AI is reshaping tech roles, elevating human expertise rather than replacing it

Published: 30 April 2026
 
The latest findings from the Tech Talent Explorer highlight how artificial intelligence (AI) is influencing technology roles globally, demonstrating the technology’s role in augmenting human expertise rather than eliminating jobs. The research also provides a benchmark of global salaries and contractor day rates across key tech roles, showing how Australia compares against international markets.
 

AI is removing tasks, not jobs

Roles with strong software or data components such as Software Developers, Data Engineers and AI Engineers are expected to see highest relative exposure to AI‑enabled transformation, with routine tasks supported by increasing automation. However, even in these roles, the overall impact remains modest, and, rather than eliminating roles, the technology is expected to remove specific tasks. Human oversight, design, problem solving and quality control remain critical.
 
In contrast, roles that rely heavily on judgement, coordination, or organisational oversight such as Project and Change Managers show a lower level of AI impact. Infrastructure‑oriented roles also remain critical to the safe and reliable deployment of AI technologies.
 
This indicates a two‑speed transformation, where software‑intensive work evolves fastest, while governance, leadership, and operational roles continue to grow in strategic importance.
 

Strong tech wages persist across Australia

Across global labour markets, technical roles continue to command competitive salary levels. Australia wage conditions are shaped predominantly by supply, demand and organisational budget considerations, rather than by AI disruptions.
 
Across Australia, the tech pay environment remains resilient, underpinned by sustained skills scarcity in advanced digital, data and cloud roles. Demand continues to outpace supply in specialist areas as organisations invest in AI‑enabled transformation, cyber security resilience and cloud modernisation, while permanent and contract hiring remains constrained by limited experienced talent pools. Salary and day‑rate growth is being shaped more by competition for scarce capabilities than by automation‑led displacement.
 
Australia continues to maintain a competitive position globally for technology remuneration, sitting within the upper tier of markets for both permanent salaries and contractor day rates across core digital roles. While pay levels remain below ultra‑high markets such as Switzerland and the United States, Australia consistently outperforms the UK, much of Europe and Asia‑Pacific peers on a like‑for‑like role basis, particularly for software, cloud, data and AI‑related positions.
 

What tech professionals can expect to earn

The global research highlights key wage patterns across high demand tech roles. While specific compensation varies by market, the strongest rewards are typically seen in specialisms with heightened demand and constrained talent supply.
 
The high‑demand roles and their salary ranges in Australia:
 
  • AI Engineer: AUD $145,000 – $200,000+
  • Cloud Engineer: AUD $130,000 – $180,000
  • Data Engineer: AUD $125,000 – $170,000
 
The high‑demand roles for contractors and local day rate ranges in Australia:
 
  • AI Engineer: AUD $900 – $1,200 per day
  • Cloud Engineer: AUD $850 – $1,100 per day
  • Data Engineer: AUD $800 – $1,050 per day
Roles with broader talent availability or more standardised entry pathways typically fall at the lower end of the pay scale.
 
Adam Shapley, Managing Director of Technology and Technical - ANZ Executive, comments:
 
“In Australia, attracting the very best tech talent now requires more than competitive pay alone. Organisations need to pair strong remuneration with clear investment in skills development, meaningful AI adoption strategies and flexible workforce models. For professionals, future‑proofing careers means building depth in problem‑solving, system design and cross‑functional collaboration the skills that AI amplifies rather than replaces.”
 
-Ends- 
 
The Tech Talent Explorer, a decision-making platform designed for professionals and organisations in the tech industry, delivers clear, data‑driven insights built on global workforce intelligence and tech professional input. The platform offers interactive visuals that help users confidently navigate contracting and permanent career options, as well as supporting organisations with their workforce strategy.
 
The Hays Tech Talent Explorer research was updated in December 2025 and features talent market analytics across 34 countries and input from almost 10,000 tech professionals worldwide. The report allows users to investigate the costs, availability, plans, desires, and skills priorities of IT/Tech professionals (permanent and contracting) across markets globally.
 
The findings combine Hays’ proprietary data with additional data obtained through its partnership with Horsefly.

About Hays

Hays plc (the "Group") is the world’s leading specialist in recruitment and workforce solutions, such as Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Managed Service Provider (MSP). The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional, and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK, Germany, and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America, and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As of 30 June 2025, the Group employed over 9,500 staff operating from 207 offices in 30 countries.


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