Equity is our best weapon in the war for startup talent
Equity has gone from fringe benefit to frontline strategy — and it may be Australia’s best bet for keeping talent and building global tech winners.
Walk into any ambitious startup office in Australia today and you’ll see employees paying as much attention to their equity value as their fortnightly payslips.
That marks a quiet revolution. A decade ago, equity felt like Monopoly money. Now it’s a recognised path to a home deposit, school fees or the confidence to launch a venture of one’s own.
In an era of stagnant wages and a funding market that still looks wary, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) have become the backbone of Australia’s tech economy. So, how did we get here? And with impending policy changes, will this continue?
Over the past decade, Australia’s regulatory settings have moved steadily in the right direction. The 2015 employee share scheme (ESS) overhaul introduced a startup concession and, critically, allowed tax to be deferred until employees realise a gain. More recently, 2022 amendments to the Corporations Act removed the so-called “phantom tax” triggered when an employee leaves a job.
