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Can I Afford to Hire? Calculator

Put the fully loaded cost of a new role against what it brings in, and see whether the numbers work before you post the job.

Your numbers

Your estimate of what the role brings in or saves
Fully loaded annual cost
 
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How much does an employee really cost beyond salary?

Once superannuation, payroll tax, workers' compensation and leave and other on-costs are added, the fully loaded cost is typically 25 to 40% above base salary in Australia. A $90,000 salary often costs well over $115,000 a year to employ.

Where Compono fits

Whether you can afford a hire and whether you can afford to get it wrong are the same question. A role that pays for itself on paper still loses money if the person is the wrong fit and leaves inside a year. Compono Hire runs the process every applicant tracking system runs, then adds behavioural and culture-fit data so the person you can afford is also the person who stays and performs. That is the difference between a hire that clears its cost and one that becomes your most expensive budget line.

See how it works

How it's calculated

The fully loaded cost adds superannuation (12%), your state's payroll tax rate, workers' compensation (about 1.5% as a general estimate), and leave and other on-costs (about 8.5%) to the base salary. Contribution is your estimate of the revenue or savings the role drives, multiplied by the gross margin on it. The difference is the annual surplus or shortfall. The ramp-up figure assumes roughly half productivity for the first few months, because almost no new hire contributes fully from week one. Payroll tax applies above your state threshold and is tiered in some states, so the headline rate is used here as an estimate.

Common questions

How do I know if I can afford to hire someone?

Compare the fully loaded annual cost of the role against the revenue or savings it will realistically drive, allowing for a ramp-up period before full productivity. If the contribution clears the loaded cost with room to spare, the role pays for itself.

What is the ramp-up cost?

Almost no new hire performs at full output from the start. This tool assumes roughly half productivity for the first few months, which is the value not yet delivered while the person gets up to speed. Faster, better onboarding shrinks it.

Does this include recruitment cost?

This calculator focuses on the ongoing cost of the role against its return. Recruitment and onboarding are one-off costs on top, which you can estimate with the Cost per Hire and Cost of Onboarding calculators.

Figures are estimates using published benchmarks. Sources shown above; rates reviewed annually.