How to ask for a pay rise, and back it up with real numbers

Know what a normal pay rise looks like this year

A number lands better when you can say what you've measured it against, so it helps to start with what pay is doing generally. The Australian Bureau of Statistics' Wage Price Index shows wages grew 3.2% nationally in the year to June 2026, easing slightly from 3.4% the year before. Private sector wages grew 3.1%, public sector 3.4%.

That's roughly what pay is moving by across the country without anyone having to make a special case for it. A request in that range is essentially a request to keep pace. Asking for meaningfully more is reasonable, and there are plenty of good reasons to, but it works better when you can name the reason: new responsibilities, a role that has grown past its original description, or a gap between your pay and what the work is now worth. Cost of living is a genuine pressure, though it tends to carry less weight with a manager who has no more control over it than you do.

Check your actual market rate first

Salary guides from recruitment firms are the usual starting point, and they aren't worthless, but a recruitment firm's guide is built by a business whose income depends on placing people at certain rates. That's worth keeping in mind when you read one.

Look at your own occupation's real median salary before you land on a figure, and read a few current ads for the same role while you're there. No source will hand you a single perfect number for your exact situation, because nobody outside your workplace knows it, but between them they give you an honest anchor that isn't trying to sell you anything.

It's also worth knowing what a figure is worth once tax comes out, particularly if you're weighing up a smaller rise now against a larger one later.

Pick your moment

Timing won't win the argument on its own, but it changes how much room your manager has to consider it. Budgets are usually set on a cycle, so asking a few weeks before planning starts gives your manager somewhere to put the request, while asking the week after it closes often means waiting regardless of the merits. If you don't know when that cycle runs, it's a fair thing to ask.

Beyond the calendar, aim for a period when your manager isn't buried, and ideally not long after a piece of work that went well and that they saw. Ask for a short meeting rather than raising it at the end of a one on one, and say what it's about when you book it. Nobody enjoys being surprised by this conversation, and a manager who knows what's coming can find out what's possible before you sit down.

What to say when you open the conversation

Here's an opening you can adapt. Change the timeframe, the achievement and the number to fit your own case, and keep it roughly this short.

The closing question is doing more work than it looks. Asking what your manager would need, rather than stating a number and waiting, gives them a way to tell you what the real constraint is, whether that's budget timing, an approval above them or something in your own performance. Even when the answer isn't yes, you come out of it knowing what the request is actually up against.

What to do if the answer is no

A no often reflects a budget that was set well before your conversation rather than a judgement about your work. Ask directly what would need to change for the answer to be different, and agree a specific time to revisit it. Follow up with a short email summarising what was said, so the timeframe and the conditions are written down somewhere you can both find them.

If a rise genuinely isn't on the table, it's fair to ask about things that cost the business less: extra leave, flexible working arrangements, professional development, or a clearer path to the next role. None of that replaces the pay rise you asked for, but it gives you something concrete to take away, and it keeps the discussion going until the money can be looked at again.