Hiring is getting easier in parts of Australia. For skilled trades, technical and production roles, especially outside the capital cities, it is still hard work.

Regional employers are recruiting more actively than city employers, yet filling fewer of their vacancies. Here are four challenges our clients in Melbourne and Adelaide and our regional hubs are raising with us, and how to address them.

1. Skills gaps are still the main roadblock

Nationally, 45% of recruiting employers reported difficulty filling roles in August 2026. That headline hides a sharp split by skill level and location.

Trades and technical roles are the hardest to fill, with a fill rate of 55.5% against around 70% for other skill levels. Manufacturing is among the toughest industries, with 53% of recruiting employers reporting difficulty in the June quarter.

Cities: competition for the same people

In Melbourne and Adelaide, manufacturers, warehouse operators and construction firms compete for the same licensed operators, maintenance trades and technicians. Candidates exist, but they have options.

Regions: a smaller pool

In the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, the Riverina and Sunraysia, the issue is the size of the pool. The gap between metropolitan and regional fill rates widened to 4.6 percentage points in the March quarter. Housing, distance and an ageing workforce shrink it further.

Yet roles combining a licence or ticket with specific site experience and broad skill sets can also be difficult. With many companies running lean or inexperienced teams, they often can’t afford to compromise on role requirements.

What can help:

• Identify critical gaps before peak periods such as vintage, harvest or logistics
• Separate required skills from those that can be trained on-site
• Look at adjacent industries: manufacturing, food processing and logistics skills transfer well
• In regional areas, factor accommodation and transport into your offer
• Build a pre-screened casual pool ahead of seasonal peaks

2. Pay expectations keep climbing

62% of employers say high salary expectations make hiring harder, and one in five ranks rising pay expectations among their top hiring challenges. For workers on hourly rates, cost-of-living pressure is real, and every dollar counts. For shift and casual roles, the competing offer is often a slightly higher rate or a better roster.

Cities: easy to compare, easy to move

In metropolitan industrial hubs, workers can change employers without moving house. Rates, rosters and travel time are compared side by side.

Regions: everyone hires at once

Regional employers face fewer competitors most of the year. During vintage or harvest, though, wineries, packing sheds and processors all hire at the same time, and seasonal workers go where the hours and rates are best.

What can help:

• Benchmark rates and availability for your location
• Sell the full package: consistent hours, overtime, paid tickets and licences, and a pathway to permanent work

3. Replacing people is a key hiring driver

HR leaders rank engagement and upskilling (40% each) and retention (39%) among their biggest challenges. Replacement hiring is the top reason employers recruit (34%).

On the floor, people leave when they see no next step. A reliable casual leaves for a permanent role. A skilled operator leaves because the leading hand position has no clear timeline. You then pay to recruit, retrain and induct, often for a problem a regular conversation could have solved.

Cities: churn

In Melbourne and Adelaide, turnover is often steady and incremental. Workers move for a few more hours, a shorter commute or a permanent contract.

Regions: every loss counts

In regional towns, a skilled worker who leaves may not be replaced locally at all. Seasonal workers who don't return next vintage take their site knowledge with them.

What helps:

• Map clear steps, such as casual to permanent and operator to leading hand
• Fund tickets, licences and cross-skilling as a retention tool
• Consider your best casuals for permanent roles
• Keep in touch with good seasonal workers between seasons

4. Employment compliance is adding pressure to already stretched teams

Australia's employment laws are among the most complex in the world, and they pull small HR teams and site managers away from running the business. Companies have had to contend with Payday Super, Award updates, an increase in minimum wages and more in this year alone.

For employers using casual and on-hired workers, the load is heavier. Shift penalties, overtime and casual conversion rules all need correct interpretation, along with work requirements. Underpayment cases involving businesses of all sizes show how easily this goes wrong, and the damage reaches your reputation with workers too.

Cities: multiple sites, multiple Awards

Metropolitan manufacturers and logistics operators often run several sites under different Awards and agreements. Keeping pay, rosters and safety inductions consistent takes real effort.

Regions: compliance at peak volume

In wine and agricultural regions, compliance peaks when hiring does. Onboarding dozens of seasonal workers under the Wine Industry or Horticulture Award, with correct inductions, leaves no room for error.

What helps:

• Use a licensed labour hire provider that manages screening, safety inductions and pay compliance
• Treat compliance changes as a chance to review workflows and tools
• Free up time by partnering on high-volume, seasonal or hard-to-fill recruitment
• Get workplace relations advice before peak periods

Talk to Acclaimed Workforce



We place trades and labour, manufacturing, warehouse and logistics, wine and administration staff from offices in Melbourne, Adelaide, the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Mildura and Griffith. We also have workplace relations experts available to provide practical support and guidance. To discuss how we can help, talk to Acclaimed Workforce today.