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Fractional vs full-time Head of Sales: what it really costs in Australia
Salary is only the start. Here’s the full year-one bill for a senior sales hire in Australia, what a fractional leader costs instead, and how to decide.
At a glance
This Promptwise Advisory article by Adam Agresta compares the true year-one cost of a full-time Head of Sales in Australia, about A$250,000–260,000 including super, recruiter fees and payroll tax, with a fractional sales leader at A$7,000–18,000 a month, and explains when each makes sense.
- Full-time, year one
- About A$250,000–260,000
- Fractional
- About A$7,000–18,000 a month
- Choose full-time when
- The process works and 3+ reps need daily management
- Choose fractional when
- You need strategy, process and first hires set up first
Most founders I talk to frame this as “can we afford a Head of Sales?” and then compare a salary with a consultant’s monthly fee. That comparison is wrong in both directions. A full-time hire costs a lot more than the salary, and a fractional leader isn’t right for every business. Here’s the honest maths for Australia in 2026.
What a full-time Head of Sales really costs
Start with salary. Payscale’s 2026 data puts the median base salary for a sales director in Sydney at about A$147,000, with most between A$93,000 and A$196,000. Commission and bonus sit on top, and total pay reaches around A$245,000 at the top end. Payscale data is self-reported, so treat it as a guide rather than a quote, but it’s a reasonable place to start.
Then add the costs that don’t appear in the job ad:
- Super: the super guarantee has been 12% since 1 July 2025, and the ATO confirms it stays at 12% for 2026–27.
- Payroll tax: in NSW it’s 5.45% of wages above A$1.2 million a year. If your total payroll is under that, it doesn’t apply. If it’s over, every new salary attracts it.
- Recruiter fees: Australian agencies typically charge 15–25% of salary for permanent roles, and 25–33% for executive search.
- Equipment and software: a laptop, CRM seat, call recorder, Sales Navigator and the rest add up to several thousand dollars a year.
- Ramp-up: a new sales leader rarely produces at full pace for the first few months. You pay full salary while they learn your product, customers and market.
A worked example
Take a Sydney Head of Sales on a A$150,000 base with A$40,000 commission at target:
| Base salary | A$150,000 |
| Commission and bonus at target | A$40,000 |
| Super at 12% | A$22,800 |
| Recruiter fee at 20% of base | A$30,000 |
| Equipment and software | A$6,000 |
| Year-one cost before payroll tax | A$248,800 |
| Add NSW payroll tax at 5.45%, if it applies | about A$10,400 |
That’s roughly A$250,000 to A$260,000 in year one, before you count the months it takes to get up to speed. If the hire doesn’t work out, you pay much of it again to replace them.
What a fractional Head of Sales costs
A fractional leader works part-time across a small number of companies, usually on a monthly retainer. Fractionus, which tracks fractional executive rates in Australia, puts senior fractional day rates at about A$1,200 to A$2,500, and most retainers between A$7,000 and A$18,000 a month depending on the role and days involved. There’s no super, payroll tax or recruiter fee on a contractor’s invoice, although GST usually applies.
At A$10,000 a month, a year costs A$120,000. That’s less than half the full-time figure, but you get fewer hours. The real question is whether you need the hours or the expertise.
When full-time is the right call
- You already have a sales process that works and you need someone to run it every day.
- You have three or more reps who need daily coaching and management.
- You have the runway to absorb a slow ramp and a possible mis-hire.
When fractional is the smarter move
- The founder is still the main seller and needs to hand over properly.
- You need the strategy, pricing, process and CRM set up before you hire.
- You want someone senior to hire and onboard your first salespeople, so they aren’t managed by someone learning on the job.
- You’re not sure yet whether sales or marketing is the real bottleneck.
A common path is to start fractional, build the process and hire the first reps, and then hire a full-time leader once there’s a team to lead and a playbook that works. The fractional leader can help write the job description and interview the candidates.
Want to run your own numbers? The Fractional vs Full-Time Calculator lets you change every figure above.
Sources
- Payscale: Director of Sales salary in Sydney (2026)
- ATO: Key superannuation rates and thresholds
- Payroll tax rates and thresholds 2026–27 (austax.tools, from Revenue NSW)
- Scale Suite: Recruitment agency costs in Australia 2026
- 9cv9: Australia recruitment agency fees 2026
- Fractionus: Fractional executive cost in Australia
Adam Agresta is the founder of Promptwise Advisory in Sydney. He has spent 15+ years in sales, marketing and partnerships, including running ActiveCampaign’s ANZ partner channel and building an AI start-up’s sales function from the ground up. More about Adam.