Three versions of the role, three different numbers
I will not give you a single Australian company secretary band, because an honest one does not exist. The role spans a listed-company governance executive running board process and continuous disclosure, a finance leader who happens to hold the office, and an outsourced arrangement priced as a service fee rather than a salary. Averaging those three produces a figure that describes none of them.
| How the role is structured | How it prices, and what drives it | |
|---|---|---|
| Listed company, standalone office | Full-time governance executive, priced as an executive seat | Owns board and committee process, continuous disclosure, the ASX relationship and the remuneration report cycle. Often paired with a general counsel or risk mandate. |
| Private company, duty on a finance leader | No separate salary line | The most common structure in Australian scale-ups. The office sits with the Head of Finance, Financial Controller or CFO, and should be named in the role rather than assumed. |
| Outsourced to a corporate services firm | Annual service fee, not a salary | Registered office, filings, minutes and registers handled externally. Usually the right answer for a startup that wants the discipline without the headcount. |
What moves the number
Four things, in roughly this order. Whether the entity is listed, which brings continuous disclosure, ASX listing rules and a remuneration report into scope. The number of entities in the group, because each one carries its own filings and minutes. Whether the role owns board and committee process end to end or just the filings. And whether it carries any legal or risk mandate alongside the secretariat, which is common in mid-market businesses and moves the seat materially.
One thing worth naming: the company secretary role sits close to governance decisions that change when leadership changes. When a new leader steps in, the entire philosophy of the business shifts, with real consequences for centralised versus decentralised reporting, risk appetite, capital expenditure approval, performance expectations, headcount decisions and how the CFO engages with the executive team.[1] The secretariat feels all of that first, because it is where the process lives.
What a startup should actually do
Almost no Australian startup needs a dedicated company secretary. A proprietary company is not required to appoint one at all, and where a board wants the discipline, the practical answers are a corporate services provider on a fixed fee, or the finance leader holding the office with the provider doing the mechanics.
That fits the structure I recommend anyway. For a business between 10 and 50 staff or $5 to $10 million revenue, the model that works is a Head of Finance or Financial Controller handling strategic oversight, financial decision-making support and governance, with an accounts assistant or bookkeeper managing transactional processing.[2] Secretariat sits naturally in the governance half of that, and the 2026 band for that seat is $180k to $240k plus equity for a Head of Finance, or $160k to $200k plus super for a Financial Controller.[3]
If you are working out which finance seat should carry governance at your stage, the team structure by stage is set out here.
The mistake that costs money
Bolting secretariat onto a role that is already two jobs. Founders almost certainly cannot hire someone strong across every domain on the finance spectrum within a startup budget.[4] If the brief asks for commercial decision support, the month-end close, payroll and full board secretariat, you have written three roles and will hire none of them well.
The version that works is deliberate: name the governance duties explicitly in the role, price them into the band, and outsource the mechanical filings. What you are buying with a senior finance hire is not administration. When someone properly owns finance, board prep gets less chaotic, forecasts become more believable and cash conversations get more accurate.[5] Do not spend that person on lodgements.
For the Australian finance leadership bands the governance duty normally attaches to, the full breakdown by stage is here.
Common questions
What does a company secretary earn in Australia?
There is no single honest band, because the role takes three very different shapes. In a listed company it is a standalone governance executive owning board process, continuous disclosure and the ASX relationship, priced as an executive seat. In a private company it is usually a duty attached to a finance leader with no separate salary line. Outsourced to a corporate services firm it is an annual service fee rather than a salary. Averaging those produces a figure that describes none of them.
Does a startup need a company secretary?
Almost never as a dedicated hire. An Australian proprietary company is not required to appoint one. Where a board wants the discipline, the practical routes are a corporate services provider on a fixed fee, or the finance leader holding the office while the provider handles the mechanics. For a business between 10 and 50 staff or $5 to $10 million revenue, the structure that works is a Head of Finance or Financial Controller handling oversight and governance with transactional processing sitting underneath them.
What drives company secretary pay up?
Four things. Whether the entity is listed, which brings continuous disclosure, listing rules and the remuneration report into scope. The number of entities in the group, since each carries its own filings and minutes. Whether the role owns board and committee process end to end or only the filings. And whether it carries a legal or risk mandate alongside the secretariat, which is common in mid-market businesses and moves the seat materially.
Can our Head of Finance be the company secretary?
Frequently yes, and it is the normal arrangement in Australian scale-ups. The important part is naming the governance duties explicitly in the role and pricing them into the band rather than assuming them. In 2026 a Head of Finance sits at $180k to $240k plus equity and a Financial Controller at $160k to $200k plus super. The mistake is bolting secretariat onto a role that is already two jobs, because founders cannot hire someone strong across every finance domain within a startup budget.
References
- Tom Hunter on leadership change: when leadership changes the entire philosophy of the business shifts, with real consequences for centralised versus decentralised reporting, risk appetite, capex approval processes, performance expectations, headcount decisions and the CFO's engagement with the executive team.
- Tom Hunter on effective finance structure for businesses between 10 and 50 staff or $5-10 million revenue or ARR: a Head of Finance or Financial Controller handling strategic oversight, financial decision-making support and governance, while an accounts assistant or bookkeeper manages transactional processing.
- Story Recruitment 2026 Australian finance salary bands: VP / Head of Finance $180-240k plus equity, Financial Controller $160-200k plus super.
- Tom Hunter on startup budgets: founders almost certainly cannot hire someone strong across every domain on the finance spectrum within a startup budget.
- Tom Hunter on what changes when someone properly owns finance in a startup: clearer reporting, more believable forecasts, less chaotic board prep and more accurate cash conversations.