The right time to ask for a pay rise is just after you have delivered something the business felt, or when your scope has grown past the job your salary was set against. Benchmark against your stage, city and scope, then open with the role.
When to ask, and when not to
Timing does most of the work. The right moment is when you have recently delivered something the business felt, when a formal review cycle or budget round is approaching, or when your job has grown beyond the one you were hired into. The wrong moment is a bad trading month, a redundancy round, the week a board pack lands badly, or the day after you made a visible mistake.
The other bad moment is the one people default to: when they are already resentful. If you have quietly been underpaid for a year, you will walk in with an argument rather than a case. That reads as a threat, and threats get managed rather than paid. Raise it while you still like the job.
Set your expectations against what actually happened last cycle. In a survey I ran just after the end of the 2024-25 financial year, 30% of finance professionals got no increase at all, and 85% received 5% or less. From my candidate and client calls, finance salaries have not really grown a huge amount over the last twelve to eighteen months either; they plateaued after the significant post-COVID jump. None of that means you should not ask. It means the case has to rest on your changed scope, because the market tide is not lifting anyone right now.
Do not treat a resignation as a negotiating tactic either. In our Q2 2026 State of the Market report, 52% of finance professionals across Australia said they would walk away from their current role today regardless of what their employer offered to keep them. That number cuts both ways. It tells you the market is open, and it tells your employer that counter-offers rarely hold. If you are going to ask, ask properly rather than engineering a resignation you do not want.
Benchmark yourself against the real market, not a national average
Most people arrive with a number from a national salary survey, and the number is wrong for them. The large benchmarking providers will not accurately know what a CFO in a deep tech startup in Adelaide earns, or what a Head of Finance in a Series A Sydney fintech is worth. I fill that gap through direct conversations, because the useful number is the one for your stage, your city and your actual scope.
Location matters more than people expect. Our market data has Sydney leading Australia in both the volume of Finance Business Partner roles and the pay for them, driven by demand and cost of living. A Melbourne or Brisbane figure is not a Sydney figure, and neither is a national median.
Then check whether the job has actually changed. If you are completing Senior Accountant duties independently and to a high standard, a move into the $120k to $140k plus superannuation range is reasonable. Quote it as base plus super rather than a package, since the super guarantee is a separate 12% of ordinary time earnings, and a package number hides which one you are arguing about. That is the kind of statement to bring: a named level, a named band, and evidence you are already working at it.
If you want the current Australian bands to benchmark against before you ask, the salary guide sets them out role by role.
Build the case before you book the meeting
The case has three parts and no more. What you now own that you did not own when your salary was set. What that has been worth to the business, in numbers where you have them. And the band the market pays for that scope.
Finance people undersell the middle part badly. One Senior Accountant I placed, within 30 days, created a business process manual, presented recommendations for financial reporting and business operations, improved KPI reporting processes, created efficiencies with over-rostering in labour reporting, and increased revenue opportunities by around 20%. That is a pay rise conversation written for you. Most people in that position would have said they had settled in well.
If you are at a senior level, weight the case towards judgement rather than technical output. Finance professionals operating at a high strategic level should negotiate based on their judgement and strategic value, not just their technical skills, because discerning founders will pay for the peace of mind that comes from having finance in capable hands. Nobody pays a premium for a faster month-end close. They pay it for not having to worry about the numbers.
What to actually say
Book a dedicated conversation rather than tacking it onto a one to one. Tell your manager what it is about when you book it, so they are not blindsided and so they can do their own homework. Managers who feel ambushed say no by reflex.
Open with the role, not the money. Something close to: the job I am doing now is materially different to the one my salary was set against, here is what I have taken on, here is what it has been worth, and here is where the market prices that scope. Then give a number and stop talking. A specific figure with a reason behind it is far stronger than a range, and a range invites the bottom of it.
Leave the personal reasons out. Rent, a mortgage and cost of living are real, but they are not an argument your employer can act on, and they move the conversation from value to sympathy. Keep the whole case on what the role is worth.
| What people say | What lands better | |
|---|---|---|
| Opening the conversation | "I wanted to talk about my salary." | "The role I am doing now is different to the one my salary was set against. I would like to walk you through what has changed and where the market prices it." |
| Justifying it | "I have been here two years and work hard." | Two or three specific outcomes with numbers attached: the process you built, the reporting you fixed, the cost you took out or the revenue you found. |
| Naming the number | "Something in the range of X to Y would be fair." | One specific figure, tied to a named level and a market band for your city and stage, then silence. |
| If the answer is not yet | "Okay, no problem." | "What specifically needs to be true for this to move, and when will we review it?" Then confirm both in writing. |
Handling yes, not yet, and no
A yes needs a date and a payslip. Get the amount, the effective date and any conditions in writing that week. Verbal rises get lost in budget cycles and reorganisations, and chasing one six months later costs you the goodwill the rise bought. Then check it landed: your employer has to give you a pay slip within one working day of pay day, so the first one after the effective date is where you confirm the new number.
A not yet is the most common answer and the most useful one, because it converts to a plan. Ask what specifically has to be true for the number to move, and when it will be reviewed. If the answer is concrete, you have a path. If it is vague, you have your answer already.
A flat no with no path is information, not an insult. Do not resign in the room. Take a fortnight, test the market properly, and make a decision with real offers in front of you rather than a feeling. And remember which way the retention data points before you accept a counter-offer to stay.
If testing the market is the next step, the expected salary question is where most finance candidates give away their negotiating position.
Where I sit on this
Story recruits senior finance for Australian VC-backed startups and scale-ups, so I sit on both sides of this conversation: the founder pricing a role and the candidate weighing an offer. A big part of my value proposition is free advice to the market.[1] If you want a read on whether your number is right before you ask, that conversation costs nothing and I would rather you had the real figure than a survey average.
Common questions
When is the right time to ask for a pay rise?
The best moments are just after you have delivered something the business felt, ahead of a formal review or budget cycle, or when your scope has grown past the job your salary was set against. Avoid a bad trading period, a redundancy round or the week after a visible mistake. The other timing rule people miss is to ask while you still like the job. If you wait until you are resentful you will present an argument rather than a business case, and that gets managed rather than paid.
How do I work out what I should be paid in Australia?
Benchmark against your stage, your city and your actual scope, not a national average. Big benchmarking providers do not accurately know what a CFO in a deep tech startup in Adelaide earns or what a Head of Finance in a Series A Sydney fintech is worth. Sydney also leads Australia in both the volume of Finance Business Partner roles and the pay for them, driven by demand and cost of living, so a national median flatters some cities and short-changes others. Ask a recruiter who works your specific market for a real read rather than relying on a survey median.
Should I use a job offer to get a pay rise?
It is a weak strategy and it usually costs more than it earns. In our Q2 2026 State of the Market report, 52% of finance professionals said they would walk away from their current role today regardless of what their employer offered to keep them, which tells you how rarely counter-offers hold. Want to stay? Make the case on the merits. Want to go? Go. Using a rival offer as a bargaining chip marks you as a flight risk even when the money goes up.
What do I do if my employer says no?
Separate a no from a not yet. A not yet should convert into specifics: what has to be true for the number to move, and when it will be reviewed, both confirmed in writing. A flat no with no path is information rather than an insult. Do not resign in the room. Take a couple of weeks, test the market properly, and make the decision against real offers rather than against a feeling.
References
- How I go to market: the free advice includes salary benchmarking, offered before any commercial conversation.