Six capital cities. Every PQE level. The most complete read on legal salaries, skills and hiring trends across Australia.
25+
years benchmarking the Australian legal market
6
capital cities covered, Sydney to Perth
37%
of capital-city lawyers are based in Sydney alone
15%
average national solicitor turnover, past 12 months
Table of contents
01.
Market Insights 2026
Where hiring is accelerating, where it's stalled, and the practice areas driving demand.
PAGE 03
02.
In-house Legal Market Trends
The shift from service provider to strategic business partner, and what it means for hiring.
PAGE 05
03.
National Landscape
Market share, attrition and talent migration, city by city.
PAGE 09
04.
Salary Range by City
Boutique, mid-tier and top-tier benchmarks Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth.
PAGE 16
05.
In-house Market
Benchmarks from Legal Counsel through to General Counsel.
PAGE 23
06.
What to Expect From Your Recruiter
How a good legal recruiter should work for you, from first call to signed offer.
PAGE 13
Declaration of method
01.
25 years in the market
Every consultant at Naiman Clarke has studied or worked in law. We're not surveying the market from the outside, we're placing candidates in it every week.
02.
Median, not average
We publish median salary data because it isn't skewed by extreme outliers or one-off packages, a truer read of what firms are actually paying.
03.
Built on real placements
Sourced from live placements, candidate conversations, employer feedback and job-ad analysis, not a single self-reported survey.
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