This blog reveals the common pricing structure for speakers in Australia and the value you are likely to get for their live event speaking fee.
Every conference organiser wants to know about SPEAKER FEES and usually has a set BUDGET to spend on speakers and entertainment.
This Blog discusses the VALUE, PRICE RANGE and COSTS of hiring an Australian conference speaker in 2024.
Newbie conference organisers are usually shocked that someone famous like Richard Branson won’t come to their event for just $1,000 and a meal.
Speaker Fees in Australia range widely from FREE to an APPEARANCE FEE of AUD$100k+, depending on several key factors. Most professional conference speakers are now in the AUD$5k to AUD$20k range (ex GST) for a keynote presentation. (see below for full details).
Fees for Speakers are greatly impacted by factors such as their Fame and Brand name recognition, availability and demand for the speaker’s services, the location of the event, the number and length of presentations, and other factors.
As an Influencer, a Speaker’s social following on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and Tik Tok can impact their fee.
Most Professional Speakers have set a Fee Schedule for Local, Interstate, and Overseas presentations. There are different fees for different types of presentations: Keynotes, Workshops, half or full-day presentations, and MC work. Obviously, you pay more for longer sessions and distant locations.
The TIME of busy Celebrities is scarce & valuable so some celebs can also charge more for extras like book signings, photo opportunities, VIP meet & greet, lunch or dinner.
A keynote speaker can ask for ANY amount they feel their time is worth, making an allowance for time taken on travel, briefings, preparation, admin, attendance, and delivering the presentation itself.
Some celebrities, CEOs, and very wealthy business owners will not speak at ANY price because their time is too valuable. Many famous speakers and sportspeople also have very limited availability due to training, competing, or corporate commitments. So they may have high fees.
You are not paying just for the short time of the speaking presentation itself; you are paying for all the years of experience and preparation that have gone into it.
ALL the preparatory work, research and effort that has enabled them to be skilled enough to deliver a consistently great presentation every time to entertain and engage your audience.
You want a great presentation that is truly transformational and adds significant value to the attendees and the organisation.
They are being remunerated for ALL the hours of speaking skills development, storytelling, humour, learning, coaching and practice. Delivering a GREAT presentation takes a lot of WORK.
So when you pay more than AUD$10k for a GREAT Professional Content Speaker they will usually have some proprietary cutting-edge intellectual property that is highly relevant to your marketplace and probably has published a well-researched or popular book and appeared in the media.
Numerous testimonials will confirm the quality of their presentation, their ability to connect, engage, and entertain an audience, and their ability to provide useful tools and information that have a real impact on the audience and the organisation.
Speaker fees are rarely discussed openly and are mostly a well-kept secret discussed between clients, bureaus, agents, and the speaker. They are rarely made public.
For smaller events, charities, or not-for-profit events, a more modest fee is acceptable, especially if their travel is covered. If the speaker really wants to speak in front of that audience or attend that event, the fee may be reduced significantly.
Speaker prices will usually vary depending on Location, Type of Event, Duration, Value added, and any required extras. Well-known or famous Speakers can help draw a bigger crowd for the event and can charge more for that.
Here is the speaker price range in Australia from FREE to BIG FEE.
NOTE: Some Professional Conference Organisers (PCO) may also ‘add on’ or ‘mark up’ a speakers fee and some bureaus also charge a booking or admin fee.
For Hybrid Online Events and Virtual Conferences, some speakers and speakers bureaus are offering a small reduction for a virtual online presentation compared with a LIVE EVENT presentation. There is a saving in travel & expenses for the event organiser and less travel time for the speaker.
However, many Speakers report that it is MUCH HARDER to present virtually – many speakers must manage their studio AV as well as deliver a great presentation.
Delivering to a HYBRID Conference Event – a Live Audience and Online Audience at the same time – is an even bigger challenge and a skillset mastered by some live audience TV Presenters.
Presenters are now offer a range of ONLINE TRAINING PROGRAMS in various modalities—live, recorded, long and short versions, licensed or one-off—and each presenter prices these differently.
See the LIST of some of the BEST online and virtual presenters.
Yes you can! – In a competitive marketplace, Speaker Fees can occasionally be negotiated directly with the speaker, their agent, or through a speakers bureau.
Many professional speakers DO have strong ethics and ‘price integrity’ and offer the same price to all parties through all distribution channels. But you might get a special deal or an added bonus like signed books.
You can ALWAYS ASK for a lower speaking fee and give a REASON for asking for a better price – like making multiple event bookings, offering a great holiday destination, for a charitable cause or sell the ‘exposure’ benefits of speaking at your event.
The speaker can always say NO.
Many professional speakers charge additional travel costs, which can include airfare, accommodation, ground transport, and/or meals. (Some may also ask you to fund travel for a nanny or support person if they bring their baby or small child.)
Some speakers also charge extra travel time for international work while others just charge a higher keynote fee.
Some famous speakers and entertainers have specific “riders” or expectations and insist on things like business class travel, higher quality hotel rooms or other special conditions like red skittles or special foods/drinks.
(see blog on the Ethics for Speakers and the section on Travel Expenses)
Probably NOT on the BIG stage. The problem with speakers < AUD$5k GST is that they are generally NOT well-known or NOT very experienced speakers and sometimes get inconsistent results with different or difficult audiences.
FREE speakers may also be unreliable, can cancel at the last minute or NOT turn up at all – leaving you with a BIG problem.
The biggest conference talking point will be the speaker that “Bombed”.
CAVEAT EMPTOR – BE VERY CAREFUL HIRING NEWBIE SPEAKERS
There are MANY newbie speakers with great-looking websites who charge higher prices than they are worth because they THINK they are great speakers. Look for PROOF of their significant speaking experience & abilities or strong recommendations from PCOs, Speaker Bureaus and people you trust. Read all their online reviews and testimonials – from the organiser / not the audience members.
USA Speaker Fees can be two or three times what you would pay in Australia for a similar speaker and US Speakers are used to speaking to much bigger audiences. i.e. a $AUD7k speaker in Australia is $US15-20k in USA
You can find many professional speaker prices on the speaker directory E-Speakers – These fees are usually in US Dollars and may be the higher USA speaking fee (to cover International travel / time) for an Australian-based Speaker NOT their usual Australian speaking fee.
Australian Speaker Fees are a BARGAIN in comparison to the USA!
When speaking in Australia, many USA Professional and Celebrity Speakers want to charge their US Speaking Rates plus extra days of travel time and business or first-class airfares, which makes them prohibitively expensive and rarely used in Australia.
Some Overseas celebrities come to Australia for speaking tours and do multiple events in the one trip which reduces their travel time & expenses.
International Celebrities like Bear Grylls, Sir Bob Geldhof, Mark Randolph (Netflix CEO), Verne Harnish (Gazelles / EO) and Apple Co-founder Steve Wozniak occasionally come to Australia to speak.
Here is a speaker’s fee guide for a Standard Keynote presentation (say 45-75 min) at a Conference – more if you want multiple keynotes, workshops, or other services.
Most speakers do NOT have their fees displayed on their website. You can make enquiries with a friendly speakers bureau to find out the speaking fees for most professional speakers or contact your chosen speaker directly.
Some individual Speaker Fees can also be found online here
For a GREAT Discussion of specific FAQS about Speaker Fees – read PSA speaker Tarran Deane’s Blog Articles on Understanding Speaker Fees and Why Speakers charge speaking fees.