Last updated: November 2026
A recruitment agency fee in Australia generally runs 10% to 25% of the first-year package. For a building products BDM placed through me, that lands around $20,000 to $25,000 plus GST. The fee pays for the work behind the CV, reaching people who aren't applying, screening them properly and running the process, and a six-month replacement guarantee after it.
The fee conversation is normally a dance. Ten minutes of questions first. Then a number that starts high with obvious room to come down. I got bored of it, so my rates are written down on my fees page. That saves the messing about at the top of a call. It starts on the problem instead. This post is the other half of that page. What the money buys, when it's worth it, and when you should keep it.
How much does a recruitment agency charge for a sales hire in Australia?
Recruitment agency fees for permanent sales hires in Australia generally sit between 10% and 25% of first-year package. Mine are 13% retained, 15% exclusive contingent and 17% non-exclusive contingent. They're calculated on base plus super plus car allowance. Commission never counts.
A worked example. A BDM on $120,000 base, 12% super ($14,400) and a $20,000 car allowance has a fee basis of $154,400. At 15% that's $23,160 plus GST. Most of the BDM placements I make land somewhere between $20,000 and $25,000.
The percentage is only half the story. What the percentage is applied to moves the invoice as much as the rate does, so ask before you sign anything. The recruitment fee calculator runs any agency's quote, mine included. That's the end of the maths.
What does a recruitment fee actually pay for?
A recruitment fee pays for everything that happens before a CV lands in your inbox. The CV is the last five minutes of the job. Here's the rest:
- The network. I've recruited building products sales people exclusively since 2017. A lot of the people I place were never applying for anything.
- People who aren't looking. The best BDM in your market has a job, a car and a territory they like. They aren't scrolling Seek on a Sunday night. Someone has to call them and give them a reason to listen.
- Someone chasing full time. Finding the right people, educating them on why your role is worth a conversation, and following up when they go quiet. You have a business to run.
- Speed, without the race. My markets are already mapped, so the search starts warm. A recruiter outside the niche starts from scratch. That doesn't mean firing over anyone to look busy. On an exclusive I send people who want the role and are right for it. Not people sent to cover myself.
- Tools. We pay for sourcing tools that speed the search up. You'd be buying them to make one hire.
- A working bullshit meter. A CV tells you what someone was responsible for. A proper interview tells you what they actually did. So does a reference check that's built to surface something.
- Knowing who to avoid. Including the people who've had more jobs than their CV admits to.
- Knowing your competitors. Who sells against you, and who inside those businesses is worth a call.
- Running the process. Interviews booked, feedback chased, and candidates kept warm when the second interview shifts because the state manager is on site.
- The awkward bits. Checking the package will land before the role goes out. Handling the counter-offer between offer and start date. Running a confidential search when the person you're replacing is still in the seat.
- Advice on the role itself. Whether it's a Specification Manager or a senior BDM with a nicer title. What the package needs to look like. Not every recruiter does this part. I do.
Why not just put an ad on Seek?
A Seek ad finds people who are looking, and most of the people worth hiring aren't. An ad works when the role is simple, the brand pulls applicants and the candidate pool is active. Some roles really don't need me, and I'll say so on the first call.
Where an ad falls over is the specialist seat. The specification manager nobody can find. The BDM who already holds the relationships you want. Those people don't apply. They get asked.
What happens if the hire doesn't work out?
Every placement I make carries a six-month replacement guarantee. Three months is common across the market. I went with six for a few reasons.
Six months lines up with standard probation. It doesn't rush anyone into a call on a new starter in week ten. It gives the candidate a fair go at succeeding. And it shares the risk properly between us. I can't offer forever. Nobody can.
If a replacement is needed, I treat it like a first placement. Same effort, same process. Finding a new client is harder than keeping one, and I'd rather build the relationship than win the invoice. The fee follows the right placement. It was never the point. The full terms sit on the fees page. The one condition is the invoice being paid within the seven-day terms.
When should a hiring manager not pay a recruitment fee?
A hiring manager shouldn't pay a recruitment fee for a role the business isn't ready to fill. Quite often the hard conversation on a first call is that the role isn't ready. The brief is still moving, the package won't land the person they want, or nobody has decided who the hire reports to. The hiring readiness scorecard takes ten minutes and saves a lot of pain.
The other two are simpler. Roles outside my niche, and roles that just aren't fillable.
I said no to an operations manager hire earlier this year. Technical, worth a fee, tempting. I'd been burned before chasing money outside my lane. Three months starting from square one, a shortlist of people I'd never speak to again, and a client who quietly loses faith. I passed it to someone who does that work. Not all business is good business.
Are all recruitment agencies the same?
No. Recruitment has low barriers to entry, so you get bad actors, same as any industry. You also get great ones. The difference shows up before the first CV does.
Ask any recruiter what they'll do before they send you someone. If the answer is "advertise it and forward the applicants", keep your money and run the ad yourself. If they can name the people in your market, who you sell against and why your last hire didn't stick, the fee starts to make sense. Specialist vs generalist goes deeper on picking one, and retained vs contingent vs exclusive covers which model fits your search.
If you'd rather talk it through on your own role, fifteen minutes, no pitch. Book a conversation.
James Bowesman is a building products sales recruiter at Specified Select Group. He has recruited sales talent in Australian building products, lighting and A&D since 2017.