Australian CEOs Want More Than Just Bigger Paychecks
Synopsis
Higher salaries may not be enough to retain Australia’s top executives. Despite widespread compensation satisfaction, many are actively considering new roles, with flexibility emerging as the leading factor shaping executive career decisions.
Australian CEOs are looking to exit, with 63% of executives and senior leaders planning to actively job search in the next three months, reports Page Executive’s Executive Compensation Insights & Talent Trends 2026.
Of those that are happy with their pay, 75% are still willing to accept a new opportunity, with 89% actively searching for a new position.
Despite being generally happy with their pay, another 26% plan to jump ship in a year, showing that executive job hunting Australia is not resting on its laurels even among the top decision makers.
Flexibility takes the lead
Not all Australian CEOs are looking to cash in on the pay, with work-life balance coming in above salary for the surveyed leaders.
53% of executives cited work-life balance as a major contributor to job satisfaction; 46% cited salary. In the meantime, 67% stated that they would decline a promotion that would endanger their personal wellbeing.
Flexible and hybrid working practices were the top most desired workplace benefit, beating out other benefits like company cars. The report also mentions that many C-suite executives are having to balance work with raising children, and caring for aging parents.
Leadership and AI expose further gaps
The report revealed a 9-percentage-point disconnect between senior leaders and senior managers in terms of organisational adaptability, which has led Australian CEOs to pay attention to exiting.
76% of the senior leaders feel that their organisation can adapt to market conditions, but that is not the case for all senior managers as only 67% of them have the same confidence. The latter group is responsible for much of the day-to-day execution of the plans of organisations.
Executives are using AI in their daily work, with 83% saying they use it personally and are seeing positive results. Despite this, just 66% are seeing AI generate wider productivity benefits in their companies and 75% are not anticipating AI changing their own job.
Over that 14,000 C-suite executives and senior leaders from global markets, including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, UK and US, are covered by the report. It does not offer a similar country ranking on the numbers of Australians looking for employment.
The broader economy labor market is still going strong. According to ABS data, there are 14.81 million people employed and 329,500 job vacancies in May, with unemployment at 4.5% in July 2026.
There was also a disconnect between hiring policy and practice, with 73% of companies stating that they adopted a skills-based hiring approach, but only 15% actually focussing on skills over traditional, career-focused qualifications.
Source: Dynamic Business
Pooja Malik is a business journalist with over six years of experience covering startups, entrepreneurship, and emerging trends. She has previously worked with leading media platforms such as YourStory Media and BW BusinessWorld, where she reported on business, policy, and market developments. Currently, she serves as Editor at The Inspirepreneur Magazine, where she writes and edits stories across business, lifestyle, and travel, with a focus on clarity, accuracy, and reader relevance.
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