The Australian legal sector has entered 2026 with a sharper lens on performance, capability and workforce sustainability — and ALPMA’s newly refreshed HR Issues & Salary Survey captures this shift with more depth, clarity and transparency than ever before.
This year’s survey was fully re-designed. The methodology has been modernised, the data tables rebuilt, and the insights expanded to reflect the realities of a profession navigating rising salary pressure, tightening support structures, and a workforce reshaped by technology and changing expectations.
A More Powerful Dataset
For the first time, the report presents 25th, 75th and 95th percentiles, alongside mean, median and standard deviation — a major step forward from the simpler high/low ranges of previous years. The updated format gives firms a far more accurate view of the upper end of the market and how competitive their remuneration strategy truly is.
The survey also introduces several new data categories, each adding meaningful context to the sector’s evolving workforce dynamics:
- Charge‑out rates per position: revealing how firms are pricing capability across seniority levels.
- Billable and recorded hour targets per role: providing a clearer picture of utilisation expectations and performance pressures.
- New performance definitions: standardising how firms assess contribution, capability and value.
- Gender salary data per position: exposing where parity is improving and where gaps persist.
- Reasons for leaving: shedding light on turnover drivers such as industry exits, firm‑to‑firm movement and career transitions.
- Bonus structures and ranges: including the types of bonuses offered and typical payment levels.
Together, these additions make the 2026 report the most comprehensive and commercially useful version ALPMA has ever produced.
Key Themes Emerging in 2026
1. Salaries continue to outpace the broader economy
Across the industry, salaries increased by around 4% on average, again exceeding national wage growth. While the uplift varies by role, the trend is clear: legal remains a wage‑premium sector, with firms competing hard for capability in a tight market.
4%
Legal Industry
3.4%
National
2. Support structures are tightening faster than ever
Staffing ratios have shifted dramatically. Fee earners continue to increase their share of total headcount, while support roles — particularly secretarial and administrative positions — have contracted even more sharply than in previous years. This reflects both cost pressure and the accelerating adoption of automation and AI tools.
4.46 → 5.44
Increase in fee earners per secretarial support person
1.94 → 2.70
Increase in fee earners per business support role
3. Billable hour expectations remain central
Nearly four in five firms continue to set billable hour targets, and the newly collected data shows clear differentiation in expectations by role. Actual hours recorded consistently fall below targets across most segments, highlighting ongoing utilisation challenges.
Firms setting billable hour targets
4. Charge‑out rates reveal a clear seniority premium
The introduction of charge‑out rate data shows predictable escalation with seniority, but also exposes the widening gap between partner‑level pricing and mid‑career lawyer rates. This has direct implications for leverage, profitability and pricing strategy.
5. Gender representation improves but gaps persist at the top
Women continue to dominate the legal workforce overall, yet representation drops sharply at partnership level. The new gender salary data confirms that while pay parity is strong at junior levels, gaps widen significantly in senior leadership roles.
6. Bonuses are now a mainstream part of remuneration
More than four in five firms offer some form of bonus. The report outlines the types of bonuses used, the prevalence of each, and the typical ranges — offering firms a clearer benchmark for incentive design.
Offer bonuses or other employment benefits
7. Turnover remains high and replacement driven
Turnover has stabilised at elevated levels, with paralegals and early career lawyers experiencing the highest churn. Recruitment is increasingly focused on replacing lost staff rather than expanding capacity.
Overall Staff Turnover
Firms focusing recruitment on replacement
Results from the 2026 ALPMA Australian Legal Industry HR Issues & Salary Survey.
Why this year’s report is essential reading
The 2026 survey is not just more detailed — it is more actionable. Firms can now benchmark:
- how they price their legal services
- how realistic their billable hour targets are
- how competitive their salaries are across seniority levels
- how their gender representation compares
- how their bonus structures stack up
- why staff are leaving
- and how their workforce composition aligns with national trends
For leaders navigating a market defined by rising expectations, constrained support capacity and intensifying competition for talent, this year’s report offers much-needed clarity.
It is, quite simply, the most informative and commercially valuable HR Issues & Salary Survey report ALPMA has ever produced — and essential reading for any firm planning its workforce, remuneration or growth strategy for the year ahead.
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About the Research
About the Legal Industry HR Issues & Salary Survey
The 2026 ALPMA Australian HR Issues & Salary Survey report is the most comprehensive and commercially useful, independent report on salaries for all roles at Australian law firms.
In the latest survey, 361 law offices from across Australia provided comprehensive information about salaries, benefits and bonuses they pay for almost 10,500 lawyers, management and administrative staff. The report uses actual salaries paid to employees to describe the ‘typical’ salary for 70 roles at law firms. Salaries for each role are also broken down by size of firm and by location, allowing companies to benchmark their remuneration strategy for each role with similar firms.
The report also offers insight into the critical HR issues and challenges facing law firms, as well as anticipated salary movements, recruitment plans and staff employment arrangements.
The 2026 ALPMA HR Issues & Salary Survey report is provided free of charge to all participating firms. Non-participating firms can purchase a copy of the Australian report online for AUD2,200 or AUD550 for ALPMA members.
The research is conducted for ALPMA by Survey Matters, an independent research consultancy, to the highest standards.
Find out more: www.alpma.com.au/salary-survey
About ALPMA
The Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA) is the peak body representing managers and leaders working within law firms, legal departments or government agencies. ALPMA provides an authoritative voice on issues relevant to legal practice management across the industry. Members of ALPMA provide professional management services to legal practices (et al) in areas of financial management, strategic management, technology, human resources, facilities and operational management, marketing and information services and technology.
ALPMA’s learning and development framework includes pillars covering finance, operations, information technology, human resources, knowledge management, business development, marketing, project management to name just a few. They also regularly provide content on topical challenges facing the industry today including legal technology, cyber security, anti-money laundering, regulatory updates, ESG and sustainability.
ALPMA also produces benchmarking reports for members including the various Salary Surveys conducted across Australia, New Zealand and for the Intellectual Property & Trademark sector, Financial Performance Benchmarking surveys (AU and NZ), annual Changing Legal Landscape report, Cyber Security report and our first State of Sustainability Priorities in the Legal Industry report.
ALPMA has over 3,000 members which includes individuals and corporate subscribers (law firms, legal departments and government agencies) across Australia, New Zealand and various other countries.
For more information about ALPMA, visit www.alpma.com.au
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Media Contact
Emma Elliott
Chief Executive Officer
Australasian Legal Practice Management Association
M 0402 471 659
E e.elliott@alpma.com.au
W www.alpma.com.au
