The Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA) has released the report from its 2025 Australian Legal Industry HR Issues and Salary Survey, offering the legal sector its most comprehensive analysis of workforce trends, salary benchmarks and employment challenges to date.
The survey, capturing data from 345 law firms employing over 9,900 staff nationwide, signals a legal sector that is stabilising after years of volatility. Salary growth, while moderating, remains positive, with law firm wages increasing 4.1% in 2024, outpacing national wage growth (3.2%) and inflation (2.4%). Early-career solicitors, particularly those with 1-5 years post-admission experience, saw the strongest pay increases, reinforcing the industry’s focus on talent attraction. However, salary declines for lawyers with six or more years of experience who have not progressed to Associate underscore the growing importance of title advancement for compensation.
“The 2025 survey indicates that firms are turning their attention to long-term workforce sustainability, focusing on retention, mentoring and employee wellbeing” said Emma Elliott, CEO of ALPMA.
“Firms also appear to be prioritising operational efficiency and digital self-sufficiency, a trend in fee earner ratios that we have already seen in previous reports and that will continue to shape workforce planning for years to come.”
Other key findings include:
Turnover Rates
Staff turnover has declined to 23%, the lowest in three years, yet retention remains a challenge, particularly among smaller firms.
2024 Staff Turnover
Firms rating retention as HR priority
Workforce Structures
While staffing levels remain steady, firms are optimising workflows. Ratios of fee earners to paralegals, secretarial support, and business support staff are rising, pointing to increased technology adoption and leaner operational models.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Progress on diversity and inclusion remains uneven and slow. While 63% of solicitors are women, they only represent 28% of equity partners – an incremental improvement on the previous year’s figures. Similarly, gender pay gap awareness is rising, but action remains limited.
of Equity Partners are women
of firms conducted a pay gap analysis
Recruitment Trends
Despite strong recruitment intentions entering the year, actual workforce growth in 2024 fell short of expectations, continuing a trend observed over the past five years.
Increased headcount in 2024
Predicted headcount growth
(from 2024 report)
The 2025 ALPMA Australian Legal Industry HR Issues and Salary Survey is supported by Novum Global, an experienced talent acquisition and business advisory group that has been working with legal technology businesses and law firms for over 14 years.
Novum Global Chairman, David Woolstencroft, says, “While the numbers offer statistical clarity, what stands out most is what they imply: the legal sector, long defined by caution and continuity, is being quietly reshaped by a new set of pressures—talent scarcity, structural imbalance, and a generational shift in expectations.”
The war for talent has shifted. It’s no longer about who pays the most—it’s about who invests the most in purpose, flexibility, and growth.
The 2025 ALPMA Australian Legal Industry HR Issues and Salary Survey is now available, providing essential benchmarks for legal professionals, HR leaders, and firm management teams.
Results from the 2025 ALPMA Australian Legal Industry HR Issues & Salary Survey.
About the Legal Industry HR Issues & Salary Survey
The 2025 ALPMA/Novum Global Australian HR Issues & Salary Survey report is the most comprehensive, independent report on salaries for all roles at Australian law firms.
In the latest survey, 345 law offices from across Australia provided comprehensive information about salaries, benefits and bonuses they pay for lawyers, management and administrative staff. The report uses actual salaries paid to employees to describe the ‘typical’ salary for more than 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. Since 2019, the survey included questions about staff gender by roles and gender pay gap perceptions.
The ALPMA HR Issues & Salary Survey reports are 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 and Novum Global clients).
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. Content planned for members in 2024 will include topical challenges facing the industry today including legal technology, cyber security, anti-money laundering, regulatory updates, ESG and sustainability.
In FY2023 ALPMA delivered 124 events, including the flagship three-day ALPMA Summit, ALPMA Awards, the 5th Regional Law Firm Management Forum held in Singapore, a one-day HR Workshop, 39 webinars, 18 local events, 20 practice management breakfasts, various networking events and workshops, and 12 Mental Health First Aid Training Courses.
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 around 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
Stay up to date by following ALPMA on LinkedIn.
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
About Novum Global
Novum Global, headquartered in Sydney, has been a trusted partner of legal technology businesses and law firms for over 14 years.
Grown from the talent acquisition space the team at Novum have an extensive network of highly qualified professionals in the legal sector at all levels from all disciplines. On the account of our history of meeting and exceeding expectations, we have become known as the go-to partner for finding the best people for complex roles around the world and likewise a partner to professionals to support their personal growth aspirations.
Adding to our portfolio of services, we have grown into the space of business advisory, allowing us to provide end-to-end support to businesses in their growth initiatives. Focusing primarily on the areas of sales, marketing and HR, the Novum team have once again proven their in-depth, throughout understanding of the industry and drove the success of dozens of technology vendors globally.
Visit: https://www.novumglobal.com/
