As we move deeper into 2025, the Australian technology job market is showing cautious signs of recovery—and if the latest Precision Sourcing Market Report webinar is anything to go by, there’s reason for optimism across several key tech verticals.
In the Q3FY25 webinar, Simon Hair, MD of Precision Sourcing, and Craig Sibley, Head of the Technology & Data Team, broke down the state of the market, identifying where momentum is returning and where businesses are still holding back.
Momentum Building After a Long Downturn
Simon opened the session by highlighting a significant turning point in the market. After a prolonged 20+ month slowdown, October 2024 marked the start of a noticeable uptick in hiring. That momentum has carried into early 2025, with continued growth across most tech sectors despite a backdrop of global uncertainty—including political instability and new tariffs out of the US.
Importantly, Australia’s labour market overall remains strong. March 2025 figures show employment up by over 32,000—well above the average rise of the past 12 months. Participation has also returned to pre-COVID levels, and job vacancies remain 45% higher than they were prior to the pandemic.
For the tech industry specifically, the COVID boom brought unsustainable peaks, followed by a sharp correction. But now, organisations appear ready to re-invest in digital transformation, with CAPEX planning for FY26 well underway and long-delayed projects finally set to launch.
Business Analysts Lead the Recovery
Craig’s deep dive into the verticals started with some good news: Business Analysis is booming.
BA hiring began to pick up in late 2024 and hasn’t slowed. The trend is for hybrid BAs—those who can span both business-facing and technical capabilities. Clients are less concerned with “nice-to-haves” and more focused on core skills within specific platforms like ServiceNow and Sitecore. End-to-end capability is key: from project inception through delivery.
A noticeable shift has been the demand for BAs with backgrounds in development or data, suggesting a growing appetite for technical depth in traditionally business-aligned roles.
Project and Change Management Still Sluggish
While there’s a growing appetite for transformation, it hasn’t yet fully translated into hiring across Project and Change Management. April brought more positive conversations as FY26 budgets were finalised, but the volume of roles remains low—especially on the permanent side.
The reasons are budget-related more than anything. Government hiring slowed ahead of elections, and private sector roles, particularly in banking and financial services, are coming through in short-term contract bursts rather than longer-term engagements.
Project professionals are advised to stay close to recruiters, as the competition for roles is intense, with organisations often receiving hundreds of applications per listing.
HCM: UKG, Dayforce and Oracle Driving Demand
A new area of focus at Precision Sourcing is HCM, headed up by recent hire Joe, who is overseeing hiring across platforms like Workday, Dayforce, UKG, and Oracle (excluding SAP).
Of these, UKG Pro stands out, with a hard deadline pushing organisations to migrate by the end of 2025. This has triggered a mini talent war, as companies scramble to build or scale internal teams. Dayforce—formerly Ceridian—is also gaining ground, particularly within government and education.
However, talent remains scarce across all HCM platforms, and hiring managers are demanding technical-functional hybrids—professionals who can straddle configuration, implementation, and stakeholder engagement. Oracle and Workday talent, in particular, are proving tough to secure, especially for end clients who must compete with consultancies.
DevOps & Cloud: Slow and Steady Growth
DevOps, Cloud, and Site Reliability roles have seen a steady, if unspectacular, upward trajectory. Organisations are waking up to the fact that delayed infrastructure work can’t be pushed back much longer. This is driving hiring, albeit gradually.
Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) is also on the rise, as companies look to scale DevOps processes and improve efficiency. Multi-cloud environments—particularly Azure, AWS, and GCP—are becoming more cost-effective and are gaining traction as businesses prioritise resilience and scalability.
The biggest pain point in this vertical remains slow, cumbersome interview processes and a lack of clarity from hiring managers. That said, the demand is building.
Key Takeaways
Hiring is bouncing back, led by strong demand for Business Analysts and growing confidence in DevOps, Cloud, and HCM.
Project and Change Management roles remain limited, with most activity focused on short-term contracts.
Technical-functional hybrids are in demand across nearly every vertical—from BAs to HCM consultants.
Now is the time to prepare: FY26 budgets are being finalised, and those who position themselves early will benefit as new projects kick off.
Missed the live session?
Catch the full Q3 FY25 Technology Market Report Webinar recording on YouTube and get all the insights straight from Craig and Simon: Watch the recording below.
Despite global uncertainties and economic headwinds, there’s a genuine sense of cautious optimism. For tech professionals looking to make a move—or organisations looking to hire—partnering with a specialist recruiter is more important than ever to stay ahead of shifting demand.
If you’d like a more detailed breakdown or tailored insights into your market, feel free to reach out to Craig and the Precision Sourcing team.
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