With rates for creative services freelancers booming, Australians must be prepared to pay more than ever. According to Dave Bentley – founder of &FRIENDS (previously Cavalry) and expert on all things freelance – prices have risen 6% since two years ago! It’s the largest uptick in five long years… an indication that circumstances such as a talent shortage, high inflation levels and COVID recovery are leading us into a new world of work opportunities.

Despite an impressive 6% increase in freelance rates, Dave Bentley cautions that Australian inflation is even higher.

Threatening to tip the scales at up to 10%. This could potentially raise daily pay by a staggering $56! However, it appears too much for the market right now. Still though with cost of living on its way up and business trends softening ever so slightly – minor rate hikes are likely unavoidable over the next year.

Graphic design and copywriting are on the up!

Dave has seen first-hand how the talent shortage in advertising is anything but one size fits all. While roles calling for longer contracts – like account service, project management and tech/UX design to name a few – have struggled with demand stripping supply side of available freelancers, other areas such as graphic design, copywriting are on much more even footing. So if you’re thinking creatively when it comes to sourcing skilled professionals…it appears some less ‘traditional’ approaches may be required!

Freelancer creators now earn on average $683 per day

Dave’s got the inside scoop – creating content is hot! In these past two years, rates for creators have skyrocketed and now sit at an average of $683 per day. It looks like strategy roles come in a close second with $676/day while Marketing lags slightly behind at 601$.
Breaking it down further by location, Sydney still reigns supreme as king city for content creation rates; however Melbourne ($565) and Brisbane ($574) are quickly closing in on Sydneys’ 1% growth to 617$ per day.

The 2023 &FRIENDS Freelance Rate Guide serves as an essential source for anyone navigating the creative services industry. In particular, their extensive research revealed interesting insights about seniority and associated rate changes – Senior rates saw a remarkable $40 increase to come in at $609 per day, with Mids taking second place (up by $30 from last year) and Leads following close behind ($17 higher than before). Interestingly enough though – Juniors took a slight drop of 4 dollars down to 364 p/d.

Dave and &FRIENDS have made it their mission to become part of the solution for companies and freelancers, tackling both talent shortages and inflation with one swift move – reducing fees by up to 70%. With 8,000 skilled people in its community network, now’s a great time jump on board!