The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) and the players have been in the midst of a lengthy pay dispute since a five-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expired at the end of June.
The players' association have effectively lost trust in the APL executive after chief executive Steve Rosich addressed the media only hours after the league submitted a new CBA offer that included an increased A-League Women's (ALW) salary cap.
The APL is hoping they and the players can come to a one-year agreement by the beginning of the A-League Men's season in mid-October, but the parties are now further apart than ever after Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) said negotiations had been exhausted and instead called for an agreement that also included structural reform to give players a greater say in the direction that football will take in Australia.
The APL's newest offer sees the ALW salary cap bumped up to $900k from the previous offer of $775k and a marquee fund for up to three players per club commencing in 2026/27, as well as a commitment to a pathway for ALW players towards full-time professionalism.
As of 2024/25, the average salary for ALW players was little more than $30,000 - making it the least lucrative elite sporting league in the country for women - with scholarship players earning less than $12,000 a season.
The ALW was once a stepping stone for Matildas players before the enormous explosion in financial opportunities both in Europe and the USA for female footballers with the likes of Carpenter, Sam Kerr, Emily van Egmond and Steph Catley all running around in the competition.
A PFA survey conducted in 2025 showed that 76% of players reported their financial situation as ‘not at all’ or only ‘slightly’ secure, with 62% of ALW players partaking in other paid work during the 2024/25 season in conjuction with their football.
It's little wonder then that attracting Matildas stars to the competition appears to be a long way off, with captain Sam Kerr reportedly earning in the vicinity of $900k p/a at Chelsea before her move to Gotham City.
Kerr's former teammate Carpenter, who is estimated to be earning over $200k p/a at Chelsea - more than 20% of an entire ALW team's hard salary cap under the APL's latest offer - says a return to Australia would be untenable without significantly larger investment.
“It’s just disappointing to see where the league is at here now in Australia,” Carpenter told reporters in Sydney ahead of Chelsea's pre-season friendly against an ALW All-Star XI on Wednesday.
“Especially coming off the back of the World Cup in 2023.
“I really think that we need to follow that and we need to invest more ... It has so much potential to be such a credible league and also a great pathway for the younger generation.”
26-year-old Carpenter expressed a desire to end her career in the ALW but said it's "not really on the cards financially".
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
