Every read on this page is dated to the month I heard it, and the latest is August 2026. Senior finance in Australia was competitive from 2024 to mid 2026. The first half of 2025 was stronger before things slowed from the third quarter, and there was a short lift in December 2025. Funded startups kept hiring through it, and deep tech took a growing share of funding rounds.
How the market has moved since 2024
In August 2024, at my previous firm, I wrote that "the Senior Finance space (180k +) is as quiet as I have seen it since 2020/2021." That November I described the previous 12 months as difficult for most people searching at Financial Controller level and above. By May 2025 my breakdown of Q1 2025 job ads showed mid-level demand holding steady while employers were competing less hard for leadership hires, and in September 2025 there still were not enough senior roles to go around.
Then December 2025 was unusual. "The volume of senior hiring activity right now is the highest I've seen in the last 12 months," I posted at the time, and businesses that needed senior people clearly were not waiting for January. In the same post I wrote that 2025 had started strongly and carried through the second quarter before things slowed from the third.
The lift did not carry through. On my calls in February and March 2026, the senior market had been quiet for the previous 12 to 18 months, and even the start of the year, normally the busiest stretch, was running a little below earlier years. Above about $180k it was tough, with a lot of good people available after redundancies and headcount cuts. In April 2026 businesses were still hiring, in lower volumes. By June 2026 the head of finance and CFO level had been very competitive for one to two years, with plenty of skilled candidates and nowhere near the same number of senior roles.
My latest read is August 2026: a touch quiet across the market, lots of good finance people looking, and not a high volume of roles overall.
What applying into it has looked like
Competition at senior level comes down to two numbers: how many people apply, and how good they are. In February 2026 most senior finance roles I saw were drawing 100 or 150 applications, sometimes more, and the quality was much higher than in previous years.
Timing is slower at the top too. After the January resignation cycle, the senior end picks up later than the rest of the market, because notice periods and recruitment processes are longer. In early February 2026 I expected the senior end to pick up properly by around mid February and then slide along, rather than finishing sooner.
On what gets you through, industry experience is usually the first filter employers apply to senior finance candidates. Startup or high-growth experience can carry across industries a little, which matters if you are trying to move into a funded company from somewhere else. As I put it in January 2026, summing up David Prince's advice on my podcast, The CFO Track: "Sticking to your value while staying flexible on the path is how you get through it."
How to get hired with your CV and LinkedIn when every role draws a crowd.
Where it has held up: VC-backed tech, fintech and deep tech
Funded startups hire on a different clock from the rest of the market, because investors put money in for growth and growth needs a finance function. In May 2026 I described my corner of the market as a little more insulated from macro factors: there is always another startup, always another VC-backed business scaling. In July 2026 I put it more plainly. Early-stage tech, fintech and deep tech businesses were more likely to hire than middle-of-the-road businesses being hit by market factors. And in August 2026, from inside that niche, it was going fine while the broader market was pretty tough.
| Broad senior finance market | VC-backed tech, fintech and deep tech | |
|---|---|---|
| Candidates vs roles | Many strong people looking, fewer senior roles (calls to August 2026) | Still competitive, but funded businesses kept hiring |
| Hiring pattern | Still hiring, but in lower volumes (April 2026) | Investor money comes with pressure to grow and build |
| Funding signal | Startup deals down 26% from 2022 to 2025 | Deep tech at 37% of deals in 2026 to 27 October; fintech at 12% |
| What gets you shortlisted | Industry experience is usually the first filter | Startup or high-growth experience carries across more easily |
The funding data backs the deep tech part and complicates the fintech part. Deep tech took 37% of Australian startup funding deals in 2026 so far (January to 27 October), up from 21% in 2021. Fintech fell from 23% to 12% over the same years. On my calls in May 2026 I was already saying investment in deep tech had been significant for the previous 12 to 18 months.
Insulated is also relative. Australian startup deals fell 26%, from 261 in 2022 to 194 in 2025, according to our startup funding database. Fewer raises means fewer first finance hires and first CFO roles to go around.
City matters a little too. In March 2026 Sydney looked somewhat better supported than Melbourne, helped by the big banks and a larger startup tech hub, though neither was what I would call fantastic.
What senior finance roles pay
Pay for senior finance roles in Australia depends on title, company stage and city, and startup packages add equity on top of base. Our startup finance salary database collects advertised and reported salaries from funded Australian startups, each linked to its source. In the prototype updated on 5 November 2026, the median for Head of Finance is A$190k across 9 figures and for Financial Controller A$166k across 11. There are too few CFO figures for a median yet.
For CFO pay in the VC-backed segment I keep the bands on the CFO jobs in Australia page, alongside how those roles are actually filled.
Full senior finance salary bands by role and stage.
Interim and fractional: the other way in
Interim roles cover a seat for a fixed period; fractional roles sell part of a senior finance leader's week to several businesses. Both look like an answer when permanent roles are scarce. Interim cover has to last long enough for the permanent search, notice periods and a handover. In one conversation in January 2026 I put that at three to six months at a minimum.
Fractional is harder than it looks from inside a corporate job. In April 2026 I called the fractional finance market a touch saturated, with a lot of people leaving corporate life for more flexibility and control. What people find hardest is business development: winning clients without a clear point of difference, which most people moving into it do not anticipate.
How interim CFO roles work and when businesses use them.
Reading the market before you move
The useful questions are where the funding is going, which businesses have to hire to grow, and who will hear about a role before it is advertised. As I put it in July 2025: "Catching up, staying in touch and taking the 15 minute call. That's what puts you in the right place when something moves."
My own searches sit in one corner of this market: a startup's first head of finance or financial controller, usually late seed to Series A, and its first CFO, from Series A to C, in venture-backed tech, fintech and deep tech across Australia. If that is where you want to go next, the CFO jobs guide for Australia is the place to start, and I am happy to talk through where you would fit.
Common questions
What is the senior finance job market like in Australia?
From 2024 to mid 2026 it was soft and competitive at head of finance, financial controller and CFO level, with many strong candidates and fewer roles, apart from a stronger first half of 2025 and a lift in December 2025. On my calls up to August 2026, the broader market was still tough while venture-backed tech, fintech and deep tech held up better.
How many people apply for senior finance roles in Australia?
In February 2026, most senior finance roles I saw were drawing 100 or 150 applications, sometimes more, and the quality of applicants was much higher than in previous years.
Which sectors have been hiring senior finance people?
On my calls from May to August 2026, VC-backed tech, fintech and deep tech were more insulated than the broader market, because investor money comes with pressure to grow. Deep tech took 37% of Australian startup funding deals from January to 27 October 2026, while fintech's share fell to 12%, according to the Story Recruitment Australian Startup Funding Database.
What does a head of finance earn at an Australian startup?
In the Story Recruitment startup finance salary database (prototype updated 5 November 2026), the median advertised or reported salary for a Head of Finance at a funded Australian startup is A$190k across 9 figures, and A$166k for a Financial Controller across 11. Startup packages often add equity on top.
Is fractional CFO work a good option when permanent roles are scarce?
It can be, but in April 2026 I described the fractional finance market as a touch saturated, with many people leaving corporate roles for flexibility. The hardest part is usually business development: winning clients without a clear point of difference.
These guides set out how we see it, drawn from the searches we run and the finance leaders we work with. They are general information about the market, not financial, accounting or legal advice, and they are no substitute for advice on your own circumstances.