Protech surges into SIA top 10 staffing firms in Australia
Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) has just released its ranking of the top 30 staffing firms in Australia by revenue, including year-on-year growth, noting that generalist companies were lagging the performance of more specialised businesses, especially those with a focus on the mining and renewable energy sectors.
According to SIA research the five largest staffing firms in Australia, based on 2024 calendar year Australian staffing revenue, are (with comparison to 2023 revenue in brackets):
- Hays, (the London-based owner of Hays Australia), $2.23 billion (down 27%)
- Recruit (the Tokyo-based owner of Chandler Macleod and peoplebank), $1.95 billion (down 7.4%)
- Persol (the Tokyo-based owner of Persol Australia and Programmed), $1.75 billion (up 6.3%)
- Randstad (the Amsterdam-based owner of Randstad Australia), $1.60 billion (down 11.5%)
- PeopleIN, (listed on the ASX), $1.14 billion (down 4%)
Overall, the report listed 30 Australia-based staffing firms with annual revenue exceeding $75 million. Those firms generated $17.6 billion in 2024, accounting for 39% of the market, according to the report.
Australia’s staffing market ranks as the sixth-largest in the world, with revenue of $45 billion in 2024, down 5% from 2023. The 2024 total market size was the third-best ever, behind 2023 ($46.8 billion) and 2022 ($45.6 billion).
Eighteen of the top 30 firms reported year-on-year declines in revenue.
Brisbane-headquartered (locally owned) construction, mining, engineering, and renewables recruiter, Protech, jumped four places within the ranking to break into the top 10 at tenth, recording the most significant percentage jump in revenue of any of the top 10-ranked businesses.
The credibility of the rankings is somewhat undermined by the unexplained omissions of prominent local brands such as ANZUK Education, Davidson Group, CGH Group, Ambition, Sharp & Carter and people2people.
SIA notes that the report’s “….ranking was created using data from third-party sources, feedback directly from the companies, and estimates based on our research and calculations,” so it is unclear whether the ownership structure of the brands listed above, or some other factor(s) caused their respective exclusion from SIA’s top 30 ranking.
Based on the most recently publicly available information (and my somewhat-informed guesses), I would have expected ANZUK Education, Davidson, and CGH to all be inside the top 20, with Sharp & Carter, people2people, and Ambition making the top 30 ahead of the businesses that just made the $75 million annual revenue benchmark.
Based on a Shortlist article from November 2024, listing staffing businesses and their respective FY2023 revenue, other staffing companies, unless they they suffered a calamitous loss of revenue the following year, would appear to meet the minimum annual revenue criteria to make the Top 30 ranking: Blue Collar Recruitment, Medrecruit, Korn Ferry, Hudson Australia, Robert Half Australia, Total Resource Solutions and Global Medics.
Other significant brands whose revenue I am not prepared to guess but would likely be in contention for a place inside the top 30 include H1Healthcare, Labourpower, Stellar Recruitment, Staff Australia, and Six Degrees Executive. I am sure others have escaped my attention.
The top 30-ranked business, Placements International, is a curious organisation. Their LinkedIn company page has never listed jobs or posted anything else. The company says it is “…a leading supplier of recruitment, contractor management and mobility support services to …… major projects in Australia, PNG, Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East, Indonesia and Solomon Islands.”
Although the business was established in Brisbane in 1987, the company’s About Us page provides no information about the founder(s) or any current employees.
The company’s labour hire licence in Queensland lists Michael Machin as the only responsible director. A short IBIS World summary of Rodco Pty. Ltd, the company that operates the Placements International trading name, lists Machin as the company’s chief executive and notes that “In 2025 the company generated total revenue of $114,950,000 and…had 32 employees, including employees from all subsidiaries under the company’s control.”
Machin is a very private person, with no digital footprint of any kind, including no photos. The only clue to his life is a 2022 article in the AFR, which notes, “Michael Machin and his family gave the four paintings and three sculptures to the NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) last year.”
In commentary accompanying the ranking, SIA noted that, “Niche agencies often outperform large generalists in securing contracts where industry-specific expertise and relationships are crucial. The varying employment laws and licensing requirements across states and territories also make it harder for a single player to dominate nationally. In summary, Australia’s geographic spread, diverse sectors, and regulatory landscape pose significant barriers to agencies seeking to achieve market consolidation.”
History would show that statement to be true. However, I don’t know of any single player dominating a significant country market (maybe Randstad in the Netherlands?), suggesting the staffing market in Australia would be typical of staffing markets worldwide.
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