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HR Glossary

Total
remuneration package

Pay and remuneration
What is a total remuneration package?

A total remuneration package (or total compensation) is the full value an employer provides: base salary, mandatory retirement contributions, variable pay at target, equity, allowances, insurances and benefits, expressed as one annual figure.

Why organisations quote packages

Total remuneration framing lets employers compare and communicate the real value of employment, especially where big non-salary components (super at 12%, CPF at 17%, equity, vehicles) would otherwise be invisible. It also standardises internal equity: two people on the same "package" can have different base/benefit mixes without breaching the band. The risk is the same as the benefit: a package number can dress up a modest base with generously-valued benefits nobody asked for.

Package arithmetic across countries

The same advertised number means different things by geography. "$150k package" in Australia typically includes the superannuation guarantee; in Singapore, employer CPF is usually quoted on top and applies only to locals; in the US, the package conversation is dominated by health insurance value; in New Zealand, "total remuneration" KiwiSaver arrangements are lawful, meaning the employer contribution can sit inside the advertised number rather than on top. Cross-border offers should translate the stack explicitly, or candidates will do it wrongly for them.

Reading a package like an analyst

Decompose it: guaranteed cash (base plus fixed allowances), mandatory contributions, variable at realistic attainment (not at target), equity at honest valuation, and benefits at their value to you rather than their cost to the employer. A gym membership priced at retail and a parking space at CBD rates pad a package; they do not pay a mortgage. The guaranteed-cash line is the one to compare first.

Next step

Calculator

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Base salary

Base salary is the fixed, guaranteed component of pay for performing a role, before superannuation or pension contributions, variable pay, allowances or benefits.

Read the definition →Related term

Variable pay

Variable pay is the at-risk portion of remuneration that moves with performance or results: commissions, bonuses, incentives and profit shares.

Read the definition →Related term

Salary sacrifice

Salary sacrifice (or salary packaging) is an arrangement where an employee gives up part of their pre-tax salary in exchange for benefits of similar value, most commonly extra superannuation or pension contributions, vehicles or devices.

Read the definition →Related term

Equity compensation

Equity compensation is pay delivered as ownership rather than cash: shares, options, restricted stock units or other rights whose value tracks the company.

Read the definition →HR Glossary

All terms

Every definition, with the local rules, rates and thresholds attached.

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Where
Compono fits.

Compono is a talent intelligence platform: an applicant tracking system and an employee engagement platform built on the same people data.

Package on one side, true cost on the other. Price both honestly.

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Compono
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saved by VicRoads over two years

Common questions

Is superannuation part of the package in Australia?

Under package framing, yes, and job ads mix conventions freely. Always establish whether a number is base-plus-super or super-inclusive before comparing anything.

Should variable pay count at target in a package?

For comparison, count it at realistic attainment. At-target framing is fair only where most people actually reach target, and the employer knows whether that is true.

This page is general information, not legal advice. We check figures annually and update them on a best-efforts basis, but employment rules change and we cannot promise everything here is current or complete. Before you act on it, confirm the detail with the official source for your jurisdiction or your own adviser. Last reviewed July 2026.