KPMG Australia discloses how much it will pay staff in the 2025 financial year

While minimum salaries for most staff at the major consulting firm have seen small increases this financial year, some senior employees will see more than a 6 per cent bump.

KPMG Australia has revealed how much it will pay staff for the 2025 financial year. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

KPMG has increased minimum salary entry points for most employees at the major accounting firm by about 1 per cent as it looks to strike a balance between a softening market and residual tight labour market conditions.

The firm says the small increases to remuneration will impact staff in client-facing roles based in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, with minimum bands representing the pay position for newly promoted or hired employees and don’t reflect competitiveness for the broader cohort.

Graduates employed by the accounting firm will be paid anywhere from $67,000 in its external audit division, an increase of 3.1 per cent from the 2024 financial year. Minimum salaries have lifted by $1000 to $69,000 in consulting, deals and tax teams.

The salary entry point in Data and Tech remained unchanged from the previous financial year at $73,500. But staff elsewhere in the data and technology division were rewarded with above-average pay increases as KPMG pivots to a greater focus on tech consulting.

A senior consultant’s pay has increased 6.5 per cent from fiscal year 2024 to $97,000, while a manager has seen pay increase of 8 per cent in the past two financial years to $125,000.

KPMG Australia national managing partner people & inclusion Dorothy Hisgrove said the Australian market lagged behind the UK, USA and Canada, with slow growth across the board.

“That’s why salaries across the board have seen measured increases. What we’ve done is maintained that equity across all of the entry levels to the best extent that we can,” she said.

“But within those entry levels, that’s the minimum lowest that you can be paid. Obviously, but there’s a great deal of variability between those levels, which reflect a broader range of factors, like responsibilities and experience within role.”

KPMG’s tax division had the biggest increase overall after being awarded the lowest average pay rise of 1.2 per cent a year ago. Employees in high ranking tax positions would have the biggest bump, with the entry point for a senior manager with more than 6 years’ experience up 6.2 per cent from $146,000 to $155,000.

KPMG’s Dorothy Hisgrove says the pay grades for the firm’s workers are competitive.

A tax manager with four plus years’ experience will see pay increase from $114,000 to $118,000, and a senior consultant with 2-3 years’ experience will see pay increase by 3.4 per cent to $90,000

Managers — those with at least four years’ experience would earn a minimum of $110,000 in the deals division, which has remained unchanged amid a weaker market for M&A activity, and up to $125,000 in Data & Tech, a 2.5 per cent increase.

Directors had the lowest and an unchanged minimum entry point band of $173,500-$182,000 in External Audit amid a broader slowdown in the sector, and up to $211,000 in Data & Tech.

KPMG is the first big four consulting firm to release its pay figures for the financial year after disclosing them in an email seen by staff on Tuesday. Ms Hisgrove said the move would promote competitiveness in the industry and ongoing enhancements in gender pay equity.

“It is absolutely core and central to driving pay transparency in ensuring that everybody understands how their pay and remuneration is set, and understands that the pay bands are agnostic to gender,” she said.

“We also want to help our people understand as well that they are paid and rewarded appropriately to market for the expertise that they bring to the firm.”

KPMG said employee pay represented one component of the overall reward framework that could be compared to other firms including its 26 week paid parental leave, recognition and retail discount programs, and additional wellness and financial benefits.

“Our pay disclosures should also be considered in the context of our accelerated career progression combined with leading edge professional development which provides unique opportunities to quickly accelerate to more senior salary levels,” she said.

“So our focus on upskilling our people with in demand skills in market (AI and data analytics) in particular, ensures they progress quickly through the bands.”