A new study by the union covering Australian technology workers has highlighted the dramatic pay gap that has left the public service desperately short of the latest tech skills, with median salaries half that of equivalent staff at star tech firms like Atlassian and Canva.

The survey of just under 1500 IT industry and video game workers, conducted by Professionals Australia in 2023, showed wage growth slipping behind inflation. It found game workers and government employees in tech and IT roles received significantly lower base salaries and pay rises than those in the “traditional tech” and emerging “new tech” sectors.