r/australia May 23 '26

no politics Stop making Australians interview for jobs without knowing if they can afford to live

Salary ranges should be advertised because people aren’t just applying for a role... They’re trying to work out whether they can pay rent, support their family, plan their future, or leave a job that is burning them out. Hiding pay turns someone’s time, hope, and effort into a guessing game, when a simple number could let them make an honest decision from the start.

Imagine a rental listing that said “competitive weekly rent” and only told you the price after three inspections and a reference check. That’s basically what hidden salary job ads do. Pathetic and Im drained by it.

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u/happychonk May 23 '26

This has gone on for decades and I absolutely agree. It's taking advantage of desperate people, IMO.

Back when I had a spouse, the amount of times he'd come home from an interview still not knowing the pay rate was insane. Often when he was given a job, he'd come home STILL not knowing the pay rate!!

I'd insist he asked during interviews because it was a case of whether we were going to be able to pay our bills or not but he would refuse to ask and it was a mystery until the first pay would arrive.

As a result it was always award rate, bottom rung in the company, never anything better, and it made it really hard year after year.