Guide
Where to advertise a job in Australia
There are more places to advertise an Australian vacancy than most employers realise, and the right answer varies much more by role than by budget.
Below: every channel genuinely available to a small business, named, with what each costs and the roles where it tends to win.
The short version
- Match the channel to the role, not to the budget.
- At least three decent channels are free — most employers use none of them.
- Local, hands-on roles are usually filled within 30 minutes' travel, so national reach is often paid for and unused.
- Free channels cost time instead of money, which for a busy owner is frequently the more expensive currency.
The free channels for advertising a job in Australia
Workforce Australia for Business, Jora, Indeed's free tier, your own careers page and your network all cost nothing — and most Australian employers use none of them.
- Workforce Australia for Business. The government employment service. Free to list, with provider-supported candidates and, for eligible hires, possible wage subsidies. Strongest for entry-level and trainee roles.
- Jora. Free to post, with optional paid promotion. Part of the SEEK Group, with a notably strong regional and migrant audience. There is no good reason to skip it.
- Indeed's free tier. A limited number of free active listings. Genuinely useful for roles with plenty of available candidates; buried within days for anything competitive.
- Your own careers page. Free, permanent, indexable by search engines and aggregators, and somewhere to point every other channel. The highest-return free option and the most neglected.
- Your network. Three direct messages to people likely to know someone outperforms most paid channels for senior and specialist roles. It is also the fastest.
- Your customers and community. Underrated for retail, hospitality and care. People who already like your business are a warm pool, and a sign in the window still works.
- Industry associations, TAFEs and group training organisations. Excellent for apprentices, trainees and licensed trades, and usually free or near it.
The paid channels for advertising a job in Australia
SEEK for reach, Indeed for pay-per-click control, LinkedIn for professional roles, niche boards for licensed work, and flat-price independents for local roles at low cost.
| Channel | Rough cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| SEEK | Variable; reported from ~$400–$450 +GST | Competitive metro professional roles where reach justifies the price |
| Indeed Sponsored Jobs | Per click, against a daily budget you set | Volume hiring and testing, if you'll monitor the spend |
| LinkedIn promoted | Per day | White-collar, management and specialist roles; passive candidates |
| Niche / industry boards | ~$150–$600 per ad | Licensed, clinical, technical or sector-specific roles |
| CareerOne | Reported from ~$185–$250 +GST | A lower-cost generalist alternative |
| Adzuna | Reported from ~$99–$199 +GST | Extra distribution rather than a primary channel |
| JobSearch.com.au (ours) | $149 incl. GST; $65/ad incl. GST in a 10-pack | Local trade, admin, retail, care and hospitality roles |
| Paid social | Per click | High-volume casual hiring, local retail and hospitality |
How these differ in mechanics, reach and pricing model — and when SEEK is genuinely worth paying for — is covered in Australian job boards, compared.
Matching the advertising channel to the role
Licensed and clinical roles go to niche boards, local hands-on roles to a low-cost board plus the free channels, competitive professional roles to SEEK, and specialists to LinkedIn.
| Role type | Start with | Then add |
|---|---|---|
| Trade / licensed | Flat-price local board + industry association | Jora; TAFE or GTO for apprentices |
| Admin / bookkeeping | Flat-price local board | Your network; SEEK if senior |
| Retail / hospitality | Flat-price local board + in-store signage or QR code | Indeed free tier; paid social for volume |
| Care / clinical | Niche sector board | SEEK for registered roles; Workforce Australia for support staff |
| Professional / office | SEEK | LinkedIn; your own careers page |
| Apprentice / trainee | Workforce Australia; TAFE; GTO | Jora; flat-price local board |
| Visa-sponsored (482 / 494) | A board that supplies advertising evidence | Keep documentation from day one |
Common questions
Can I advertise a job for free in Australia?
Yes. Workforce Australia for Business, Jora, Indeed's limited free tier, your own careers page, industry associations and your own network all cost nothing in money. They cost time instead, which for a busy owner is often the more expensive input.
What is the cheapest job board in Australia?
Among free options, Jora and Workforce Australia. Among paid boards, flat-price independents are generally cheapest per ad — JobSearch.com.au, which we run, is $149 including GST and $65 an ad in a 10-pack. Cheapest per ad is not cheapest per hire, though: an ad that leaves the role open three extra weeks costs far more than it saved.
Should I post the same job on multiple boards?
Add the free channels freely, but start with one paid board. Buying several paid listings at once multiplies cost, splits applications across inboxes, and tells you nothing about which worked. Review after seven days and widen only on evidence.
What counts as advertising evidence for visa sponsorship?
Labour market testing for 482 and 494 nominations generally requires evidence that the role was advertised in Australia for a required period, including the ad content, where it appeared and the dates. Keep the documentation from the day you post, and check whether your chosen board supplies it in a suitable form — not all do.
Read next
Australian job boards, compared
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