What the title actually means in Australia
Finance director is a British import, and it arrived in Australia with its meaning intact in some sectors and completely reshaped in others. In a mid-market or established business it usually means the most senior finance person, effectively the CFO. In a larger corporate it sits below the CFO and runs the function day to day. In tech and venture-backed businesses the title barely appears, because the same scope is called Head of Finance or VP Finance.
That is why a single national finance director figure is unreliable. It is averaging the top job at a $30m business with a divisional role inside a listed one. Story recruits senior finance for Australian VC-backed startups and scale-ups, and I partner with experienced leaders across exactly this band: CFO, VP and SVP Finance, Head of Finance, Finance Director and Financial Controller.[1] The useful question is always which of those seats you are actually filling.
The 2026 Australian bands
These are the ranges I see land real offers. Superannuation is on top in the controller and manager bands. From Head of Finance upwards in venture-backed businesses, equity becomes the meaningful variable.
| Level | 2026 Australian range and what it buys | |
|---|---|---|
| Finance Manager | $140k to $170k + super | Runs the close and a small team. Below finance director scope, and often where businesses start before the leadership seat is real. |
| Financial Controller | $160k to $200k + super | Owns accurate, timely reporting end to end: the close, compliance and clean numbers. The range moves with industry, business size and complexity, and location. |
| Finance Director / Head of Finance / VP Finance | $180k to $240k + equity | Owns what the business does with the numbers: the model, reporting frameworks and the systems that let you fundraise and scale. The right senior hire for most Series A businesses. |
| Finance director as the top finance job (CFO scope) | $275k to $325k + equity at late Series A | If the role owns the board relationship, the raise and capital decisions, you are pricing a CFO whatever the contract says. Often a Head of Finance stepping up. |
Current ranges sit at $140k to $170k plus super for a Finance Manager and $160k to $200k plus super for a Financial Controller, varying by industry, business size and complexity, and location.[2] A VP or Head of Finance sits at $180k to $240k plus equity.[3] Where a finance director title carries genuine executive scope, price it against the CFO band instead: $275k to $325k base plus equity at late Series A.[4]
What moves the range
Industry, size and complexity. These are explicitly what shift the manager and controller ranges, along with location.[2] A finance director in a capital-heavy fintech with multiple entities and a regulator is a different hire to one in a lean services business at the same revenue.
Location. Sydney leads Australia in both role volume and pay, driven by demand and cost of living.[5] Melbourne typically follows, then Brisbane and Perth, with the gap narrowing as remote-friendly hiring persists.
Whether it is really the top finance job. If the role owns the board relationship, the raise and capital decisions, you are pricing a CFO regardless of the title on the contract.
Sector specialisation. Depth in the right area commands a premium. In construction and infrastructure, for example, Project Accountants have been seeing $140k to $170k plus super, with a heavy focus on work in progress, cost tracking, subcontractor payments and margin analysis.[6] The same principle applies at leadership level.
Be wary of national benchmarking for this seat. Large 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.[7] The number you need is for your stage, your city and your actual mandate.
If your business calls the role Head of Finance rather than finance director, that is the band to price against here.
Finance director or CFO: getting the level right first
The most expensive error here is not the number, it is the level. When founders ask whether they need a CFO or a Head of Finance, the honest answer for most, most of the time, is still a Head of Finance.[8] A CFO title on a job that is really function-building attracts candidates who will be bored within a year.
The opposite error is more common and just as costly. Founders often err on the side of under-hiring, pricing the role against current complexity rather than the complexity they will have in twelve months, then re-hiring because the person could not scale.[9] What you should be looking for is not just capability today, but the capacity to understand what the next version of the role looks like before the conversation is forced on you.[10] Hire for the next 24 months, not the next 24 weeks.[11]
And whichever level you land on, the technical assessment is not the decisive one. I saw a Head of Finance leave within nine months, despite strong qualifications, because they could not win the CEO's trust or build rapport with operations.[12] A replacement built CEO credibility in their first week and solved a long-standing operations problem in month one, using their first board pack to drive a strategic decision.[13] Same band, entirely different outcome.
If you are deciding between a finance director and a first CFO, the signals that say the CFO seat is real are worth reading first here.
Package, not base
Quote and compare on base plus superannuation, since super is a statutory employer contribution and a base-only comparison across two Australian offers is not a comparison. Bonuses at this level are usually modest and tied to company and individual performance.
Equity is what changes the maths in venture-backed businesses, and it is the component candidates evaluate worst. Present it as a table of economic outcomes tied to your grant structure, across a range of exit scenarios, rather than as a percentage on a page.[14]Structured correctly under the ATO Employee Share Scheme startup concessions, the taxing point can be deferred to the eventual sale.[15] A finance leader will run that maths anyway, so do it for them credibly.
Common questions
How much does a finance director earn in Australia?
In 2026, the scope most often labelled finance director in Australian high-growth businesses sits at $180k to $240k base plus equity, the same band as a Head of Finance or VP Finance. Below that, a Financial Controller runs $160k to $200k plus super and a Finance Manager $140k to $170k plus super, varying by industry, business size and complexity, and location. Where the finance director is genuinely the top finance job, owning the board and capital agenda, price it against the CFO band at $275k to $325k plus equity at late Series A.
Is a finance director the same as a CFO?
Sometimes, which is exactly why the title is unreliable for pricing. In mid-market and established Australian businesses, finance director often means the most senior finance person and is effectively the CFO. In larger corporates it sits below the CFO and runs the function day to day. In tech and venture-backed businesses the title barely appears, because the same scope is called Head of Finance or VP Finance. The test is whether the role owns the board relationship, the raise and capital decisions.
Should I hire a finance director or a Head of Finance?
In most cases they are the same job under different names, so pick the title your market recognises and price the scope. The more important question is whether you need that level at all or a CFO. When founders ask, the honest answer for most, most of the time, is still a Head of Finance. The bigger risk runs the other way though: under-hiring by pricing the role against current complexity rather than what you will face in twelve months, then re-hiring because the person could not scale.
What should be in a finance director package besides base salary?
Quote and compare on base plus superannuation, since super is a statutory employer contribution and a base-only comparison is not a real comparison. Bonuses at this level are usually modest and performance linked. Equity is what changes the maths in venture-backed businesses, and it should be presented as a table of economic outcomes tied to your grant structure across a range of exit scenarios rather than as a percentage. Structured correctly under the ATO Employee Share Scheme startup concessions, the taxing point can be deferred to the eventual sale.
References
- Story Recruitment partners with experienced leaders for senior finance roles including CFO, VP/SVP Finance, Head of Finance, Finance Director and Financial Controller.
- Story Recruitment market data: current ranges of $140-170k plus super for a Finance Manager and $160-200k plus super for a Financial Controller, varying by industry, business size and complexity, and location.
- Story Recruitment 2026 finance leadership salary bands: VP / Head of Finance $180-240k plus equity.
- Story Recruitment 2026 finance leadership salary bands: late Series A CFO $275-325k plus equity, often a promotion from a previous Head of Finance.
- Story Recruitment market data: Sydney leads Australia in both the volume of Finance Business Partner roles and pay, driven by demand and cost of living.
- Story Recruitment market data: Project Accountants in Construction and Infrastructure seeing $140-170k plus super, with a heavy focus on WIP, cost tracking, subcontractor payments and margin analysis.
- Tom Hunter on benchmarking: large 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, a gap he fills through direct conversations.
- Tom Hunter on the CFO versus Head of Finance question: the honest answer for most founders, most of the time, is still a Head of Finance.
- Tom Hunter on first finance hires: founders often err on the side of under-hiring, pricing the role against current complexity rather than anticipated complexity in 12 months, which leads to re-hiring because the initial hire could not scale.
- Tom Hunter on what to look for in a finance hire: not just capability today, but the capacity to understand what the next version of the role looks like before the conversation is forced upon them.
- Tom Hunter's rule for finance hiring: hire for the next 24 months, not the next 24 weeks.
- Tom Hunter on a Head of Finance hire that left within nine months despite strong qualifications, because they could not win the CEO's trust or build rapport with operations.
- Tom Hunter on the replacement Head of Finance: built CEO credibility in their first week and solved a long-standing operations problem in month one, using their initial board pack to drive a strategic decision.
- Story Recruitment guidance on presenting equity offers as a table of economic outcomes tied to the founder's grant structure, showing a range of exit scenarios.
- ATO Employee Share Scheme startup concessions: where structured correctly, the taxing point on equity can be deferred to the eventual sale.