Cox Purtell Staffing Services

Associations don't run like other businesses. Board cycles. Membership renewals. Budgets that answer to members, not shareholders. We've spent over 30 years learning that rhythm — which is exactly why we don't just fill roles for associations and peak bodies, we help you retain the people you place. 96%+ candidate satisfaction. 97%+ client satisfaction. A 98%+ fill rate on temp and contract roles. Numbers we've earned by treating association recruitment as its own discipline. If you're heading to AFNC 2026 in Geelong (28–29 July), come find us — we'd love to talk about what's driving talent decisions in the sector right now. https://lnkd.in/fy-7nRE #AFNC2026

Why our clients choose us: Zoe Rogers When someone clocks up 231 reviews and still holds a 97% score from both candidates and clients, you know you're looking at a recruiter who's genuinely earned it. That's not a lucky run — it's years of showing up, following through, and building the kind of reputation that people go out of their way to write about. The words people use to describe working with Zoe tell the story: professional, supportive, efficient, personable, and proactive. She's the kind of recruiter who listens properly, moves quickly, and stays in touch long after the offer is signed — which is why so many of her candidates and clients describe working with her as a partnership rather than a transaction. Because great recruitment is built on trust, not just transactions. Big thanks to Recruiter Insider for providing invaluable insights into our performance.

The government sector hiring market in 2026 is navigating some genuine headwinds — and it's worth understanding what's actually driving them. The latest ABS data shows public sector vacancies sat at 35,700 in May 2026, down 7.9% from February. Deloitte Access Economics' June 2026 Employment Forecasts points to widespread fiscal restraint across federal and state governments as a key factor, with public sector jobs growth easing noticeably after several strong years. But there's an important distinction between the headline numbers and what's actually happening on the ground. Hiring momentum in public administration has softened, largely reflecting budget constraints at both federal and state levels. What's less visible in the data is where the pressure points are building — and for government clients, the digital and policy capability pipeline is one of the most significant. According to the Australian Government's Digital Transformation Agency 2025 Digital Workforce Insights Report, the APS is facing a potential digital talent shortfall of more than 8,000 people over the next five years. The pressures are twofold: rapidly growing demand from new technology and digital transformation, and an ageing workforce — with nearly 1 in 5 APS digital professionals expected to reach retirement age by 2030. The APS will effectively need to double its digital workforce, adding one new ICT or digital professional for every one currently employed. For government hiring managers, that creates a very specific challenge: budgets are tighter, but the need for specialist capability — particularly across digital, policy, and program delivery — hasn't gone away. It's just harder to fill. If you're a client or contact working in government and would like to chat through what the current market means for your team — whether that's navigating the digital talent pipeline, finding the right specialist capability, or simply understanding your options — our government and technology teams would love to hear from you.

When Rupert Turner joined Cox Purtell two years ago, Brandon's business came with him. That's the detail that says everything about how Rupert works. He'd been building out their engineering team for two years before joining us — and the partnership was strong enough to travel. Four years on, they're still going. Still scaling. Still placing the kind of long-term talent that builds a business rather than fills a seat. Brandon's team operates in deep-tech climate territory — building the digital infrastructure behind environmental markets and the energy transition. It's specialised, technical work, and engineers who can deliver at that level don't come from job ads. They come from a recruiter who knows the brief, knows the business, and knows the difference between a strong CV and a great hire. Thank you, Brandon — and well played, Rupert.

Congratulations to Callum Stridgeon — Cox Purtell's Temp of the Month for June! 🎉 Callum has been working as an Office Administrator at a leading global analytics and technology company since January, and in that time he's done far more than the job description asked of him. He's played a key role in helping coordinate an office move from Lane Cove into the city, has gone above and beyond in referring talented candidates from his own network to Cox Purtell, and has made such an impression that his contract has just been extended by six months. That's the thing about a great temp — they don't just fill a seat. They become part of the team, add value in ways nobody expected, and leave people wondering how they ever managed without them. A huge well done from everyone at Cox Purtell Callum — thoroughly deserved. Looking for temporary staff who show up, deliver and make a real impact? We'd love to help.

The latest SEEK data for May 2026 confirms what many corporate support professionals are already feeling — there are more candidates in the market, and fewer roles to go around. Job ads are down 4.5% year-on-year nationally, and applications per role have risen 5.5% over the same period. But the headline figures don't tell the whole story. Jobs and Skills Australia's Internet Vacancy Index data shows that vacancies for Clerical and Administrative Workers fell 6.7% over the year to late 2025 — one of the more significant drops across all occupation groups. For candidates, that means the market requires more effort and smarter positioning than it did 12 to 18 months ago. For clients, though, the picture looks quite different. Deeper candidate pools mean genuine access to talent that has historically been hard to secure — including experienced executive assistants and project administrators, who in busier markets rarely stay available for long. The challenge for both sides right now isn't really the market itself. It's cutting through. More applications per role makes screening harder. More roles going unfilled despite available candidates suggests the matching process is where things are breaking down. That's where we come in. We know how to find the signal in the noise — for both sides of the equation. Cox Purtell has been placing corporate support professionals in Sydney for over 30 years, and in a market like this one, that experience matters. Hiring or looking for your next move? Let's talk. 02 9220 3400

Hiring from overseas? Your first hurdle isn't finding the candidate. For most Australian businesses, the harder part is qualifying as a Standard Business Sponsor — meeting the caveats around company size and turnover, working through the application, and carrying the ongoing compliance obligations that come with it. You can skip all of that. Cox Purtell holds an On-Hire Labour Agreement with the Australian Department of Home Affairs. We hold the sponsor licence, and we can place skilled overseas professionals on a Subclass 482 (Skills in Demand) visa directly into your business. The size and turnover thresholds that block most SMEs from sponsoring? They don't apply to you under our agreement. That makes it a practical route for: → Businesses establishing themselves in Australia → SMEs that don't meet the size or turnover thresholds → Hiring managers without the bandwidth for sponsorship admin If sponsorship is the thing slowing your overseas hiring down, there's a faster way. More on how it works → https://lnkd.in/gXvmySrj

There's something really lovely about taking a moment to stop, share a meal, and connect with the people around you. On Tuesday our landlord hosted a delicious EOFY lunch for their tenants. It was great to share the table with someone Amy had recently placed with one of our Tech clients in the building — a great guy who we loved introducing to more of the team over a well-deserved meal together. Amy Colton , Rupert Turner & Jenny Miller were sent back to their desks with the most gorgeous flowers so the Cox Purtell office is looking particularly beautiful right now, and so are a few of our homes! 😄 Thank you Christie Spaces — you really do make this building feel like a community.

The latest SEEK data shows national job ads fell 0.8% in May and are down 4.5% year-on-year. For the Sydney tech market, that headline number tells only part of the story.Because beneath the broader softening, the tech sector is still moving — just differently than it was 12 months ago. SEEK recorded a 2.0% month-on-month increase in Science & Technology job ads in May. And SEEK's Chief Economist noted that while hiring in automation-exposed roles is pausing, it's less about AI replacing jobs and more about businesses taking stock before they add headcount. What that actually looks like on the ground in Sydney right now is a market that has become more selective, not quieter. Employers across engineering, data, AI, DevOps and cybersecurity are still hiring — but they're looking for proof of impact, not just experience on a page. If you've shipped something, scaled something, or secured something measurable, that's what's cutting through. For candidates, it's worth knowing that software and applications programmers remain one of Australia's fastest growing occupations, and AI skills are becoming a genuine differentiator — the share of Australian job ads mentioning artificial intelligence doubled over the past year. For clients, the market presents a real opportunity. The talent pool is deeper than it's been, and with more candidates in market, the right person for a hard-to-fill role may now actually be available. At Cox Purtell, our technology team stays close to what's moving — so we can give both candidates and clients an honest read of where things stand. Want to know what the current market means for your team or your next move? Let's talk. 02 9220 3400

Happy New Financial Year! FY26 is done. Whatever it threw at you — a tighter market, harder-to-fill roles, more competition for the right talent — you navigated it. FY27 starts today, and the landscape is shifting in some interesting ways. Job ad volumes have softened nationally, but there's a silver lining for those ready to move. With applications per role up 5.5% year-on-year, there's genuine depth in the candidate market for the first time in a while — meaning the talent that was hard to reach 12 months ago may now be within reach. For hiring managers with plans to grow their teams this financial year, the conditions are worth paying attention to. We're heading into FY27 energised and ready to help our clients and candidates make the most of what the new year has to offer. Here's to a big one.