The Australian Tax Market in August
August was a tale of two sides in the Australian tax job market. Whilst there has been plenty of activity and movement, this can be attributed to the Big 4 and Mid-Tier firms engaging in mass hiring campaigns at almost all grades and most specialisms. Whilst the In-house job market enjoyed a bumper month in July, it has since seen a significant drop over the past few weeks. It’s not all doom and gloom for the in-house market however, as much of this decline stems from the time of year (post EOFY for instance).
Sydney and Melbourne dominated the tax market, whilst Perth also offered some interesting positions (please note there was no Perth data collected in July). There was also a handful of positions dotted around the country, namely in Adelaide, Canberra, and Darwin.
Unfortunately, the Head of Tax market has been particularly slow. With one Australian-based role openly advertised by the actual employer, and one that’s targeted at Australian tax professionals to be based in Bangkok! Whilst the latter sounds brilliant, it does show there’s a distinct lack of movement at this grade which in turn, means active job seekers will inevitably have a longer job search! The saving grace is that roles at this grade can often be found with your recruitment partner or your network.
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Most Sydney roles were positioned at the mid-grade, predominantly Managers and Senior Managers, which is to be expected. The past two months has seen a lot of first-time movers from professional services into industry, and corporates have taken advantage of this.
- Junior – 17.39%
- Mid – 73.91%
- Senior – 8.69%
From an industry sector perspective, it’s been mixed. Technology and financial services have been consistent, but there have also been some interesting positions across gaming, FMCG, retail, energy, real estate, and manufacturing.
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Melbourne's job activity was significantly less recording 50% reduction in job creation compared to August's data. However, with that reduction, the market still produced some interesting positions. Whilst there was one ‘head of’ role, which is actually a mixed tax and finance positions, there was plenty of junior to mid-level options, across some varied industry sectors.
- Junior – 46.66%
- Mid – 46.66%
- Senior – 6.66%
Roles were situated across the superannuation, fintech, education, health, gambling, retail, and manufacturing sectors.
Upcoming in September
After a busy post EOFY year period, many hiring managers will likely enjoy a relatively quieter period (dependent on how their year runs), which should give some freedom to evaluate what talent is needed to bolster internal tax teams. From our conversations, there are several exciting brands across Australia which are considering their first or second tax hire, whilst global corporates will likely be as consistent.
There’s also the Tax Summit due to take place in September, which will be a great opportunity for tax professionals from across Australia to network.
If you're a tax professional based in Melbourne, get in touch about an upcoming tax technology event, hosted by Method.
Would you like to discuss any of the result in this newsletter? Get in touch with Ed Moore via ed.moore@methodrecruitment.com.au.
Insightful!
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4moGood insights Ed - thanks