Sydney, Australia – 10th February 2026 – Aquent, a global workforce solutions company, has released its 2026 Australian Salary Guide focused on marketing, design, and technology professionals, offering a data-driven view of remuneration trends from the past year, as well as insights into the current labour market.
The traditional job description is obsolete. As AI impacts 90% of Australian jobs through augmentation rather than replacement, the Aquent 2026 Australian Salary Guide urges hiring managers to stop recruiting for static titles and start buying “skill stacks”.
The 2026 Australian Salary Guide identifies a critical pivot in workforce planning: The rise of “AI orchestration”. This model prioritises hybrid talent capable of steering strategy while AI handles execution. For hiring managers in marketing and tech, this means the most valuable candidates are no longer specialists, but those combining domain expertise with governance, process optimisation, and AI literacy.
Monique Richards, Managing Director of Aquent in Australia, adds, “The true competitive advantage now lies in ‘AI orchestration’ — finding the hybrid talent capable of steering strategy while technology handles the execution”.
Emerging Roles & The “Hybrid” Premium:
The guide highlights several emerging roles that reflect this shift, commanding significant salaries due to their rarity:
- AI Product Manager: Median salary of $160,000.
- AI Automation Engineer: Median salary of $140,000.
- AI Conversation Designer: Median salary of $130,000.
Action Plan for Hiring Leaders:
- Audit for Skills, Not Tenure: Aquent recommends auditing job descriptions to anchor renumeration to skill depth (e.g., data engineering or digital product strategy) rather than years of experience.
- Fund “AI Orchestration” Capability: Rather than expanding general headcount, budgets should be directed toward “hybrid talent” who can implement and govern AI tools responsibly.
- Invest in Compliance: With the focus shifting to responsible AI use, there is a premium on talent that ensures brand safety and ethical compliance in automated outputs.
Aquent's comprehensive Salary Guide is a resource for job seekers and employers alike. Further explore the data by downloading Aquent's 2026 Australian Salary Guide here.
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About the Aquent 2026 Australian Salary Guide:
The Aquent 2026 Australian Salary Guide is a comprehensive resource for hiring leaders in the marketing, design, and technology sectors, analysing 5,404 real-time salaries to provide statistical data on remuneration trends. Beyond listing base salaries for over 100 roles, the guide examines the “contradictory forces” of the current labour market, where workforce shortages persist despite stagnant wage growth. The guide explores the impact of AI augmentation, the narrowing gender pay gap, and the rise of hybrid “skill stacks” over traditional job titles. It combines quantitative data from Aquent’s real-time “Compare My Salary” tool and the Economic Research Institute with strategic recommendations to help organisations balance technology investments with employee development.
About Aquent:
Aquent is the leading global work solutions company specialising in marketing, design and technology. We partner with businesses to deliver the talent, technology, and resources they need to excel. From bespoke recruitment solutions and building scalable, on-demand teams, to creative strategy and project management, we’re making the future of work better for everyone. Learn more at aquent.com.au