Aged Care & Healthcare Recruitment Agencies: How They Work
An aged care recruitment agency finds, screens and places care staff on a permanent, temporary or casual basis, and a healthcare recruitment agency does the same for clinical and support roles. You pay a fee or a margin, and the agency or labour hire provider handles screening, payroll and paperwork. This guide explains how the models differ, what to check and what the law requires.
- Agencies work in two ways: recruitment, where you hire the worker directly, and labour hire, where the provider employs the worker and you pay for each hour.
- Labour hire workers are employed by the provider, which must pay at least the award or minimum rate, such as $33.05 per hour for award-free casuals from 1 July 2026.
- Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT have labour hire licensing schemes, while NSW has none, so check the state your facility operates in.
- Fees are not fixed, so get written quotes (indicative — get quotes) and check screening, registration and insurance before you sign.
What is an aged care recruitment agency?
An aged care recruitment agency sources workers for residential aged care, home care and community care. These roles include personal care workers, support workers, cleaners, kitchen staff and administration.
A healthcare recruitment agency covers wider clinical settings such as hospitals, clinics and allied health. Both can work under a recruitment model or a labour hire model, so ask which one is on offer.
| Term | Meaning | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Recruitment model | The agency finds a candidate, and you employ them directly after placement. | You carry the payroll, leave and safety duties as the employer. |
| Labour hire model | The agency employs the worker and places them with your facility, which is the host. | The agency pays wages, super and leave, and you share safety duties. |
| Temp-to-perm | A worker starts through the agency and later moves onto your payroll. | It lets you test fit before you hire, with terms set in the agency agreement. |
| Host employer | The facility where the labour hire worker does the work. | The host must manage risks on site and keep accurate timesheets. |
| Screening | Checks on identity, qualifications, registration and background for the role. | Care work involves vulnerable people, so screening matters. |
Who uses a healthcare recruitment agency
Most private-sector employers are in the national workplace relations system under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). NSW state public sector employees, and some local government employees, are in the NSW state system, so a public hospital may follow different rules.
| Situation | What applies |
|---|---|
| Residential aged care facility | Often needs extra staff at short notice for leave, illness or occupancy changes. |
| Home care provider | Uses casual or part-time support workers across a rostered round of visits. |
| Small provider | Fewer than 15 employees, so unfair dismissal applies after 12 months, and no NES redundancy pay applies. |
| Larger provider | Unfair dismissal applies after 6 months, and NES redundancy pay applies at 15 or more employees. |
| Worker through labour hire | Employed by the provider as casual, part-time or permanent, and paid by them. |
| Genuine contractor | Not an employee, though an ABN does not decide that question. |
Sham contracting is illegal. Never classify a care worker as a contractor to avoid leave or super when the relationship is employment.
Aged care recruitment agency fees and costs
Fees vary by model, role and hiring volume, so treat any figure as indicative.
| Model | How you pay | Cost note |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent placement | A one-off fee, usually a share of the first-year salary. | (indicative — get quotes) |
| Labour hire | An hourly charge that covers wages, super, leave, insurance and a margin. | (indicative — get quotes) |
| Temp-to-perm | Hourly charge during the trial, then a conversion fee or a fee-free period. | (indicative — get quotes) |
| Wages under labour hire | At least the award rate, with modern award minimums up 4.75% from 1 July 2026. | Check the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide |
| Super | 12% of ordinary time earnings, paid within 7 business days of payday. | Included in the agency's charge |
Read our guide to recruitment agency fees for how each charge is built up.
How to choose an aged care recruitment agency step by step
A short checklist protects residents and your budget when cover is needed fast.
- Decide whether you need a permanent hire, a temp-to-perm arrangement or short-term labour hire cover.
- Ask each agency which roles it supplies and how it screens for qualifications, registration and background checks.
- Get written quotes with the full cost, the margin, the conversion terms and the cancellation notice.
- Check the agency's insurance, including workers compensation cover and public liability.
- Confirm the provider is licensed where the law requires it, and read our guide on labour hire licence in Australia.
- Run a small trial placement, then review timesheets, feedback and any incidents before you commit.
Employer obligations when you use an agency
- Share work health and safety duties with the provider, and run a site induction for every labour hire worker on the first shift.
- Sign off timesheets accurately so the provider can pay the correct hours, penalties and allowances.
- Check the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide for the award covering the role, because rates and penalties differ.
- Keep time and wage records for 7 years if you employ the worker, and issue payslips within 1 working day of payday.
- Manage psychosocial hazards under the SafeWork NSW Code of Practice, because care work can be demanding.
- Take out workers compensation insurance through icare where required, unless annual wages are $7,500 or less.
- Report payroll information through Single Touch Payroll on or before each payday if you are the employer.
Screening and checks for care staff
Confirm the checks your role requires before the first shift, using only lawful screening.
- Get written consent before any police check, and assess a criminal record for relevance to the role.
- A National Police Check in NSW costs $58.60 for a name and date of birth check, or $221.70 with fingerprints, in 2026-27.
- Child-related work needs a Working with Children Check instead of a police check.
- Confirm any professional registration or qualification the role needs directly with the relevant regulator.
- Check the right to work in Australia and keep copies of the evidence on the worker's file.
- Read our police check NSW guide before you order checks.
- Keep a dated record of each check and who approved it, so the facility can show its process if asked.
Labour hire licensing and care staffing
Licensing differs by state, so a provider may need a licence in one state and not in another.
- Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT have labour hire licensing schemes.
- NSW has no labour hire licensing scheme, and is working with other jurisdictions on a nationally consistent approach.
- Victoria's expanded fit and proper person and financial viability rules started 1 June 2026.
- Newly covered South Australian providers had to hold a licence by 29 July 2026.
- Read what labour hire is and the temp agency guide for how the arrangement works.
- Read about outsourced recruitment (RPO) and construction labour hire for related models.
Common mistakes when using an agency
- Choosing on price alone, without checking screening, insurance and licensing.
- Forgetting that you share safety duties with the labour hire provider.
- Signing off timesheets late, which delays pay for the worker.
- Assuming a labour hire worker is your employee, or that you must pay their super.
- Skipping the induction because the worker has done similar work before.
- Ignoring the conversion terms, then facing a surprise fee when you hire the worker directly.
Aged care recruitment agency FAQ
What does an aged care recruitment agency do?
It finds, screens and places care workers and support staff. Under recruitment, you employ the worker directly. Under labour hire, the agency employs and pays the worker, and you pay for hours worked.
How is a healthcare recruitment agency different?
A healthcare recruitment agency covers hospitals, clinics and allied health, while an aged care agency focuses on residential and home care. Both can place staff on a permanent, temporary or casual basis.
Do agencies need a licence in NSW?
NSW has no labour hire licensing scheme. Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT do, so a provider placing staff in those places may need a licence. Check the relevant state regulator.
How much does an aged care recruitment agency cost?
Fees vary, so get written quotes (indicative — get quotes). Labour hire is an hourly charge that covers wages, super, insurance and margin, while permanent placement is a one-off fee.
Next step
This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice, so check the Fair Work Ombudsman, the ATO or an employment lawyer for your situation. Start with our guide on how recruitment agencies work. For non-clinical support such as cleaning and general labour, talk to TQN Personnel about host employer services.