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Need staff without sponsorship? Hire people already in Australia. For this sector: Construction and trades: hire in Australia
CrossNation is a construction and trades recruitment agency that recruits electricians, welder-fabricators, diesel mechanics and other trades for construction, maintenance and engineering employers in every state and territory, from candidates based in Australia and from overseas. Licences are issued by state regulators, so we record each candidate's licence status for you to verify. Our fee is 12% for roles under $50k, 15% for $50k–$90k, 18% above $90k, 20% executive, charged on first-year remuneration (salary plus super), plus GST, and only when a placement succeeds, with a 90-day replacement guarantee (replacement, not refund), subject to our agreement.
Updated . See our terms
12% for roles under $50k, 15% for $50k–$90k, 18% above $90k, 20% executive.
Fees are charged on first-year remuneration (salary plus super), plus GST. Charged only when a placement succeeds. No placement, no fee.
Christmas offer: sign our agreement by 11:59pm AEDT, Friday 27 November 2026 and pay 12% on every role. See offer terms.
90-day replacement guarantee (replacement, not refund), subject to our agreement
See our terms.
For construction, maintenance and engineering employers that need licensed or qualified tradespeople.
Structured steps from brief to onboarding support.
Compliance and fit checks before employer time is spent.
Jobs open on CrossNation now. Listings are not job offers.
Brief: you tell us the trade, licence needed, site location, start date and whether you want onshore, overseas or either.
Search: we look at candidates based in Australia first when the start date is soon, then at overseas candidates for roles you can plan ahead for.
Screen: we talk through each candidate's experience against your brief and record their licence and ticket status, which you can verify with the licensing body.
Interview: you meet the shortlist and choose who to offer.
Offer and start: we coordinate the offer; overseas candidates need their licence recognition and any visa steps completed before they start.
State licences for regulated trades such as electrical work, issued by the state regulator.
Safety tickets such as the construction induction (White Card) where the site requires them.
Work rights for onshore candidates, shown by the candidate's VEVO result.
Award or enterprise agreement coverage, set by the employer's industry.
Without an enterprise agreement, minimum pay for on-site building and construction work can be set by the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 [MA000020], and minimum pay for electricians by the Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2020 [MA000025]. Which one applies depends on the work and the employer, so confirm it before you set a salary. The figures below were re-read on the Fair Work award pages on 27 October 2026. These are award minimums for full-time employees, the same in every state. An enterprise agreement can apply instead of the award, and employers can pay more. Superannuation is paid on top at 12%. The Fair Work pay guides for both awards print rates that include allowances, so their figures are higher than the minimums here.
Hiring demand in this industry group: 20.0 thousand vacancies were advertised in August 2026, and 19.5 thousand a year earlier. Across the six quarters to August 2026 the count ranged between 18.1 thousand (Nov 2025) and 22.3 thousand (May 2025), so expect competition for staff to move with the season.
Source: ABS: Job Vacancies, Australia, August 2026 (job vacancies by industry, original series) (retrieved 4 October 2026)
Energy Safe Victoria says you must have a licence issued by Energy Safe Victoria to work as an electrical worker in Victoria. Its page also covers mutual recognition and gap training for people licensed elsewhere.
Source: Energy Safe Victoria: Electrical licences (retrieved 4 October 2026)
In Victoria, electrical workers are licensed by Energy Safe Victoria while plumbers and gasfitters are licensed by the Building and Plumbing Commission.
Source: Energy Safe Victoria: Working with tradespeople (retrieved 4 October 2026)
These checks work for any agency. Each one is something you can ask for or verify before you send a brief.
Ask for the percentage, what it is charged on and the event that makes the fee payable, in writing, before you send a brief.
CrossNation: CrossNation's fee is 12% for roles under $50k, 15% for $50k–$90k, 18% above $90k, 20% executive, charged on first-year remuneration (salary plus super), plus GST, and only when a placement succeeds.
Ask for the guarantee period and how it applies in the agreement you sign, not only on the agency's website.
CrossNation: CrossNation placements carry a 90-day replacement guarantee (replacement, not refund), subject to our agreement. See our terms.
Ask what the agency checks before it shortlists a candidate, and what record it keeps, such as qualifications, registration or licence status and work rights, so you can verify each one yourself.
CrossNation: CrossNation records each candidate's qualifications, registration or licence status and work rights so employers can verify them.
If you are considering an overseas hire, ask who gives visa advice. Only a registered migration agent can give migration advice, and the register of migration agents is public (https://www.mara.gov.au/). This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.
CrossNation: CrossNation is a recruitment agency, not a registered migration agent. The employer holds or obtains its own approval.
Ask for referee details for a candidate you are shortlisting, call the referees yourself, and ask the agency how it checks references and what it passes on to you.
Ask for the licence class, number and state for each candidate and check it with the state regulator before you make an offer. Your business may need its own registration or contractor licence as well.
CrossNation: CrossNation records each candidate's licence and ticket status for you to verify with the licensing body.
Ask which tickets the agency records, including the general construction induction card (white card) and any ticket your site adds, and check the cards before the person starts.
CrossNation: CrossNation records the tickets each candidate tells us they hold against the list in your brief.
Regulated trades, such as electrical work, need a licence from the state regulator, and overseas qualifications must be recognised first. Tell us the licence the role needs and we will record each candidate's status.
CrossNation recruits for employers across Australia, in every state and territory, in metro and regional areas. We are based in Victoria.
It depends on the work and the employer, and an enterprise agreement can apply instead of an award. Where the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 [MA000020] applies, a level 3 (CW/ECW 3) employee must be paid at least $1,119.10 a week ($29.45 an hour) for full-time employees from 1 July 2026, before the industry allowance. Where the Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2020 [MA000025] applies, electrical worker grade 5 must be paid at least $1,119.10 a week ($29.45 an hour) from 1 July 2026, before allowances. Employers can pay more.
CrossNation's fee for construction and trades recruitment is 12% for roles under $50k, 15% for $50k–$90k, 18% above $90k, 20% executive, charged on first-year remuneration (salary plus super), plus GST, and only when a placement succeeds. If no placement is made, there is no fee. Placements carry a 90-day replacement guarantee (replacement, not refund), subject to our agreement. Wages, superannuation and other employment costs stay with the employer.
It depends on the candidate and on bodies CrossNation does not control, such as registration boards, licensing regulators and the Department of Home Affairs, so CrossNation does not give a timeline. For construction and trades, those steps can include a skills assessment and state licensing. Many employers ask for both onshore and overseas candidates so an urgent vacancy is not held up.
The Department of Home Affairs says a standard business sponsor has obligations to meet while it sponsors someone. They include telling the department in writing when certain events occur, such as the sponsored person ceasing employment or a change in their duties, making sure the person works only in the occupation nominated, giving terms and conditions of employment that are not less favourable than those of an equivalent Australian worker, keeping records, and cooperating with inspectors. The sponsor must also pay the costs of the recruitment process itself, including recruitment agent fees, and must not charge them to the sponsored worker. A sponsor that does not meet its obligations can face sanctions. The employer is the sponsor. CrossNation is a recruitment agency, does not sponsor and cannot promise a visa or an approval. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.
Placements carry a 90-day replacement guarantee (replacement, not refund), subject to our agreement. How it applies is set out in the agreement between CrossNation and the employer, so ask for the guarantee terms in writing before you sign. See our terms at https://crossnation.com.au/terms. The guarantee is not a promise of any offer, visa or migration outcome.
Send a hiring brief, get a shortlist plan within the fee terms.
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Our fee is 12% for roles under $50k, 15% for $50k–$90k, 18% above $90k, 20% executive, charged on first-year remuneration (salary plus super), plus GST, with a 90-day replacement guarantee (replacement, not refund), subject to our agreement.
