The new financial year gives us all a great opportunity to realign salary packages and ensure you are putting your best foot forward as a company. This year is posing complicated economic conditions for all dealers and OEMs due to a few local and global factors:
- Slowing economic growth: A general cooling of the economy is impacting how much capital is being invested in new equipment.
- Rising costs: Inflationary pressures are pushing up operational costs for everyone.
- Global instability: Conflicts like the crisis in the Middle East have caused a severe energy supply shock. With the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupting approximately 20 per cent of global oil and LNG supplies, we are seeing real volatility in diesel prices and freight costs.
- Staff shortages: It remains difficult to find and keep people in technical and specialist roles.
The skills shortage and technician burnout
It is still tough to find qualified heavy diesel technicians, parts interpreters, and service managers. We have seen wages rise significantly, but money isn’t the only answer to the recruitment puzzle anymore. Living costs are high, and people are taking a much closer look at workplace culture.
We are seeing a lot of staff burnout, often linked to unsustainable workloads and excessive overtime in regional branches. If you want to keep your best people in 2026, you need to look at sustainable hours, clear career paths, and better training, rather than just bumping up base rates.
The power of flexible rosters as a recruitment tool
When money isn’t enough, flexibility becomes the best way to stand out. Rigid rosters are often the main reason candidates cite for wanting to leave. The best dealerships are breaking this cycle by adopting flexible, sustainable shift patterns that respect the modern worker.
Specifically, we are seeing great success with these models:
- Compressed work weeks: Moving staff to 4-day rosters by extending daily hours, which gives them a 3-day weekend every week without losing service capacity.
- Predictable and fair rotation: Moving away from ad hoc overtime to fixed, rotating Saturday rosters so staff can plan their lives weeks in advance.
- Flexible start and finish times: Allowing staggered starts to help with school drop offs or commuting challenges (where it works for the branch).
- Rostered day off (RDO) systems: Formalising regular, scheduled time off to ensure high performance is matched with guaranteed recovery.
- Transparent overtime caps: Setting clear limits on expected weekly overtime to stop the kind of fatigue that leads to long term staff departures.
By moving away from a one size fits all approach, you create an environment that values output over attendance. This is a destination of choice for high calibre professionals who value their time as much as their take home pay.
The housing hurdle: a shared challenge
It is incredibly difficult to get people to relocate for regional roles right now. With near zero rental vacancy rates in hubs like Dubbo, Toowoomba, Goondiwindi, and Southland, a good salary offer is rarely enough on its own. It is just as hard in places like the Western Australian Wheatbelt and Goldfields regions, where affordable housing is almost impossible to find.
Since both rental and purchase markets are so tight, housing has effectively become an employer responsibility. To overcome this barrier, successful dealerships are adopting these strategies:
- Master leasing models: Legally leasing local residential properties and providing company assisted accommodation.
- Council partnerships: Engaging with local authorities to repurpose underutilised buildings or vacant municipal sites into high density staff housing.
- Candidate leverage: If you are a candidate, do not be afraid to ask about employer-assisted housing or existing local partnerships during the interview stage.
Supporting the dual career household
Relocating for work is a major decision that involves the whole family. If a candidate’s partner cannot find work, the move is rarely sustainable. Forward thinking dealerships are taking a holistic approach to lure talent:
- Partner integration: Helping partners connect with local community groups and social networks.
- Networking for employment: Reaching out to other local businesses to see if there are roles for trailing spouses.
- Commitment to loyalty: By showing an interest in the success of the entire household, dealerships create an immediate and deep sense of long-term loyalty.
Redefining sales remuneration and incentive structures
The economic shifts of 2026 have changed how sales representatives, service managers, and workshop controllers view job offers. While high on-target earnings (OTE) targets look good, they can cause issues for professionals planning long term wealth creation.
Banking practices have a major influence here. When a candidate is applying for home loans, banks heavily discount variable income, often shading commission and bonus earnings by 20 per cent to 50 per cent for serviceability assessments. This is made worse by the reset risk; when a candidate switches employers, banks often require 12 to 24 months of consistent earnings at the new company before they will count that income.
Due to this, candidates are now prioritising a strong, bank-friendly base salary. If you are a dealership leader looking to improve retention, or a candidate planning your next move, we recommend seeking expert guidance that bridges the gap between industrial remuneration and financial serviceability.
Financial year 2026/2027 salary benchmarks
To support strategic workforce planning, our comprehensive salary benchmarks for the 2026/2027 financial year have been updated. The detailed remuneration guides below represent current market ranges across major metropolitan and regional areas. All stated figures are indicative and reflect annual base salaries, which exclude superannuation contributions and specific regional allowances.
Salary Trends for Truck Dealerships in Australia for 2026
All figures exclude Superannuation.
| Sydney Metro (Base Salary) | Sydney Metro (Avg OTE) | Other Metro (Base Salary) | Other Metro (Avg OTE) | Regional & Rural (Base Salary) | Regional & Rural (Avg OTE) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Advisor | $90k - $100k | c. $100k | $85k - $95k | c. $95k | $85k - $95k | c. $95k |
| Leading Hand/Supervisor | $120k - $140k | $110k - $130k | $110k - $130k | |||
| Service Manager | $140k - $170k | c. $160-$200k + car | $130k - $160k | c. $150-$175k + car | $130k - $160k | c. $150-$175k + car |
| Technician | $45/hr - $60/hr | $40/hr - $60/hr | $40/hr - $60/hr | |||
| Parts Interpreter | $90k - $95k | c. $100k | $85k - $90k | c. $95k | $85k - $90k | c. $95k |
| Parts Manager | $120k - $140k | c. $150k + car | $110k - $135k | c. $140k + car | $110k - $135k | c. $140k + car |
| Sales Consultant | $80k - $110k | c. $140-$180k + car | $80k - $90k | c. $130-$170k + car | $80k - $90k | c. $130-$170k + car |
| Sales Manager | $130k - $170k | c. $160-$200k + car | $120k - $140k | c. $130-$180k + car | $120k - $140k | c. $130-$180k + car |
| Branch Manager | $160k - $200k | c. $180-$220k + car | $150k - $180k | c. $170-$200k + car | $150k - $180k | c. $170-$200k + car |
| Financial Controller | $170k - $220k+ | $150k - $190k+ | $150k - $190k+ |
Salary Trends for Construction Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment Dealerships in Australia for 2026
All figures exclude Superannuation.
| Sydney Metro (Base Salary) | Sydney Metro (Avg OTE) | Other Metro (Base Salary) | Other Metro (Avg OTE) | Regional & Rural (Base Salary) | Regional & Rural (Avg OTE) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Advisor | $85k - $95k | c. $100k | $80k - $95k | c. $95k | $80k - $95k | c. $95k |
| Leading Hand/Supervisor | $120k - $140k | $110k - $130k | $110k - $130k | |||
| Service Manager | $140k - $190k | c. $160-$210k + car | $130k - $180k | c. $150-$200k + car | $130k - $180k | c. $150-$200k + car |
| Technician | $47/hr - $60/hr | $45/hr - $60/hr | $45/hr - $60/hr | |||
| Parts Interpreter | $90k - $95k | c. $100k | $85k - $95k | c. $95k | $85k - $95k | c. $95k |
| Parts Manager | $120k - $140k | c. $150k + car | $110k - $135k | c. $140k + car | $110k - $135k | c. $140k + car |
| Sales Consultant | $90k - $130k | c. $150-$220k + car | $85k - $120k | c. $140-$180k + car | $85k - $120k | c. $140-$180k + car |
| Sales Manager | $140k - $180k | c. $160-$200k + car | $130k - $170k | c. $140-$180k + car | $130k - $170k | c. $140-$180k + car |
| Branch Manager | $150k - $200k | c. $180-$220k + car | $150k - $180k | c. $160-$200k + car | $150k - $180k | c. $160-$200k + car |
| Financial Controller | $170k - $220k+ | $150k - $190k+ | $150k - $190k+ |
Salary Trends for Agricultural Equipment Dealerships in Australia for 2026
All figures exclude Superannuation.
| National Average (Base Salary) | National Average (Avg OTE) | |
|---|---|---|
| Service Advisor | $80k - $90k | |
| Leading Hand/Supervisor | $115k - $130k | |
| Service Manager | $130k - $150k | c. $140-$170k plus car |
| Technician | $45/hr - $60/hr | |
| Parts Interpreter | $75k - $90k | |
| Parts Manager | $100k - $130k | c. $120-$140k plus car |
| Sales Consultant | $80k - $100k | c. $120-$160k plus car |
| Sales Manager | $120k - $150k | c. $150-$180k plus car |
| Branch Manager | $150k - $170k | c. $175-$200k plus car |
| Financial Controller | $160k - $190k+ |
Salary Trends for Manufacturers & OEMs in Australia for 2026
All figures exclude Superannuation.
| National Average (Base Salary) | National Average (Avg OTE) | |
|---|---|---|
| Field Technical Support | $120k - $140k | Plus car |
| Product Support Manager | $120k - $140k | Plus car |
| Territory Sales Manager | $120k - $140k | c. $140-$165k plus car |
| Dealer Development | $130k - $160k | c. $140-$160k plus car |
| Marketing Manager | $140k - $180k | |
| Product Manager | $130k - $160k | |
| Training Manager | $130k - $170k | Plus car |
Partnering for success in 2026 and 2027
Navigating the complexities of the 2026 market requires a partnership approach. If you are a dealer principal aiming to revitalise your workforce strategy, or a professional looking to secure a sustainable career path with a stable, base heavy package, contact Teamrecruit today. We are here to help you navigate this nuanced market, one successful placement at a time.
For previous financial year salary reviews, view our articles from FY24/25, FY23/24 and FY22/23.
Employers, if you’d like a free appraisal of what you’re paying your staff, click below to fill out our form and we’ll be in touch with further tailored information.
Teamrecruit is Australia’s most established recruitment agency specialising in truck, earthmoving and agricultural machinery dealerships in Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific and Southeast Asia. Find out more about Teamrecruit and how we support employers and candidates in the dealership industry.
