Disclosed herein is an inductive power transfer (IPT) compensation circuit and method for reflecting a controlled reactance to a primary conductor at a selected operating frequency, compensating for reactive loads reflected to the primary conductor by one or more other pick-ups inductively coupled with the primary conductor in use. The compensation circuit comprises a first switch means coupled to a resonant circuit and operable to reflect a capacitive reactance to the primary conductor; a second switch means coupled to the resonant circuit and operable to reflect an inductive reactance to the primary conductor; and control means adapted to control operation of the first and second switch means to compensate for inductive and capacitive reactances, respectively, in the primary conductor.