Gumtree

Best Job Search Sites in Australia

If you're job hunting in Australia, here are the platforms actually used by most job seekers, ranked by popularity and usefulness:

1. SEEK — The market leader

SEEK is one of Australia's largest and most popular job search websites, with millions of job seekers and employers using the platform, offering a broad range of opportunities. You can search for positions based on location, industry, salary, and type of employment (full-time, part-time, casual, or contract). Most HR departments in Australia prioritize Seek because of its sophisticated candidate management systems, meaning access to roles that may not be advertised anywhere else. If you only use one site, this is it.

2. Indeed — Best for broad, global reach

Indeed ranks as the runner-up, the second most visited jobs and employment website in Australia. It's known for a large volume of listings and handy salary comparison tools, making it great for casting a wide net.

3. LinkedIn Jobs — Best for professional/white-collar roles

LinkedIn is a networking powerhouse for white-collar roles, where a majority of recruiters actively search for candidates. It's less about volume and more about visibility — recruiters often reach out directly if your profile is optimised.

4. Jora — Strong local aggregator

Jora ranks third among the most visited jobs and employment websites in Australia. It's part of the SEEK Group and pulls listings from many other boards, so it's a good way to see a wide spread of jobs in one place.

5. Workforce Australia — Government-run, free

JobSearch is a free online job search engine operated by the Australian Government that connects job seekers with employment opportunities across various sectors, and it's especially useful for those who want to explore the Australian Government's Workforce Australia service. Useful if you're eligible for government employment services or support.

6. Glassdoor — For researching employers

Glassdoor offers both job listings and company reviews, providing insight into workplace culture. Great to pair with SEEK/Indeed once you're deciding between offers.

Niche/industry-specific platforms worth knowing

Depending on your field, these specialised boards can be more useful than the generalists:

• ArtsHub – A job board dedicated to careers in the arts.
• APS Jobs – Listings for opportunities in the Australian Public Service.
• Healthcare Australia – Job listings for nurses, aged care workers, and medical professionals.
• Ethical Jobs – Focuses on careers in the not-for-profit, charity, and community sectors.
• Defence Jobs – Careers in the Navy, Army, and Air Force.
• GradConnection – Focuses on helping recent TAFE or university graduates find employment.

For casual/gig work

If you're after flexible or casual shifts (hospitality, labour, events), apps like Sidekicker and Airtasker are popular for fast, short-term gigs, and Gumtree is still commonly used for casual local jobs — though it's less vetted than the main job boards.

My practical recommendation

Given how the Australian market actually behaves, a smart approach is:

1. SEEK as your primary site (biggest volume, most trusted by AU employers).
2. LinkedIn to build your profile and let recruiters find you, especially for corporate/professional roles.
3. Indeed or Jora as a secondary net to catch listings SEEK might miss.
4. Add one niche site relevant to your industry if applicable (e.g., Healthcare Australia, APS Jobs, ArtsHub).

Using 2–3 of these together covers the vast majority of job ads in the Australian market without wasting time spre

If you are looking for work here in Australia, the job market relies heavily on a few dominant platforms, alongside some highly effective niche sites. Rather than signing up for dozens of different boards, you will get the best results by focusing your energy on the platforms that Australian employers actually use to hire.

1. The "Big Three" (Where 90% of hiring happens)

If you only use three websites for your job hunt, make it these. They cover almost every professional, trade, and corporate role in the country.

• SEEK (seek.com.au)
  • The Verdict: SEEK is the undisputed king of the Australian job market. It has the largest database of roles and is the first place almost every major Australian employer lists vacancies.
  • Best For: Everything. From corporate, retail, and construction to education and healthcare.
  • Local Tip: Keep your SEEK profile updated and toggled to "open to opportunity." Recruiters actively use SEEK’s backend database to headhunt candidates before they even post an ad.
• Indeed Australia (indeed.com.au)
  • The Verdict: Indeed is a close second to SEEK. It functions as both a direct job board and a massive aggregator (pulling listings from other smaller sites).
  • Best For: High-volume applications, entry-level roles, hospitality, retail, and trade jobs, as well as multinational corporate positions.
  • Local Tip: Indeed’s "Quick Apply" feature makes it incredibly fast to send out applications, but because it's so easy, competition is fierce. Make sure your resume is tailored so it doesn’t get lost in the crowd.
• LinkedIn
  • The Verdict: Essential if you are looking for white-collar, corporate, tech, or professional roles.
  • Best For: Medium-to-senior professional roles, multinational companies, and networking.
  • Local Tip: A massive portion of professional jobs in Australia are filled through the "hidden job market" (referrals and recruiter outreach). Having an optimized profile and actively engaging with local industry posts is just as important as clicking "Easy Apply."

2. The Best Job Aggregators (To cast a wider net)

Aggregators search the web—including individual company career pages—and pull all the vacancies into one searchable feed.

• Jora (au.jora.com)
  • The Verdict: Jora is an incredibly popular Australian-owned aggregator (actually owned by the SEEK Group).
  • Best For: Finding jobs posted directly on company websites that might not have been listed on SEEK or Indeed.
• Adzuna (adzuna.com.au)
  • The Verdict: Another strong aggregator that is great for looking at the broader market.
  • Best For: Tracking market trends. Adzuna’s standout feature is its salary estimator tool, which helps you figure out if a role is offering a competitive local rate.

3. Government & Public Sector Portals

Government jobs in Australia are highly sought after due to great work-life balance, strong superannuation (often 15.4%), and job security.

• Workforce Australia (workforceaustralia.gov.au)
  • The Verdict: The official federal government employment services platform (which replaced JobActive). It is free for both employers and job seekers, meaning many local small businesses post here.
• APS Jobs (apsjobs.gov.au)
  • The Verdict: The portal for all Federal Australian Public Service roles.
• State Government Boards: If you want to work for a state government (e.g., schools, public hospitals, state transport, department roles), they use their own dedicated portals:
  • NSW: I Work for NSW (iworkfor.nsw.gov.au)
  • VIC: Careers.vic (careers.vic.gov.au)
  • QLD: Smart Jobs (smartjobs.qld.gov.au)
  • WA: Jobs WA (jobs.wa.gov.au)

4. Niche & Specialty Platforms

Sometimes the best opportunities are on smaller, targeted sites where you aren’t competing with thousands of generic applications.

• EthicalJobs (ethicaljobs.com.au)
  • The Verdict: If you want to work for a charity, not-for-profit (NFP), social enterprise, or environmental organisation, this is the #1 site in Australia. The community service sector here is huge, and almost all of those employers use EthicalJobs.
• GradConnection (gradconnection.com)
  • The Verdict: The go-to site for university students and recent graduates looking for internships, clerkships, and graduate programs with major Australian employers.
• Backpacker Job Board (backpackerjobboard.com.au)
  • The Verdict: If you are in Australia on a Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417 or 462), this is the absolute best place to find fruit picking, farm work, regional hospitality, and au pair roles.
• Gumtree & Facebook Groups
  • The Verdict: While not formal corporate job boards, they are highly active in Australia for casual, trade, laboring, local hospitality, and nanny/babysitting gigs. Search Facebook for local groups like "Hospitality Jobs Melbourne" or "Sydney Construction Jobs."

Insider Tips for Job Hunting in Australia:

1. Format your Resume for the Australian Market: Unlike the US, Australian resumes (CVs) are usually 2 to 3 pages long. Do not include personal details like your photo, age, marital status, or residency status (unless you want to explicitly state you have full working rights, which is highly recommended for visa holders).
2. Superannuation is on top (usually): When looking at salaries, check if the listed package is "plus super" or "inclusive of super." By law, employers must pay a percentage of your earnings into your superannuation fund (the compulsory pension system).
3. Go directly to the source: If you see a job on Jora or Indeed, check the company's official "Careers" page first. Many medium-to-large Australian companies (like Coles, Woolworths, Commonwealth Bank, BHP, etc.) prefer you to apply directly through their own portals.