It’s all about the people.
A Sydney CFO earns anywhere from $220,000 to $700,000 or more in base salary in 2026, and the number that actually matters is where your business sits on that scale. Run a $30 million business, and you are likely looking at $220,000 to $320,000. Run a $500 million ASX-listed group, and the base alone starts around $450,000, before bonus, super and any long-term incentive.
CFO pay in Sydney tracks company size and complexity far more closely than it tracks the CFO's personal experience. A brilliant CFO leading a $40 million business will still earn less than an average one running finance for a $600 million group.
Below is the full breakdown by size, sector and package structure, pulled from current 2026 market data.
Several recruitment firms publish CFO salary data for the Australian market each year, and while the exact numbers move around a little, the bands line up closely enough to trust.
Here is where Sydney sits in 2026, base salary only, excluding super and bonus:
Business size
Base salary range and Typical mid-point
SME, standalone CFO
$218,000 - $262,000
$240,000
Small to mid-market ($20m-$100m revenue)
$220,000 - $320,000
$260,000
Mid-market to large ($100m-$500m revenue)
$320,000 - $450,000
$380,000
Large corporate / Multinational
$278,000 - $409,000
$332,000
Large enterprise ($500m+ or ASX-listed)
$450,000 - $700,000 or more
$550,000
Sources: HPR Consulting, Richard Holmes, Robert Half 2026 Salary Guide, Morgan McKinley Sydney CFO data, Robert Walters 2026 Salary Survey, Talacent CFO Salary Guide 2026
A couple of things worth noticing. There is real overlap between bands, so a strong SME CFO with public company experience can out-earn a mediocre CFO at a $150 million business. The jump from mid-market to large enterprise is not gradual either; it is a step change, largely because ASX-listed and PE-backed businesses pay for governance experience, audit committee exposure and investor relations skill that smaller businesses simply do not need.
Base salary is only part of the story, and it is the part most articles stop at. A typical Sydney CFO package in 2026 looks like this:
Add it up and total package can look very different to the base salary. Robert Walters puts large corporate CFO packages at $300,000 to $550,000 in cash terms, while Talacent's data shows total package at the top end of the market can exceed $1 million once short and long term incentives are included. If you are a hiring manager, the number that actually determines whether you win a candidate is total package, not base, so build your budget around that from the start.
A few factors move CFO salaries more than anything else in the Sydney market right now.
Sector:
Financial services, mining, energy and technology consistently pay a premium over retail, not-for-profit or professional services, for a comparable-sized business
Ownership structure:
ASX-listed and PE-backed businesses pay more than family-owned or founder-led businesses, largely because of the governance load and reporting obligations
Deal experience:
A CFO with genuine M&A, capital raise or IPO experience commands a real premium, often 10-20% above someone without it
Board and audit committee exposure:
Businesses preparing for a listing or a sale will pay specifically for a CFO who has sat in front of a board before
Qualifications: CA, CPA, ACCA, CIMA is close to table stakes at this level, but it shows up as a filter more than a genuine pay driver
None of these moves the needle as much as company size and revenue. A CFO with outstanding deal experience at a $40 million business still will not out-earn an average CFO at a $400 million business. Scale sets the band, the other factors move you within it.
Sydney is Australia's highest paying market for CFOs, and it is not close in some bands. Robert Walters' 2026 data has Sydney CFO pay at $320,000-$520,000 against Melbourne's $200,000-$420,000, with Brisbane and Perth trailing Sydney by only 5-10%. Talacent's numbers point the same way, showing Sydney commanding roughly an 8-15% premium over Melbourne at mid-market level.
What that means practically: if you are hiring in Sydney and benchmarking against a Melbourne salary survey, you will underprice the role and lose candidates to other Sydney employers who did their homework first. If you are a candidate weighing a Sydney role against an equivalent one in Melbourne, factor the pay gap in alongside the higher cost of living, because the premium does not always translate into more take-home comfort.
Is $250,000 a good CFO salary in Sydney?
For a small to mid-market business, yes, that sits right around the median for a standalone SME CFO role. For a business over $200 million in revenue, it is below market and you should expect pushback from strong candidates.
Does a Financial Controller earn close to a CFO?
No, there is usually a genuine gap, often $80,000-$150,000 depending on business size, reflecting the difference in scope and accountability between the two roles. See Doc for the full breakdown of who does what.
Why do CFO salaries vary so much even at similarly sized companies?
Sector and ownership structure explain most of it. A CFO at a PE-backed business preparing for exit will out-earn a CFO at a similar-sized family business almost every time.
Should I include superannuation in the advertised salary?
Be explicit either way. Candidates at this level assume base plus super unless you say otherwise, and ambiguity is one of the most common reasons a strong candidate drops out early.
If you are budgeting for a CFO hire, start with total package rather than base, benchmark against your actual revenue band rather than a generic average, and be ready to move if you are hiring into a sector or ownership structure that commands a premium. Get the number wrong, and you end up interviewing candidates for months who were never going to accept your offer.
We work exclusively in senior finance recruitment across Sydney and Australia and put a proper benchmark in front of hiring managers before a search ever starts, so the number in the job ad is one candidates actually respond to.
If you want a second opinion on where your CFO budget sits, get in touch.
