydney enterprise environments rationalising legacy systems
• Melbourne public sector and utilities transformation programs
• Canberra government digital modernisation initiatives

As organisations prioritise system integration and measurable outcomes, experienced Solution Architects remain highly bankable.

9. Agent Architect – $231k

Agentic AI has moved from experimentation to implementation and Agent Architects are emerging as a premium skillset. These specialists who design, govern and deploy AI agents within enterprise ecosystems are particularly in demand across consulting firms and enterprise SaaS environments.

Demand is strongest in:

• Sydney financial services and insurance
• Melbourne enterprise and health tech programs
• Large consulting partners building production-grade AI capability

As AI governance becomes more scrutinised, organisations are paying for professionals who can balance automation with oversight.

8. Program Manager – $232k

Transformation has become more scrutinised.

Senior Program Managers with experience delivering enterprise platform migrations, cybersecurity uplift programs, AI implementation initiatives and cloud transformation portfolios are commanding strong remuneration across:

• NSW government
• Victorian public sector
• ASX-listed enterprises

Execution risk is expensive. Proven delivery leadership is not.

7. LLM Architect – $232k

Large Language Models are no longer innovation-lab experiments and LLM Architects with production deployment experience are in short supply. Particularly those who understand governance, security and enterprise integration.

We’re seeing demand accelerate across:

• Sydney’s financial services sector
• Melbourne’s enterprise AI initiatives
• Canberra’s secure government environments

The market is shifting from “can you build it?” to “have you deployed it safely and at scale?”

6. AI Principal Engineer – $232k

AI has solidified its place onto boardroom agendas and Principal Engineers leading AI deployment, optimisation and enterprise integration are commanding strong salaries. Especially when paired with domain expertise.

Strongest demand is emerging in:

• Sydney financial services and fintech
• Melbourne healthcare and aged care digital transformation
• Brisbane state government and higher education programs
• Perth mining and resources automation environments

From innovation roadmaps, AI capability is now embedded into core operating models.

5. Cloud Architect – $233k

Cloud remains foundational to every major technology strategy and with the APS’s new Whole-of-Government Cloud Computing Policy reshaping federal cloud strategy and enterprises continuing multi-year migrations, senior Cloud Architects remain highly sought after.

Demand is strongest in:

• Canberra, driven by secure-by-design mandates and compliance requirements
• Sydney enterprise environments modernising legacy infrastructure
• Melbourne utilities and green energy programs supporting grid transformation

Particularly across AWS and Azure in regulated environments, secure cloud capability continues to command a premium.

4. Engineering Manager – $234k

Technical leaders who can balance delivery with commercial alignment have become increasingly valuable.

Engineering Managers are now responsible for:

• Leaner, AI-enabled teams
• Higher productivity expectations
• Stronger cross-functional collaboration
• Clearer ROI accountability

More than just overseeing code, the strongest leaders are aligning engineering effort with business performance.

Demand remains steady across Sydney and Melbourne’s startup ecosystems, Adelaide’s defence programs and enterprise transformation environments nationwide.

3. Cybersecurity Architect – $246k

Despite broader salary stabilisation, Cybersecurity Architects continue to command premium remuneration in the face of evolving cyber threats. Particularly those with:

• Secure cloud expertise
• DevSecOps capability
• GRC integration experience
• Critical infrastructure resilience exposure

High-demand sectors include:

• Financial services
• Federal and state government
• Defence-adjacent programs
• Energy, utilities and mining

In Canberra especially, cleared cyber professionals remain in extremely short supply.

2. Big Data Architect – $250k

As AI programs mature, data foundations have become a non-negotiable. Big Data Architects responsible for scalable platforms, governance frameworks and real-time analytics environments are commanding some of the highest salaries in the country.

Demand is strongest across:

• Sydney financial services and insurance
• Melbourne utilities and renewable energy transformation
• Canberra federal data governance programs
• Perth resources and logistics automation

Everyone knows that AI without strong data architecture fails and businesses are paying accordingly.

1. Enterprise Architect – $262k

Enterprise Architects top the list again in 2026.

With technology investment tightly tied to productivity, resilience and measurable ROI, Enterprise Architects are responsible for aligning strategy, systems, risk and execution across entire organisations.

Demand remains strongest in:

• Sydney banking and enterprise environments
• Melbourne public sector and utilities
• Canberra government and defence programs
• Large-scale national transformation initiatives

In a sharper hiring market, strategic oversight carries the highest premium.

What does this tell us about the 2026 tech market?

Three clear themes define this year’s top salaries:

1. Architecture dominates
2. AI capability has shifted from experimental to enterprise-critical
3. Cyber and cloud demand continues to outpace supply

While overall salary growth has normalised compared to previous peaks, specialist architecture and AI leadership roles continue to command significant premiums.

For candidates, depth and delivery experience is what will make you stand out.

For employers, clarity of scope and decisiveness in hiring remains critical in securing top-tier talent.

Looking for detailed salary benchmarks?

This list reflects Australian averages across permanent tech roles. For state-by-state breakdowns, industry-specific insights and contract rate comparisons, explore our full More Than Money Salary Guide.

Interested in the flexibility provided by contract work? Find out the top 10 contractor day rates for 2026 or learn more about contracting through Talent.

Last updated: 6 March 2026

“I’m just your regular coastal girl.”

If you asked Rhiannan Iffland, professional cliff diver and seven-time consecutive Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series champion, to describe herself, that’s what she’d say.

Away from competition, off-season looks like wine with friends, surging, mountain biking, and skiing.

“I’m not great at any of them,” she admits. “But I really enjoy giving things a go. Competing is such a high emotional state. When it ends, I need something else to fill my cup.”

Within minutes of chatting to her on our latest episode, it becomes clear that the most defining thing about her isn’t the heights she jumps from, but how she approaches them.

Fear, to Rhiannan, is less about something to conquer and more about something to sit with.

Yes, she dives off platforms more than 20 metres above water. And yes, she won her first championship in 2016, the first-ever rookie to do so in their debut year.

But what stood out most wasn’t her career achievements. It was her honesty about the little voice in her head every single time she climbs the ladder.

Fear is part of the job

“That’s the biggest misconception about us divers,” she says. “That we are not scared. I can honestly tell you that every single time I go up there, there’s always that voice. That overwhelming feeling of emotions. It does get easier to deal with, but it never goes away.”

Instead of eliminating that fear, she manages it.

“I find most of the fear happens in the hours prior to the dive,” she explains. “I sit with it. I accept it. And by the time I step off, I have to focus on doing three flips with two twists.”

Unlike the preconceived notions of adrenaline-seeking chaos, Rhiannan’s sport is about precision, repetition and trust in muscle memory.

Even her most technical dive — the one packed with the most twists and rotations — still makes her question herself.

“The amount of times I’ve done it, I still step out there and think, am I going to know what to do? Is my body going to take over? And it usually does.”

That trust was tested in Romania, inside a salt mine 150 metres underground. “The water was 17% more dense than seawater, so the impact was strong. When you hit the water, you shot back up like a cork out of a champagne bottle… I didn’t know what to expect.”

It was a dive she could have never fully trained for, and her body just took over.

Joining the circus

Rhiannan grew up on the shores of Lake Macquarie, “I was always a water baby, always adventurous. I wasn’t really the academic of the family. I started gymnastics and diving when I was around nine.”

She then went into three-metre springboard and ten-metre platform diving with aspirations to represent Australia at the Olympics.

“I competed internationally as a junior and was on the cusp of making the senior team. Then I started to feel burnt out.”

Moving from Newcastle to Sydney to train full-time, Rhiannan reached a point where she felt she needed something different. After time off travelling, she was offered a job as an aquatic acrobat on a cruise ship.

“I remember running down to Dad in the backyard and saying, ‘Oh my God, they’ve offered me a job on a cruise ship as a diver.’ It was entertainment — diving, performing. That was the first time I was introduced to high diving above ten metres. As soon as I saw it in the show, I thought, I want to do that.”

The show was a one-hour long Cirque du Soleil-style — springboard diving, high diving, dancing (which she admits she was “absolutely terrible at”), aerial work, trampoline. Ten shows a week.

“It was fun. I developed new passions and skills, and it reignited my fire for the sport.”

Then, in 2013, women were introduced into the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.

“As soon as I saw that, I started transitioning my skills towards high diving.”

Never closing the door

If there’s one philosophy that’s shaped her life and her career, it’s simple. The advice came from her grandfather: “Never close the door. Never turn down an opportunity. If you don’t like it, walk back through.”

Her sister told her the same thing before she joined the cruise ship, “If it doesn’t work, you can get on the next plan and come home.”

“It seems simple, but it goes a long way,” she says. “It’s better to have given it a good shot than to get a couple of years down the track and look back and go, hang on a minute, I should have tried that.”

Cruise ship circus, high diving, world series, a salt mine. Each of these started as a door that opened.

Not just a professional cliff diver

Rhiannan is someone who has built her career on courage, perspective, and a willingness to walk through doors before knowing exactly what’s on the other side.

But what makes her compelling isn’t just the height she jumps from — it’s the clarity she’s developed about who she is beyond it.

Every time she steps onto a platform, she thinks about her nephews and niece.

“If it goes well, they’re going to love me. If it doesn’t go well, they’re going to love me.”

That grounding is her secret weapon and reminds her that her identity isn’t tied to a scorecard or a podium.

She’s learned that fear sharpens you. That burnout doesn’t always mean the end. That you can leave a sport, run away with the circus, almost join the police force, and still circle back to the thing you love.

And when she’s not competing, she’s passing it forward by coaching.

“I love sharing the sport,” she says. “High diving isn’t easy to get into. I’ve helped a few divers transition into it, and that’s something I care about — helping others learn the ropes.”

Not just a professional cliff diver, Rhiannan Iffland is a competitor who embraces nerves, a mentor who shares her craft, and a coastal girl who never quite stopped being the energetic kid flipping on the grass.

To hear more of Rhiannan’s story in her own words, watch the full episode on our YouTube channel.

We’re hosting an ENGAGE-exclusive webinar to share our latest hiring market updates across Australia and New Zealand, and what they mean for contractors heading into 2026.

Hosted by JP Browne, Steve Jobson, and Sophia Parrelli, this session will unpack what we’re seeing on the ground — from where demand is lifting, to which skills are commanding attention, and how contractors can stay competitive in a more selective market.

We’ll cover:

• Predictions for the 2026 contract market across AU and NZ
• The hottest skills and capabilities in demand
• Regional hotspots and where opportunities are emerging
• How AI, infrastructure and transformation work are reshaping contract roles
• Practical ways to position yourself ahead of the competition

We’ll also leave time for a live Q&A, where you can submit your questions and hear directly from our recruitment experts.

Whether you’re actively contracting, considering your next move, or simply want a clearer view of what’s ahead, this session will give you a grounded, practical update on the 2026 market.

Session information

Date: Thursday, 12th March

Time: 12:00pm AEDT // 2:00pm NZDT

Where: Online via Zoom

Your Talent experts

JP Browne

JP is a Practice Manager from Auckland who has worked in tech recruitment for over 20 years. JP specialises in recruiting for C-Suite and leadership teams as well as project transformation.

Music is a big passion of JP’s and his vinyls have pride of place in his office. When not listening to music, he’s learning the piano and dreams of taking up the bagpipes again, and when the weather allows he’ll be doing a very average job of playing golf.

Steve Jobson

Steve is an Account Director in our Canberra office with over 26 years’ recruitment experience. He specialises in delivering ICT capability across Defence, the APS and ACT Government, with deep expertise in cleared recruitment and secure project environments.

Outside of work, Steve’s interests lean toward the action and espionage genre — his bookshelf is stacked with Tom Clancy, Jack Carr, Brad Thor, Vince Flynn, Gregg Hurwitz and Mark Greaney. When he’s not immersed in a spy thriller, you’ll likely find him on the golf course or at the driving range.

Sophia Parrelli

Sophia is an Account Executive in our Sydney team with over five years’ recruitment experience. She partners with a range of corporate clients across technology, transformation, project services, engineering, and broader corporate functions.

When she’s not talking hiring strategy, Sophia can be found attempting pottery (with mixed results) or embracing her newest and most demanding role: full-time dog mum to her chaotic seven-month-old puppy, Bernie.

Find out more about contracting at Talent.

If you’re waiting for the telecommunications hiring market to “heat up” again, you might be looking for the wrong signal.

Because in 2026, the market is less “hot” and more focused.

As Steve Dybacz, Account Director and in-house telco expert at Talent Sydney, puts it:

“Two years ago there was a lot of vanity hiring. Now it’s about one question: can you actually deliver this programme without drama?”

This mindset shift is what’s defining telco hiring right now; more accountability and a much sharper lens on capability.

From hype to optimisation

12–24 months ago, 5G dominated the conversation. Today, the narrative has evolved.

“Fibre is still busy. 5G has moved from hype to optimisation,” Steve explains. “And we’re seeing far more spend on resilience and compliance than on flashy innovation.”

The build phase is far from over. Fibre rollout continues at pace as copper networks are decommissioned, while optimisation of existing infrastructure is now front and centre. Coverage, private networks and uptime are commercially critical — not just headline projects.

“Fibre and core network capability remain critical because the build is still happening — and copper is dying. That transition hasn’t slowed.”

At the same time, regulatory pressure, cyber risk and infrastructure funding cycles are shaping investment decisions.

“Resilience is no longer optional,” Steve says. “It’s a board-level issue.”

The skills that matter most this year

Hiring demand across telecommunications is clustering around a core set of high-impact capabilities:

• Network Engineering
• Fibre Optical Network Engineering
• RF Engineering
• Telecommunications Project Delivery
• Field Network Operations & Maintenance
• Network Operations (NOC)

RF engineering, in particular, is seeing renewed importance.

“RF matters more than the headlines suggest,” says Steve. “Coverage, optimisation and private networks are commercially important right now.”

And as budgets tighten, delivery risk is under scrutiny.

“Project people are in demand because budgets are tighter and failure is expensive. Organisations can’t afford programmes that drift.”

Meanwhile, operational roles are under relentless pressure.

“NOC and field capability doesn’t get the spotlight, but uptime is brutal and SLAs are unforgiving. That pressure isn’t going anywhere.”

This is not a speculative hiring cycle. It’s capability-led and operationally grounded.

The talent that’s hardest to find

While overall salary growth has stabilised, structural shortages remain in specific areas.

“The hardest profiles to secure are senior engineers who’ve actually designed the solution and then stood on site to deliver it,” Steve says. “That combination is rare.”

Candidates with the right clearances also remains particularly scarce.

“Cleared talent is a tiny pool — and everyone’s fishing in it.”

And there’s a noticeable thinning of the mid-market layer.

“Solid mid-level engineers who don’t need hand holding are surprisingly scarce. The market has thinned out in that middle layer.”

These gaps reflect a broader theme we explore in this year’s More than Money Salary Guide; skills and capability depth is becoming more important than job titles and headcount.

AI in telco: Evolution, not replacement

AI is increasingly present in telecommunications but not in the way headlines might suggest.

“It’s in optimisation, fault prediction and ticket triage,” Steve says. “It’s not replacing engineers but making average teams better and exposing weak ones.”

Organisations investing in AI are pairing it with strong engineering fundamentals and governance. It’s about augmentation, not substitution — a theme echoed in our broader Capability Gap insights.

“The organisations getting value from AI are the ones pairing it with strong engineering fundamentals, not using it as a shortcut.”

Leaner teams, sharper expectations

One of the clearest structural shifts in 2026 is how telco teams are being built.

“We’re seeing lean core teams, with specialists bolted on for programmes. Nobody’s carrying excess headcount.”

Permanent capability is focused on critical continuity and governance. Specialist contractors are brought in for defined programmes and complex delivery.

“Everyone’s wearing two hats now: technical delivery plus stakeholder management. Purely technical roles are becoming rarer.”

Stakeholder capability, commercial awareness and communication skills are now as important as deep technical expertise.

Salaries: Flat overall, premiums in pockets

Broadly speaking, remuneration has stabilised across much of the telco market, but premiums remain in specific segments.

“Salaries are broadly flat, but there are clear premiums for fibre design, RF optimisation, cleared roles and proven programme leads.”

In-demand specialists are still moving quickly when the right opportunity appears.

“Speed wins offers. The best engineers still move quickly when the right opportunity comes along.”

And employer behaviour is still critical to success.

“If you treat good engineers like commodities, you’ll lose them. The top performers know their value.”

The biggest hiring mistakes

Despite a more balanced market, some hiring behaviours haven’t caught up.

“Slow hiring processes are still the biggest obstacles,” Steve says.

And there’s also a tendency to over-specify.

“Unrealistic wish lists don’t help. If you’re looking for someone who can design, build, secure and commercially lead a programme, you’re narrowing the field dramatically.”

And high application volumes can be misleading.

“There’s still a tendency to assume supply equals suitability. High application volume doesn’t mean high capability.”

This mirrors what we’re seeing across sectors: volume is up, but genuine capability remains scarce.

The telco organisations who will succeed in 2026

Rather than aggressive expansion, telecommunications in 2026 is about resilience, optimisation and delivery.

Organisations that succeed will:

• Secure specialist capability early
• Structure teams intentionally
• Pair AI adoption with strong engineering fundamentals
• Move quickly when the right talent appears

The market may not feel “hot”, but it is demanding.

And in a sector where uptime is brutal and SLAs are unforgiving, focused hiring may prove more powerful than hype ever was.

To benchmark telco salaries, contract rates and in-demand skills across Australia and New Zealand, explore our More than Money Salary Guide 2026, including our latest Key Trends shaping capability investment in 2026.