Local Government Recruitment Agency Australia

Yes. Chandler Macleod partners with over 60 local councils across Australia, including metropolitan city councils, regional councils, and rural shires. We have teams in regional NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia, which means we can source candidates in local labour markets where most recruitment agencies have no presence. This is particularly important for councils in areas experiencing skills shortages in trades, engineering, and planning.

Yes. Local government is unique in requiring recruitment across two very different workforces: professional office roles such as town planners, engineers, accountants, lawyers, and HR managers, and operational roles such as parks and gardens workers, roads and drainage crews, water and sewerage technicians, and customer service officers. Chandler Macleod has dedicated capability across both, including a trades and labour practice for operational council workforce.

Yes. Councils in each state operate under specific enterprise agreements and modern award conditions, including the Local Government (State) Award in NSW and equivalent instruments in VIC, QLD, SA, and WA. Our account managers understand classification structures, rates of pay, allowances, and the conditions that apply to both permanent and labour hire workers engaged by councils. We provide councils with workers who are correctly classified and paid from day one.

Chandler Macleod holds memberships on local government recruitment panels across multiple Australian states. Panel approval allows councils to engage us directly without running a separate tender process, which reduces procurement lead times and simplifies engagement. Contact your state account manager to confirm the current panel arrangements in your jurisdiction and whether your council can engage us under an existing arrangement.

Yes. Chandler Macleod's executive search practice has experience recruiting for council CEO, director, and senior manager roles. We use our proprietary BestFit™ psychometric methodology to assess leadership capability, values alignment, and community orientation, which are particularly important in council executive appointments where the successful candidate will be accountable to both councillors and the community. We understand the governance requirements and merit-based selection obligations that apply to council executive recruitment.