There is no single mandatory checklist for a job advertisement in Australia. What exists is a short set of legal rules about what an ad must not do (underpay, discriminate, mislead), plus clear official guidance on what a good ad contains. This guide covers both, so you can publish an ad that is lawful, attracts the right applicants and does not cost you a hire later.
TL;DR
- No law lists the fields every Australian job ad must contain, but the ad must not offer pay below the applicable award, enterprise agreement or National Minimum Wage.
- Do not use wording that discourages or excludes people on protected grounds such as age, sex or marital status, unless the attribute is a genuine job requirement.
- Do not make false or unsubstantiated claims about pay, commission, hours, location or the nature of the work. The Australian Consumer Law applies to employment ads.
- Visa-sponsored roles can carry extra advertising rules, such as a minimum of four weeks and at least two advertisements where labour market testing applies.
- A strong ad states the title, location, pay, hours, duties, essential requirements and how to apply.
Table of Contents
- Is there a legal checklist for job ads in Australia?
- Pay: the one rule with real teeth
- Discrimination: what your wording can and cannot signal
- Misleading ads: claims that create legal risk
- Visa-sponsored roles: extra advertising rules
- What a good job ad includes
- Where the ad goes matters too
- Our perspective
- When it makes sense to hand the ad to a recruiter
- Pre-publication checklist
- FAQ
- Sources
Is there a legal checklist for job ads in Australia?
Not in the sense most employers expect. No Australian law says “every ad must show X, Y and Z”. The rules work the other way: they prohibit certain content. The three that matter for almost every employer are:
- Pay rules under the Fair Work system.
- Anti-discrimination law, enforced through the Australian Human Rights Commission and state bodies.
- Consumer law on misleading conduct, enforced by the ACCC.
On top of these, official bodies publish guidance on what a good ad includes. Treat that as best practice rather than legal obligation. Business Victoria presents its list of details as content for an effective advertisement, not as a nationwide mandatory checklist, and that is the right way to read it.
One common question is whether you must advertise a vacancy internally before going external. For most private employers there is no general legal requirement to do so. Some enterprise agreements, union arrangements or internal policies may require it, so check your own agreement or award before you post.
Pay: the one rule with real teeth
The Fair Work Ombudsman’s job ads guidance says an advertisement must not offer pay below the employee’s minimum entitlement under the applicable award, enterprise agreement or, where neither applies, the National Minimum Wage order. In practice that means you need to know which instrument covers the role before you write the salary line.
Three practical points follow.
- The rule is not new. The Fair Work Ombudsman states that the prohibition took effect on 7 January 2023 and applies even to an ad first posted before that date if it is still active. Old ads left running on a careers page count.
- Pieceworkers need a periodic rate. Where a pieceworker is also entitled to a periodic pay rate, the ad must specify that rate or state that a periodic rate will apply, per the same guidance.
- “Competitive salary” is legal but weak. Nothing in the rules above forces you to publish a figure, but a stated range removes the biggest reason good candidates scroll past. Where you do publish a range, its bottom end must still meet the minimum entitlement.
If you are unsure which award applies, the Fair Work Ombudsman is the place to confirm it, not a job board template.
Discrimination: what your wording can and cannot signal
An ad is often the first place an employer breaches anti-discrimination law, usually by accident. The Australian Human Rights Commission’s step-by-step guide to preventing discrimination in recruitment gives the core approach: focus on the skills and abilities needed for the job, avoid language that discourages applicants or implies only certain people will be considered, and mention personal characteristics only when they are genuine job requirements.
Wording to avoid
The same guide flags phrasing such as “seeking mature, experienced professional” as something that can discourage applicants or imply an age restriction. Its advice is to avoid restrictive words, phrases and euphemisms.
The Commission’s guidelines for writing and publishing recruitment advertisements add more:
- Avoid gender-specific titles such as “salesman”. Use “sales representative” or “sales consultant”.
- Avoid assumptions about marital status, such as asking for a “single” candidate.
- Avoid arbitrary upper-age limits.
Those guidelines also explain that under the Sex Discrimination Act it is unlawful to publish, or cause or permit the publication of, an advertisement indicating an intention to discriminate in employment terms or selection arrangements on covered grounds. Those grounds include sex, pregnancy, potential pregnancy and marital status. Note “cause or permit”: if a recruiter or job board publishes your wording, you are not automatically clear of responsibility.
Quick rewrites
| Risky wording | Safer wording |
|---|---|
| Young, energetic team player | Motivated team player who enjoys a fast pace |
| Mature, experienced professional | Professional with five or more years in a similar role |
| Salesman | Sales representative |
| Must be able-bodied | Must be able to lift 15 kg (only if this is a genuine requirement of the job) |
The last row matters. A physical requirement is acceptable when it is a real part of the work, and the Commission’s quick guide also expects employers to make application procedures accessible. Offer a phone number or email for applicants who cannot use an online form.
Essential versus desirable
The Commission’s recruitment and selection guidelines recommend separating essential from desirable criteria, making sure every requirement is genuinely job-related, and keeping the ad consistent with the criteria you later use to shortlist. If your ad says a degree is desirable and you then reject everyone without one, you have a problem.
Misleading ads: claims that create legal risk
Employment ads fall under the Australian Consumer Law. The ACCC’s guidance on misleading job and business opportunity adverts warns against false or unsubstantiated claims, and omissions, about the work, employment type, remuneration, location, training, holidays, commission structure or business opportunity. It also explains that a misleading impression can breach the law even without proof that a particular applicant was actually misled.
The same guidance points to section 18, which prohibits misleading or deceptive conduct, and section 31, which prohibits conduct likely to mislead about the availability, nature, terms or conditions of employment.
Where this trips up small businesses:
- “Earn up to $120,000” when the figure is a top-performer outlier and the base is far lower. State the base and describe commission honestly.
- “Full-time” for a role that is really casual or contract.
- “Sydney CBD” for a role based in an outer suburb or on client sites.
- “Fully trained” when training is unpaid or optional.
- Contractor roles dressed up as employment, or “business opportunities” that require the applicant to pay to start.
The fix is simple: write the ad you could defend line by line to the person who takes the job.
Visa-sponsored roles: extra advertising rules
If you plan to sponsor an overseas worker, the ad may do a second job as evidence. For pathways that require labour market testing, the Department of Home Affairs’ labour market testing page says to advertise the position in Australia for at least four weeks in at least two advertisements unless an exemption applies, and to keep evidence of the advertisements and their publication. The nomination salary and employment requirements must also be met.
When you lodge, the nomination form guide (a 2018 edition, so check it against current forms) says you provide advertisement details, including where and when it was published, its contents, any advertised salary, the outcomes, and copies or receipts.
Exemptions and evidence rules differ by visa and stream, and Home Affairs directs employers to check the current rules before hiring an overseas worker. If sponsorship is in play, confirm the requirements first, then write the ad. Do not repurpose an old one.
What a good job ad includes
Legal compliance is the floor. The ad also has to work. Pulling together the Business Victoria advice and the Queensland Government’s job ad guide, these are the elements worth including:
- Job title. Standard and searchable. “Accounts Payable Officer” beats “Numbers Ninja”.
- Location. The actual suburb or region, and whether hybrid or remote work is possible.
- Employment type and hours. Full-time, part-time, casual or fixed term, with the usual hours.
- Pay. A salary or range, with superannuation stated separately.
- Reporting line and business area. Who the person reports to and where the role sits.
- What the job involves. Five to eight key responsibilities, in plain language.
- Essential and desirable requirements. Qualifications, skills and experience, clearly separated.
- Benefits and culture. Only what is true and available.
- How to apply. What to send, where, by when, and who to contact with questions.
The Queensland guide also asks for honesty about the work, environment, benefits and challenges. That is not only an ethical point: it explains that realistic advertising helps the right people select themselves in and helps prevent dissatisfaction and early departure caused by a gap between the advertised and actual role. Every hiring manager has seen that gap cost money.
A short worked example
Compare two openings for the same role.
Weak: “Growing company seeks dynamic admin superstar. Competitive salary. Must be mature and reliable. Apply now.”
Stronger: “Administration Officer, Parramatta NSW. Full-time, 38 hours, Monday to Friday. $62,000 to $68,000 plus super. You will process supplier invoices, manage the shared inbox and support our two-person operations team. Essential: two years in an office administration role and confident Excel skills. Desirable: experience with MYOB. Send your CV and a short cover note to the address below by the closing date. Questions: call the number listed.”
The second version is longer, but it removes ambiguity on pay, hours, location and criteria, and it contains no age or character-trait filter. (The salary shown is an illustration, not a benchmark. Check the relevant award for your own role.)
Where the ad goes matters too
Content is half the job. The other half is putting it where suitable candidates look, with the right format for each platform. Our guides on posting a job online in Australia and recruitment advertising for Australian SMEs cover channels and costs, and our tips for posting jobs on SEEK cover that platform’s specifics. For ad structure, see our five-bullet job ad templates and the piece on why a compelling job advertisement matters.
Our perspective
We see the same pattern across small businesses of every kind: the ad is written in ten minutes, after the role has been vacant for a month. Pay is left vague because the owner has not decided it, essential and desirable criteria are mixed together, and the ad is copied from the previous person’s position description. The legal risk is real, but the commercial cost is bigger. A vague ad pulls in a large pile of unsuitable applications, and someone has to read every one.
Our advice is to settle three things before writing a word: the salary range, the three things the person must be able to do on day one, and the instrument (award or agreement) that sets the pay floor. If those are clear, the ad nearly writes itself, and screening takes hours instead of days.
This is also why we price recruitment the way we do. A flat fee means you are not paying a percentage of salary for a process that starts with a good brief. The ad is part of the work, not an upsell.
— Josh Townsend
When it makes sense to hand the ad to a recruiter
Writing and placing an ad yourself works well for roles where applicants are plentiful and the requirements are simple. It is harder when the role is specialised, when you cannot afford to wade through hundreds of CVs, or when you need to approach people who are not actively looking. Our guide on when to use a recruiter in Australia sets out the trade-offs.
If you decide to use one, we charge a fixed fee instead of a percentage of salary. Our Recruit option has an engagement fee of $895 and a placement fee of $3,900 to $5,000, depending on the salary of the role. Recruit+ has an engagement fee of $2,495 and a placement fee of $5,000 to $6,000. Optional extras include a $129 criminal check and a $199 psychometric evaluation per candidate. You can see how each tier works on our flat fee pricing page, and details of what happens if a hire does not work out are on our replacement campaign page, where a replacement campaign is $1,000. To start a conversation about your role, visit The Recruitment Alternative.
Pre-publication checklist
Before you press publish, run the ad through these questions:
- Does the pay meet the minimum under the award, agreement or National Minimum Wage?
- Is the salary or range stated, with super shown separately?
- Are title, location, employment type and hours accurate?
- Is every duty and benefit something you can deliver?
- Are essential and desirable criteria separated, and is each genuinely job-related?
- Would any phrase discourage a person on grounds of age, sex, marital status, disability or other protected attributes?
- Is there a clear way to apply, including an alternative for people who cannot use an online form?
- If the role may be sponsored, have you confirmed the visa-specific advertising rules first?
- Have you removed or updated any old versions of the ad that are still live?
FAQ
Do I have to put the salary in a job ad in Australia?
The sources reviewed here do not require every ad to show a salary. The firm rule is that the pay offered must not fall below the applicable award, enterprise agreement or National Minimum Wage. We still recommend a range, because it improves the quality of applications and avoids wasted interviews.
Can I say I want a young or experienced candidate?
Avoid it. The Australian Human Rights Commission treats phrases that imply an age restriction as potentially discouraging applicants. Describe the skills, experience and results the role needs instead, such as “three years in a similar role”.
Do I have to advertise a job internally first?
For most private employers, there is no general legal requirement to do so. Your enterprise agreement, a union arrangement or your own policy might require it, so check those documents. Advertising internally can still be a sensible first step for retention and speed.
How long must a job ad run for visa sponsorship?
Where labour market testing applies, Home Affairs says to advertise for at least four weeks in at least two advertisements, unless an exemption applies, and to keep evidence. Rules and exemptions vary by visa and stream, so check the current Home Affairs requirements before you advertise.
Can a misleading job ad get me in trouble if nobody was actually misled?
Yes. ACCC guidance says a misleading impression can breach the Australian Consumer Law without proof that a particular applicant was misled. Keep claims about pay, hours, location and commission accurate and specific.
Sources
- Job ads, Fair Work Ombudsman
- Pay secrecy, job ads and flexible work, Fair Work Ombudsman
- Write job descriptions and ads, Business Victoria
- How to write a job ad, Queensland Government
- A step-by-step guide to preventing discrimination in recruitment, Australian Human Rights Commission
- Guidelines for writing and publishing recruitment advertisements, Australian Human Rights Commission
- Quick guide to discrimination law, Australian Human Rights Commission
- Recruitment and selection guidelines, Australian Human Rights Commission
- Misleading job and business opportunity adverts, ACCC
- Labour market testing, Department of Home Affairs
- Explore options for employers, Department of Home Affairs
- TSS Nomination form guide for applicants, Department of Home Affairs
