"Plus Super" or "Package Including Super"?

Two Australian job ads both say $90,000. One says "plus super". The other says "package including super". They are not the same offer, and the gap is about $6,560 a year in your hand.

This is the most consequential three words in an Australian job ad, and they are easy to skim past.

What actually differs

The superannuation guarantee is 12%, paid by your employer into your fund. The question is whether the advertised number is your salary, or your salary and that contribution added together.

$90,000 plus super:

• Base salary: $90,000
• Super paid on top: $10,800
• Total package value: $100,800
• Take-home after tax: $70,680

$90,000 package including super:

• The $90,000 is divided into salary and super — $90,000 ÷ 1.12
• Base salary: $80,357
• Super: $9,643
• Take-home after tax: $64,123

Same headline. $6,557 less in your bank account, and $1,157 less into your fund.

The gap grows with salary

Advertised	Plus super, take-home	Package, take-home	Difference
$70,000	$57,080	$51,980	$5,100
$90,000	$70,680	$64,123	$6,557
$120,000	$91,080	$82,337	$8,743

The difference is not a fixed percentage of the gap in salary — it is smaller than the raw super difference, because a lower salary also means less tax. But it is always thousands.

How to compare two offers properly

Convert both to the same basis before comparing anything. The Australian take-home pay calculator has a toggle for exactly this: enter each advertised figure, set the toggle to match how that ad quoted it, and read the take-home.

A useful rule: a package figure needs to be about 12% higher to match a "plus super" figure. $100,800 as a package is the same offer as $90,000 plus super.

Which is more common

"Plus super" is the norm in the private sector and in most award-covered roles. Total remuneration packages are more common in senior positions, government, and anywhere with salary packaging arrangements. Recruiters sometimes quote the larger number without specifying, which is why it is worth asking directly rather than inferring.

The question to ask is simply: "Is that inclusive of superannuation?"

What else the ad may not say

Salary packaging. Some employers, particularly not-for-profits and hospitals, let you take part of your salary as pre-tax benefits. That can be worth more than a several-thousand-dollar raise, and it never appears in the advertised figure.

Bonus structure. A $90,000 base with a realistic 10% bonus beats a $95,000 base with none — but only if the bonus is actually realistic. Ask what percentage of staff received it last year.

Extra super. A minority of employers contribute above the 12% guarantee, often 15% or 17% in universities and parts of the public sector. On $90,000 the difference between 12% and 17% is $4,500 a year of deferred pay that no headline figure shows.