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Hiring

What a recruitment agency charges, and what we charge

Australian recruitment agencies typically charge 12 to 18 per cent of first-year salary for a permanent placement, about $7,700 to $11,550 on a $64,200 support worker. Ready & Cleared charges a flat $3,900 per permanent placement or $390 a month for pool access, publishes both, and charges the worker nothing.

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Key facts

The two models, side by side

The fee is the visible difference and it is not the only one. These are the rows that actually change how it feels to use.

Market column is the published vendor benchmark and common industry practice; our column is the current published price and policy. Checked 2026-10-25.
Typical agency Ready & Cleared
Permanent placement $7,700 to $11,550 12–18% of salary $3,900 flat, whatever the salary
Casual or temp An hourly margin $1,900 flat
Ongoing access Not usually offered $390 a month unlimited introductions
Is the fee published? Rarely quoted on enquiry, then negotiated Yes this page, before you ask
Cost to the worker $0 $0
Availability rechecked Varies often when you ask Every 14 days lapses after 28
Suitability assessed Usually claimed shortlists, ratings, recommendations Never dated facts and the documents behind them

The last row is the one worth arguing with. An agency that assesses suitability is doing something we are not, and for some roles that is worth paying for. This is cheaper because it is less.

What we can fill today

One sector is open. The rest are a plan with an order and a reason, and each says so on its own page rather than letting you find out at the enquiry form.

Planned, and not open

These pages exist because the questions they answer are real and the figures on them are checked. None of them means we can fill the role.

The longer answer, with the arithmetic at every salary and the terms that change the number, is in what recruitment agencies charge in Australia.

Common questions

How much do recruitment agencies charge in Australia?

Vendor benchmarks put permanent placement at 12 to 18 per cent of first-year salary, which is roughly $7,700 to $11,550 on a $64,200 support worker salary. Very few agencies publish a figure, because publishing one invites the client to negotiate it. Ready & Cleared charges a flat $3,900 per permanent placement, or $390 a month for pool access.

Why is a flat fee cheaper than a percentage?

Because the work does not scale with the salary. Screening a worker on $64,200 costs the same as screening one on $90,000, so a percentage charges you more for the identical job. A flat $3,900 is roughly half the benchmark on a support worker salary and a smaller share again on anything above it.

What do you actually check?

We hold the document, record what it says and track the expiry. Where a public register exists, such as the NDIS Worker Screening Check or AHPRA, we confirm against it and show the date. We never tell you somebody is suitable, because we have not met them.

Which sectors can you fill today?

Disability and aged care in Perth, and nothing else. Every other sector on this site says plainly on its own page that it is not open. A list that mixes what you can buy with what you cannot is not a list worth reading.

Do workers pay anything?

No, and they never will. A worker who pays is selecting themselves on willingness to pay rather than on availability, which makes the pool worse for the person hiring.

Whether an agency is the right way to hire at all is a fair question, and the honest answer is that for a single predictable role it often is not. What we do and do not do is written to let you decide that rather than to talk you out of it.

What it costs, in full

Benchmark figures are vendor sources, not a regulated rate, and are indicative. Our own figures are published prices. Checked 2026-10-25.