Only a short time ago, hardly anyone in Australia had heard of a “prompt engineer.” The role barely existed before the wave of generative AI tools that arrived in 2023 and 2024. By 2025, though, things have changed. Companies in banking, government, healthcare, utilities, and technology are building AI into their operations, and they are quickly discovering that these systems don’t run themselves. They need people who can get reliable, accurate, and safe results from them. That’s where prompt engineers come in.
So what does it actually cost to hire one in Australia this year? The short answer is that most sit somewhere between $100 and $220 an hour, or around $110,000 to $200,000 a year if you want a permanent employee. But as always, the real answer depends on who you hire, what you need them to do, and how you choose to engage them.
Prompt engineers are not just typing clever questions into ChatGPT. Their job is to design and refine the instructions that make AI systems perform consistently. They test outputs, check results against business and compliance requirements, and make sure the AI actually fits into day-to-day workflows. In highly regulated industries, they are also the people who help prevent embarrassing or risky mistakes; whether that’s a bank breaching an APRA rule, a health provider mishandling sensitive data, or a government agency publishing inaccurate information.
Rates vary with industry and skill set. A junior or mid-range prompt engineer who understands the basics of large language models but is still learning how to apply them in business settings will usually be billed at around $100 to $140 an hour. More experienced people with several projects under their belt, particularly in sectors like finance or government, sit between $140 and $180 an hour. At the top end, those who combine prompting skills with security clearance, regulatory knowledge, or software integration expertise can charge $180 to $220 an hour or more. On salaries, the same spread applies: generalists are often recruited at $110,000 to $130,000 plus super, while senior specialists in banking, defence or healthcare roles are being paid closer to $180,000 to $200,000 a year.
Like most emerging roles, the value lies in the mix of skills. A prompt engineer who can also script in Python, work across several AI platforms, and speak the language of the business domain they are working in will always command a higher rate. A government agency in Canberra needing an NV1-cleared specialist to fine-tune AI models for citizen-facing services will inevitably pay more than a tech start-up in Brisbane experimenting with AI-driven customer support. Location, interestingly, matters less now: remote engagement has become the default, so a specialist in Perth can charge the same as one in Sydney.
One important trend is that most prompt engineers are not standing alone. Many are technical writers, instructional designers, or business analysts who have upskilled and now combine AI prompting with their original discipline. That hybrid background makes them more effective, because they understand both the business problem and the technology. Another trend is governance: it is no longer enough to get the AI to work; organisations want to know that the prompts and outputs can be explained, audited, and defended. This is particularly true in government and finance.
There are risks in under-investing. Some organisations assume that staff can “just use ChatGPT” and end up with inconsistent results, rework, or compliance problems. A poor prompt strategy can waste more time than it saves. Hiring a skilled prompt engineer may look expensive, but the alternative – bad data, failed audits, or reputational damage – can cost far more.
Examples illustrate the point. A Sydney bank might hire a senior prompt engineer at around $180 an hour to refine AI tools summarising regulatory documents, saving hundreds of hours of compliance officer time. A federal government department might engage a cleared contractor for three months at a total cost of about $120,000 to develop and document AI-assisted workflows. A Melbourne tech start-up could hire a full-time prompt engineer at $130,000 to build the knowledge base behind its customer support bot. Each organisation would have to pay different rates, but in each case the investment was justified by the savings or risk reduction delivered.
So, in 2025, the cost of hiring a prompt engineer in Australia depends on who you need and what you are trying to achieve. The market has settled into a range of roughly $100–$220 an hour, or six-figure salaries for full-time roles, with the higher end reserved for those with deep domain expertise or security clearance.
It may sound like a lot for a role that barely existed two years ago, but when you weigh it against the potential costs of bad AI output – lost tenders, compliance breaches, reputational harm – the expense is easier to justify. Prompt engineers are not a passing fad. They are fast becoming a core part of how Australian organisations deploy AI effectively and safely. Contact us to find out specifically how we can help.
