How to post a job on Workforce Australia, and what else it gives employers

Registering a business account

1. Go to the Workforce Australia site and choose the business (employer) entry point.
2. Sign in with a myID digital identity linked to your ABN through Relationship Authorisation Manager, or create one; the business account needs an active ABN.
3. Complete the business profile: trading name, location, industry, contact. The profile is visible to job seekers who view your ads.

The menu labels change from time to time; the current path is on the site’s "For business" pages and the JobAccess guide to using Workforce Australia.

Posting a vacancy

• Choose "Advertise a job" from the business dashboard and complete the form: title, description, skills and qualifications required, location, employment type, hours and pay. Pay is optional on the board but, for a role that may later be sponsored, state it.
• Set the closing date. For a normal hire, two to four weeks; for labour market testing, at least 28 days.
• Applications arrive through the dashboard or your nominated email; you can also invite candidates from the search tool to apply.
• Sources disagree on whether posts are capped (some quote ten a month); the site states the current rule when you post.

Searching candidates and using a provider

Registered businesses can search job-seeker profiles free and contact candidates who have made their profile visible. For more intensive help, Workforce Australia Services providers (private and community organisations funded by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations) will shortlist, pre-screen and support candidates at no charge to the employer, and can connect eligible hires to wage subsidies of up to A$10,000 for job seekers in defined groups (long-term unemployed, mature age, youth, people with disability, Indigenous job seekers, parents returning to work). Subsidy eligibility is assessed by the provider, not the employer.

Workforce Australia and labour market testing

If no suitable Australian applies and you nominate the role for a 482 or 494 visa, the Department requires evidence of labour market testing: at least two advertisements, each live for 28 days or more, within the four months before the nomination, with the salary shown where required and the title and duties matching the nominated occupation. Advertising on Workforce Australia is no longer compulsory for labour market testing: the requirement to include a Workforce Australia ad (and the three-ad rule that went with it) was removed on 11 December 2023, and two ads on platforms with national reach now suffice. A Workforce Australia ad still counts as one of them and is a strong piece of evidence because it is a public, dated, government-hosted listing. Keep dated screenshots of the full ad from the day it goes live. The rules in full: labour market testing for the 482; the wording that makes the ad valid: job ad template.

What it will not do

• Reach most skilled professionals and tradespeople who are employed and looking passively; they are on SEEK and LinkedIn.
• Reach candidates who need sponsorship or hold temporary visas; they register on SponsorTalent, where employers search free and unlock contacts at A$30.
• Replace your own screening; the provider shortlists against your brief, but the hire and the contract are yours.

The practical combination for a hard-to-fill role is a Workforce Australia ad for reach and record, one commercial board, and a direct search of the candidates who are actually available: candidate databases compared, every option when you cannot find staff.

Frequently asked questions

Is Workforce Australia free for employers? Yes. Registration, job ads, candidate search and provider services are free. Wage subsidies for eligible hires are paid to the employer through the provider.

What do I need to register a business on Workforce Australia? An active ABN and a myID digital identity linked to the business through Relationship Authorisation Manager. The business profile is then completed online.

Does a Workforce Australia ad count for labour market testing? It can, when it meets the Department’s requirements: exact nominated title and duties, salary shown where required, at least 28 days live, within the four months before the nomination, with dated evidence kept. Advertising on Workforce Australia has not been compulsory since 11 December 2023; two ads on platforms with national reach are required, and a Workforce Australia ad can be one of them.

What wage subsidies are available? Up to A$10,000 for eligible job seekers in defined groups, arranged through a Workforce Australia Services provider, which assesses eligibility and manages the agreement. The employer does not apply directly.

Who is on Workforce Australia? Mostly job seekers in the government employment-services system, with regional and entry-level strength. Skilled professionals, tradespeople in work, and candidates who need sponsorship are better reached on commercial boards and on SponsorTalent respectively.