What the role really costs to employ, what the market is paying, and which licences actually gate it. Written for the employer doing the hiring.
This page is about taking a general manager onto your payroll, not about booking one for a job. A general manager at the bottom of the advertised market band, $160,000 a year, costs about $184,972.14 a year once superannuation, leave loading and workers compensation are counted, against a wage of $160,000.00. That is roughly 15.6 per cent on top.
Cost basis
$160,000
Award free or set by the parent award, see below
Market band
$160,000 to $180,000
National advertised range, SEEK, refreshed 1 July 2026
Real annual cost
$184,972.14
At the award floor, full time, South Australian on-costs
The wage is the smallest honest answer. Worked from the bottom of the market band, full time, 38 hours a week:
| Line | How it is worked out | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Wages | Bottom of the market band, $160,000 a year | $160,000.00 |
| Annual leave loading | 17.5% of four weeks' wages | $2,153.85 |
| Superannuation | 12% of wages plus loading | $19,458.46 |
| Workers compensation | 1.85% of wages, loading and super | $3,359.83 |
| Real annual cost | Against a $160,000.00 wage | $184,972.14 |
There is no award floor for this role, so the wage line starts at the bottom of the national advertised band published on SEEK, refreshed 1 July 2026. Superannuation 12 per cent for 2026-27, ATO. Leave loading 17.5 per cent of four weeks, Fair Work Ombudsman. Workers compensation 1.85 per cent, ReturnToWorkSA scheme average, which varies by state and industry so use your own insurer's rate. Payroll tax is excluded because most employers sit below the threshold. Checked 5 August 2026. Full method on what an employee really costs.
That is the floor, not the offer. The market band above is what the role is actually advertised at, and an offer pitched near the legal minimum is the one experienced people scroll past. The full rate detail for this role has the classification ladder.
None. Directors' duties under the Corporations Act apply to anyone acting as a director, which is a legal obligation rather than a licence.
This role is award free. No modern award covers it, so there is no classification, no ladder and no award minimum to work from. The figures below start at the bottom of the advertised market band, which is the only meaningful floor for a role at this level.
The practical consequence for you: there is no legal minimum to anchor against and no classification to argue about, so the advertised band is the whole negotiation. The current national band is $160,000 to $180,000, and pitching below it on a role with no award floor simply means nobody applies.
Widening or narrowing the brief by one role often does more for a stalled vacancy than raising the rate. The nearest neighbours:
At this level the market is entirely referral driven. Roles are rarely advertised, candidates are rarely looking, and the process runs on introductions rather than applications.
On the Jobs and Skills Australia 2025 Occupation Shortage List this role appears as 111111 Chief Executive or Managing Director, not in shortage nationally or in any state, on the 2025 list. That is the national picture, not a claim about your town, and it is the reason an advertisement alone often does not produce a shortlist.
Running an executive search like a job advertisement. The people who can do the job are not reading listings and will not apply to one. The second is anchoring the band to what the last incumbent was paid, which may be years out of date. The third is underestimating how long a genuine executive process takes, then compromising on the shortlist because the seat has been empty too long.
Four checks before a name reaches you: licences verified, screened against your brief, history checked, rate locked. If one step fails, the name never reaches you. The whole process is written out here, including where reference checks actually sit.
You pay nothing until your hire starts, and if they leave inside the first 90 days we replace them free.
At the award floor of award free an hour, about $184,972.14 a year once superannuation, leave loading and workers compensation are added, against a wage of $160,000.00. That is roughly 15.6 per cent on top of the wage. Payroll tax is excluded because most employers sit below the threshold.
The national advertised band is $160,000 to $180,000. The award floor of award free is the legal minimum, not the market. An offer pitched near the floor is the most common reason a vacancy in this trade stays open.
No. Executive roles sit above award coverage. The National Employment Standards still apply, and above the high income threshold a guarantee of annual earnings can be used.
Against the market, because there is no floor to anchor to. Published bands are wide because the role varies enormously with the size and complexity of the business.
An arrangement available above the high income threshold under which an employer guarantees earnings and award coverage is removed, although the National Employment Standards continue to apply.