Accountant salary in Australia
$80,000-$140,000
Assistant to senior · commercial roles reach ~$170,000 · August 2026 · excluding super
A qualified accountant in Australia typically earns between $80,000 and $140,000, and which number depends on the track as much as the years. In public practice the ladder runs assistant near $80,000, intermediate $85,000-$110,000 and senior $110,000-$140,000. In commercial roles it runs financial and management accountant around $105,000-$115,000, finance manager near $145,000 and financial controller around $170,000. Moving between the two is a sideways step rather than a promotion or a demotion, which is why the two lines are not one ladder.
What are you worth?
The figure above is everyone doing this job. Three questions puts you inside it - and you can see exactly how the number is worked out.
Estimate it for your situation
The band above is everyone. This puts you inside it.
Typical, before you adjust anything
$95,500 – $106,500
Accountant · 3-5 years · Brisbane / SEQ
Have Ayu check it against live rolesHow this is worked out
It starts from the range this role spans junior to senior ($80,000-$140,000) and places you inside it by experience, then adjusts for where you work. Every step is listed here because a tool that hides its assumptions is asking to be trusted on nothing.
Where each experience step sits in the range
- 0-2 years: 8% of the way up
- 3-5 years: 35% of the way up
- 6-9 years: 60% of the way up
- 10-14 years: 82% of the way up
- 15+ years: 96% of the way up
Then
- Brisbane / SEQ: the base
- Sydney or Melbourne: +8%
- Regional or fully remote: -3%
- Recognised qualification (CA, CPA or equivalent): +$6,000, tapering above $110,000 where it stops gating roles
- The result is held inside the range above, never outside it.
It is an estimate off advertised data, not an offer, and it cannot see the things that actually decide your number - what you have owned, who is hiring this month, and how badly. That is the conversation, and it is free.
What this market is doing right now.
Good accountants are scarce and they know it. What we see from our own hiring is that strong candidates field counter-offers within days of resigning, and that a competitive offer made slowly still loses to an average offer made quickly. If you are being courted, the leverage is real - but it decays fast once you accept.
Indicative only, and moving. Figures as at August 2026, excluding super - mostly typical advertised salaries, Brisbane where the data supports it and national otherwise, with the rows marked from our payroll taken from what LINK itself pays. The market is shifting and rates are moving constantly, so treat these as a starting point rather than a benchmark: you'll get Ayu's current read on your specific role, from searches running this month, in the first conversation.
What moves you within the band.
The figure above is the easy half. This is the half that decides whether you sit at the bottom of it or the top.
- Unsupervised close
- Owning a month-end close start to finish is the single clearest jump between an assistant and a financial accountant.
- CA or CPA
- Matters most between $80k and $110k. Above that, track record outweighs the postnominal - and we place strong QBE accountants at senior levels regularly.
- Practice vs commercial
- Practice-trained accountants moving to commercial usually gain on salary and lose on variety. Both directions are normal; neither is a downgrade.
- Systems depth
- Genuine fluency in the cloud stack - not just 'Xero on the CV' - is worth real money because it removes a training cost.
- Explaining numbers
- The ability to explain a variance to a non-accountant is the most underpaid skill in the discipline and the one that gets people promoted.
The two accounting ladders, and what each rung pays
Most people checking a salary are really asking what the next step is worth. Where a discipline runs two tracks, moving across is a sideways step, not a rung.
| Role | What the step demands | Typical |
|---|---|---|
| Public practice | ||
| Assistant Accountant | Reconciliation accuracy and whether the fundamentals are genuinely solid under volume. | $80,000 |
| Intermediate Accountant | Whether they can run a job end to end with review, not just prepare what they're handed.Band from LINK's own payroll | $85,000-$110,000 |
| Senior Accountant | Reviewing juniors' work, holding client relationships, and knowing when to escalate.Band from LINK's own payroll | $110,000-$140,000 |
| Commercial | ||
| Assistant Accountant | Reconciliation accuracy and whether the fundamentals are genuinely solid under volume. | $80,000 |
| Financial Accountant | Statutory reporting depth, and we open a Xero file with them rather than taking it on faith. | $108,000-$110,000 |
| Management Accountant | Whether they can explain a variance to someone who is not an accountant. | $105,000-$115,000 |
| Finance Manager | Team leadership evidence and the commercial judgement the title is supposed to carry. | $145,000 |
| Financial Controller | Ownership of the close, board-level communication, and how they handle being wrong. | $170,000 |
Your questions, straight answers.
How much does an accountant earn in Australia?
Typically $80,000 to $140,000, depending on the track. In public practice: assistant near $80,000, intermediate $85,000-$110,000, senior $110,000-$140,000. In commercial roles: financial and management accountants around $105,000-$115,000, finance managers roughly $145,000 and financial controllers about $170,000. These are typical advertised figures as at August 2026, excluding super, and the market is moving constantly.
Do CA or CPA qualifications increase your salary?
Meaningfully, between roughly $80,000 and $110,000, where the qualification is often a gate on the role itself. Above that band the effect fades and demonstrated ownership matters more - we place qualified-by-experience accountants into senior commercial roles regularly.
Do accountants earn more in Sydney than Brisbane?
Generally yes, though the gap has narrowed as hybrid work spread and it rarely survives a cost-of-living comparison. Brisbane employers now compete with remote roles advertised at Sydney rates, which has pulled Brisbane salaries up more than most published guides show.
What is the fastest way to increase an accountant's salary?
Owning a month-end close without supervision, and being able to explain the numbers to someone who is not an accountant. Those two move people further than another year of experience. Moving firms also tends to beat an internal rise, which is uncomfortable but true.
What are you worth?
A published band is an average of everyone. Send Ayu your CV and you'll get the read for your actual experience - whether or not you ever apply for a role through us.