Free tool
What will this hire actually cost you?
Six components, including the two that never appear on an invoice. Adjust the sliders to your situation — everything calculates in your browser.
Your numbers
Used to size the mis-hire provision and show cost as a share of salary.
Job board listings and any promoted placement.
What an hour of the person running this process is worth to the business — usually well above their wage.
Writing the ad, screening, phone screens, interviews, references, offer. A lean process is around 22–25.
From the day you decided to hire to the new person's first day.
Lost output, overtime, casuals, or work you turned down. For billable roles, start with weekly revenue less wage.
Your team's time, not the new starter's. Induction, supervision and the trainer's reduced output.
Laptop, phone, uniform, tools, licences, software seats.
Industry estimates often sit near 20–30%. A structured process lowers it.
Estimated cost of this hire
$29,695
About 35% of the role's annual salary.
- Mis-hire provision$12,286
- Vacancy cost$9,000
- Your time hiring$2,880
- Onboarding & training$2,880
- Equipment & setup$2,500
- Advertising$149
Advertising is under 1% of this total.
Every week you remove from the process is worth roughly $1,980.
The smallest line is the one that moves the others. A precise ad cuts screening hours and shortens the vacancy.
Post a job from $149Estimates only, calculated in your browser — nothing is sent anywhere or stored. The mis-hire provision assumes a failed hire exits at around four months and that you repeat the full process.
How this is calculated
Your time is hours spent hiring multiplied by what an hour of your time is worth to the business. For an owner this is usually well above their nominal wage, because the alternative use of that hour is running the company.
Vacancy cost is the weeks the seat sits empty multiplied by the weekly value of the work not being done. This is the most commonly ignored item and frequently the largest.
The mis-hire provision weights the cost of failure by its probability: if the hire does not work out, you absorb the original cost again, plus roughly four months of salary and superannuation, plus rework.
These are estimates, not accounting. Published Australian benchmarks put direct cost per hire near $10,500 and all-in cost for professional roles at roughly $20,000–$26,000 — useful for sanity-checking the order of magnitude. The component breakdown is explained in full in what a hire actually costs you.