KPMG calls out talent risk as FIFO salaries no longer cut it for miners prioritising stability and family

High salaries on offer in fly-in, fly-out work are “no longer enough” to compete with less demanding gigs available in construction and infrastructure mega-projects, posing a retention risk for the mining sector. A new report has found attracting and keeping talent has become an even bigger concern for the country’s resources players over the past year. And while by no means as big of a perceived threat as managing financial risks and erratic commodity prices — the top two in KPMG’s risk forecast for 2025 — matters of staffing have jumped up the rankings from tenth place to fifth. KPMG Perth partner Caron Sugars said remuneration was still important to workers, but mining companies were having to come up with other methods to keep those on who were prioritising wellbeing, work values and family time. She referenced new camps being built to provide better accommodation for workers, a focus on diversity and inclusion, and making access to health professionals easier as ways the sector was trying to address the issue. “Some of the new camps that are being built are spectacular. Very different from those that you might have seen years ago.” Ms Sugars said. “Our clients are being quite innovative in the way that they’re approaching that. Mental health practitioners, physios. . . all these people available that make working far more comfortable and enjoyable. You need to, otherwise pay just keeps ratcheting up and obviously not everybody can pay that.” KPMG observed that competing industries such as civil construction, oil and gas and infrastructure projects were slowly drawing from the FIFO talent pool, despite the bigger pay packets deep-pocketed miners offer as a premium for the often gruelling swings required. On the FIFO lifestyle front, Mineral Resources has been attempting to stand out from the mining pack by building ritzy accommodation for staff, sports and recreation activities and providing options for couples accommodation to encourage more women to its workforce. The Big Four firm said miners needed to embed “trust, wellbeing and fairness at the core of their workforce strategy” and “not as compliance tasks”, or they risked losing the next generation of mining talent. “Mining’s traditional pay premium is no longer enough: today’s workforce is prioritising stability, family time, and values alignment,” the report said. Mining companies had also been finding that younger staff cared about the impact the operations were having on the environment, and wanted to be “proud about where they work”, Ms Sugars said. “We still do hear our clients saying that when they’re interviewing, particularly the more junior workforce coming through, they really do care about that.” It comes as union movements in the Pilbara look to gain traction among workers at the likes of Rio Tinto and BHP, a topic Ms Sugars said would be an “interesting space to watch”.