How much does a Rec2Rec charge an agency in Australia?

TL;DR

• Two fee options. Managed Growth Partners (MGP) charges either 20% in one payment, or 16% first plus 3% at six months and 3% at 12 months. The 20%, or the first 16%, is invoiced when the client signs MGP’s contract (typically; terms can be negotiated). All percentages exclude GST (goods and services tax).
• The real difference is 2 percentage points. The staged option totals 22% if the hire stays a year, so it costs more overall but less at first.
• No retainer. MGP charges no retainer, and recruiters never pay.
• Early leavers are replaced, not refunded. If a placed recruiter leaves within six months of the hire’s start date, we replace them like for like, as long as the client has paid on time. Redundancy and restructure aren’t covered. The 3% payments, counted from when the client signs MGP’s contract, aren’t due if the hire is no longer in the role on the 6 or 12 month date.
• Same percentage everywhere. The percentage doesn’t change with seniority or market.

Decision matrix: your options for paying to hire a recruiter

One payment option: 20% in one payment

• Best when: you want one invoice and the lowest total cost, and you’re confident the hire will stay.
• Watch out for: the whole fee is invoiced when you sign MGP’s contract (typically; terms can be negotiated). If the hire leaves within six months of their start date, you get a like-for-like replacement, not a refund, as long as you’ve paid on time and the exit isn’t a redundancy or restructure.
• Cost or effort: 20%, paid once.

Staged option: 16% first, then 3% at six months and 3% at 12 months

• Best when: cash flow at the start matters, and you’d rather pay part of the fee only if the hire is still there.
• Watch out for: it costs 22% if the hire stays 12 months. That’s 2 percentage points more than the one payment option.
• Cost or effort: 16% first, invoiced when you sign MGP’s contract, rising to 22% over a year if the hire stays.

Another Rec2Rec (recruitment to recruitment) or recruitment agency, on its own terms

• Best when: you already have a recruiter you trust for this kind of hire.
• Watch out for: check what the percentage applies to, when it’s due, whether there’s a retainer and whether an early leaver gets a replacement or a rebate.
• Cost or effort: whatever their written terms say.

Hire it yourself with ads, referrals or a direct approach

• Best when: your brand already pulls proven billers, or you know the person you want and they’ll take your call.
• Watch out for: the hours your leaders spend sourcing and interviewing come out of their own billing time. Billers who aren’t looking may never see your ad.
• Cost or effort: no placement fee, just ad spend and leadership hours.

The case for hiring it yourself: If you already know the biller you want and they’re open to a conversation, go to them directly. No fee beats any fee. A Rec2Rec earns its fee when the people you want aren’t on the market.

Verdict: Pick the one payment option if total cost matters most and you trust the hire to stay. Pick the staged option if you’d rather pay less at first and pay the rest only if the hire is still there, knowing it costs 2 percentage points more over a year. If you can reach the person yourself, skip the fee.

What does MGP charge an agency to hire a recruiter?

MGP charges the hiring agency 20% in one payment, or 16% first plus 3% at six months and 3% at 12 months. We invoice the 20%, or the first 16%, when the client signs MGP’s contract (typically; terms can be negotiated). The percentage is calculated on the total package, which is base salary plus super (superannuation), so bonus and commission are excluded. All percentages exclude GST.

Here’s each part of the fee in plain terms:

• One payment option: 20%, invoiced once, when the client signs MGP’s contract.
• Staged option: 16% first, invoiced when the client signs MGP’s contract. The 3% at six months and the 3% at 12 months are counted from when the client signs MGP’s contract, and each is due only if the hire is still in the role on that date.
• Retainer: none.
• Who pays: the hiring agency. Recruiters never pay MGP.

How do the two fee options compare over 12 months?

The one payment option costs less overall: 20% against 22% for the staged option if the hire stays a year. The staged option costs less at first, at 16%, and spreads the rest over the first 12 months. Here’s how the payments fall.

When the client signs MGP’s contract (typically; terms can be negotiated)

• One payment option: 20%
• Staged option: 16%

Six months after the client signs MGP’s contract

• One payment option: nothing more (total 20%)
• Staged option: 3%, if the hire is still there (running total 19%)

12 months after the client signs MGP’s contract

• One payment option: nothing more (total 20%)
• Staged option: 3%, if the hire is still there (running total 22%)

The staged option means less at first, with part of the fee paid as the hire stays. The one payment option is 2 percentage points cheaper over a year. We’ve kept this to percentages because the dollar amount depends on the role, and we won’t guess at it.

What happens if the recruiter you hire leaves early?

If a recruiter MGP placed leaves within six months of the hire’s start date, we replace them like for like under our six-month replacement guarantee, subject to the conditions below. We don’t refund the fee. You get another recruiter in the seat instead.

Here’s how that plays out:

• Leaves within six months: we find a like-for-like replacement (conditions below). No refund.
• Staged option, hire doesn’t last: the 3% at six months and the 3% at 12 months, counted from when the client signed MGP’s contract, aren’t due if the hire is no longer in the role on that date.
• Replacement hired: the 6 and 12 month dates for the 3% payments stay counted from when the client signed MGP’s contract.
• Conditions: the client must pay on time, and the guarantee doesn’t cover redundancy or restructure.

A replacement keeps the focus on what you came to us for: a proven recruiter doing the job. You can read how our Rec2Rec headhunting for agencies works before you talk to us.

Does the fee change for senior hires or other cities?

Not as a percentage. MGP charges the same percentage at every seniority and in every market we serve. A senior biller in Sydney and a consultant in Perth carry the same percentage, and so does a hire for an agency in the UK or the US. Australia is our main market.

Because the percentage applies to the total package, the dollar amount will differ from role to role. The percentage doesn’t. We haven’t included pay ranges here, because we only quote figures with a named public source.

What should you check in any Rec2Rec’s fee terms?

Whoever you use, get the fee terms in writing and check six things before you sign. A percentage only means something once you know how and when it’s charged.

It also helps to know which model you’re buying. Under a contingent model you pay only if the role is filled, while retained search is paid in instalments, usually at the start, mid-search and on placement.

Use this checklist:

1. What the percentage applies to. Ask exactly what the number is calculated on and get it in writing.
2. When each payment falls due. That could be one payment or several, tied to dates or milestones.
3. Whether there’s a retainer. Find out if any money is due before someone starts.
4. Replacement, refund or rebate. Ask which one you get if the hire leaves, and for how long.
5. Held amounts. Check whether any part of the fee depends on the hire staying, and what happens to it if they go.
6. GST (goods and services tax). MGP’s percentages exclude GST, so ask whether any other quote does too. GST is 10% in Australia.

We could not find an open, named survey of Australian recruitment fee percentages (checked October 2026). So compare written terms side by side rather than against a market average.

Is a Rec2Rec fee worth paying, or should you hire yourself?

It’s worth paying when the person you need isn’t on the market. A Rec2Rec earns its money by reaching proven recruiters who are busy billing, not reading job ads.

A bad hire costs more than the invoice. As our Rec2Rec page puts it: “Not just the fee, it is the six months you spent hoping it would turn around.” That’s why the six-month replacement guarantee matters as much as the percentage.

How MGP can help

Managed Growth Partners (MGP) headhunts proven, currently billing recruiters for agencies in Australia, the UK and the US. We publish our fee and give you two ways to pay it. We also get every candidate’s consent before we send their CV. To work out which option suits your next hire, Book a call.