Salary sacrificing in Australia: are patterns of uptake and benefit different in the not-for-profit sector?

Abstract

Australia's tax arrangements enable employers to offer salary sacrificing as a way to increase levels of remuneration on offer, and to attract, motivate and retain staff. This article discusses the role of salary sacrificing in the not-for-profit sector, and contributes new evidence about who uses it, who benefits, and who might be missing out. Based on a large national household panel survey, we show that within the not-for-profit sector and across the workforce more broadly, salary sacrificing is unequally accessed by employees, with higher income earners reaping greater benefits. On the basis of uneven patterns of uptake and benefit, salary sacrificing offers only a limited strategy for addressing problems of low remuneration. Human resource practitioners in the not-for-profit sector should develop broader strategies to attract and retain staff, especially in lower paid positions, where salary sacrificing is both less likely to be utilised and less beneficial.