Public sector and government recruitment

A team in the office smiling at a computer

The right people, in the right roles, are crucial to delivering exceptional public services.

With our comprehensive range of solutions, we recruit talent across all levels and specialties within the public sector. With a supportive and collaborative approach, we offer extensive expertise and job market insights to place the right people in your roles.

Register a vacancy with our specialist recruitment consultants today.

Your trusted public sector recruitment agency

As one of Australia’s leading government recruitment agencies, Hays connects skilled professionals with public sector opportunities at all levels of government.

Local government recruitment

Local governments play a vital role in delivering essential services to communities across Australia. With offices nationwide, spanning cities and regional areas, our local recruiters are best placed to find the right talent for your vacancies.

We provide tailored local government recruitment solutions for councils, municipalities and regional authorities, filling roles in:

Urban planning and infrastructure
Community and social services
Regulatory and environmental services
Administration and corporate services

Federal government recruitment

Hays is an authorised federal government recruitment agency, sourcing talent for Australian public service (APS) and executive level (EL) roles across various government departments and agencies. Our team of federal government recruiters understands the unique requirements of public sector recruitment, ensuring the right candidates are placed in roles that drive success.

We recruit across the APS Capability Framework, covering APS1 – APS6, EL1 – EL2 and SES for various positions:

Temporary recruitment: Provide skilled temporary and contract professionals to meet short-term workforce needs.
Permanent recruitment: Source long-term government employees who align with agency objectives.
Entry-level recruitment: Support APS and graduate pathways to bring new talent into the public sector.
Executive search: Identify and secure experienced professionals for senior APS and EL roles.

We work closely with government departments such as:

Department of Defence
Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
Department of Home Affairs
Services Australia

State Government Recruitment

State governments manage key public services, from health and education to transport and emergency response. Our state government recruitment services support hiring in:

Healthcare and social services
Education and training
Transport and infrastructure
Law enforcement and emergency services

Why partner with Hays?

As a leading government recruitment agency in Australia with 37 offices nationwide, such scale grants access to a large pool of candidates for each vacancy. Discover why more government organisations are partnering with Hays.

Approved supplier

We’re an approved supplier of key local, state and federal government recruitment and labour-hire agreements. We pride ourselves on our strong relationships with a diverse range of clients, including:

Not-for-profit and charitable organisations
The education sector
Publicly funded healthcare providers and utilities

We understand the complex legislative framework that underpins public sector jobs. Whether you're hiring for federal government departments or local government jobs, we source exceptional talent for every team.

Comprehensive recruitment services

We have dedicated public sector teams who operate within each of our specialisms. We train our consultants to understand the unique needs of the public sector, including relevant legislation, policies and recruitment principles. We screen, interview and reference-check candidates for permanent, temporary and contract roles.

Explore some of the recruitment services we offer our clients:

Interview training
Run assessment centres
Graduate campaigns
Manage bulk recruitment rounds
Provide scribing services
Offer psychometric testing
Supply a payroll service

Core values

Our expertise ensures that all public service requirements of merit, fairness, equity, transparency and confidentiality are upheld.

As a trusted recruitment partner, we’re also committed to supplying a diverse shortlist and helping our clients create inclusive workplaces. We are an equal opportunities employer with policies, procedures and relationships in place to promote our understanding of all forms of diversity.

As part of our commitment to drive positive diversity and inclusion change, we’ve produced several DE&I reports on this business-critical issue.

Innovators

Connecting organisations with the right talent is at the heart of what we do. This is why we have our finger on the pulse of emerging advancements and are prepared to adapt our recruitment process accordingly. By innovating through technology, we deliver precise client-candidate matches.