Business Support & Corporate Services
Salary Guide
Executive support, office leadership, operations, procurement and corporate enablement reward.
The state of business support talent
Business support has professionalised. The executive assistant and chief-of-staff space in particular has bifurcated: high-calibre EAs supporting C-suite principals — managing complex diaries, board logistics and discreet projects — command meaningful premiums, while transactional administrative roles face strong candidate supply and flatter pay.
Operations, procurement and corporate-services roles have benefited from organisations' focus on cost discipline and vendor management. Procurement talent with category expertise and negotiation track record is genuinely scarce. The return-to-office shift has lifted demand for office and facilities leadership able to manage hybrid workplaces.
Discretion, judgement and technology fluency now define the strongest candidates. Employers increasingly value support professionals who can own projects, not just process tasks. Pay is most elastic at the EA-to-CEO and procurement-lead end of the market.
What these roles pay in Q2 2026
Base salary, AUD '000 p.a. (excl. super). Bars show the typical low–high range; the marker is the market midpoint.
| Role | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief of Staff | $160k | $200k | $280k |
| Executive Assistant to CEO | $120k | $145k | $180k |
| Executive AssistantSenior leadership | $95k | $115k | $140k |
| Office / Facilities Manager | $100k | $125k | $160k |
| Operations Manager | $130k | $160k | $200k |
| Procurement / Category Manager | $140k | $175k | $220k |
| Team Administrator | $70k | $82k | $95k |
Talent demand by segment
Year-on-year, 2025 → 2026
- Chief of Staff +7.8%
- Procurement / category +6.4%
- EA to C-suite +5.2%
- General administration +2.6%
Where supply is tightest
- Chief-of-staff and senior EA talent able to own projects, not just diaries.
- Procurement specialists with category depth and negotiation track record.
- Operations leaders experienced in hybrid-workplace and cost optimisation.
- Support professionals fluent in automation and collaboration technology.
What top talent now wants
- Recognition of the strategic, not just administrative, value they add.
- Hybrid arrangements and trust-based, outcomes-focused management.
- Genuine exposure to leadership and meaningful project ownership.
- Clear progression from support into operations or chief-of-staff tracks.
How to win the hire
- Top-tier EAs and chiefs of staff are scarce — benchmark generously and move fast.
- Define the role's project scope clearly; ambiguity deters the best operators.
- Procurement category expertise is worth paying for — generalists underdeliver.
- Rigid in-office mandates narrow the field for senior support talent.
Get the full Business Support Salary Guide
The complete edition adds location-by-location breakdowns, total-reward benchmarks (incentives and equity), diversity and retention data, and a 12-month outlook for every role band.
- City-level ranges across Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, Hong Kong and Auckland
- Total-reward view — base, short- and long-term incentives
- Retention, counter-offer and time-to-hire benchmarks
- Forward outlook and reward recommendations
Need numbers specific to your structure and location? Altera's Talent Advisory practice delivers bespoke, defensible reward benchmarking. Book a consultation →
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View guide →Want reward data specific to your roles?
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