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Market signals: what we're seeing across the market-
June 2026

By Liam Pietzka | CEO/Founder, Brightbox Consulting

Market signals - June 2026

Here is our ground-level view across all four markets this month.

1. The Atlassian and WiseTech wave is in the market now

Atlassian cut 1,600 roles in March and WiseTech followed with around 2,000. Combined with other major tech teams trimming headcount earlier this year, a significant wave of experienced Sydney engineers, designers and product people have entered the market. The window to access that talent is narrowing.

2. Insurance has moved workforce challenges from seventh to third on its list of top risks

Industry data from Gallagher Bassett’s 2026 Carrier Perspective report shows Australian insurers now rank attracting and retaining skilled workers as their third biggest challenge, up from seventh last year. The sector is becoming more digital and customer-focused and the skills required have changed faster than hiring strategies have.

3. Aviation is investing heavily in digital products and technology talent

Major Australian carriers are building out dedicated product and technology functions, with hundreds of new roles coming to market across UX, engineering and conversational AI over the next three years. The competition for that talent is intensifying.

4. Healthcare organisations are connecting product decisions to patient and commercial outcomes

Digital health investment in Australia is accelerating, with telehealth, mobile health and digital claims processing transforming customer experience across the sector. The product and design talent being hired into healthcare now needs to bridge clinical, commercial and technology contexts simultaneously.

5. AI specialist demand is outpacing supply by a significant margin

Australia’s AI specialist workforce is projected to reach around 85,000 by 2027. Demand over the same period is forecast to hit 140,000. That gap is already visible in every discipline we work across.

6. Forty-three per cent of software and data roles now mention AI in the job description

That figure comes from Indeed’s April 2026 Australian hiring data, with marketing at 17%. AI literacy is moving from a specialist requirement to a broad expectation across most technical disciplines.

7. Nine in ten chief people officers expect work to be organised around skills, not job titles

LinkedIn’s 2026 data makes this point clearly. Most hiring processes and job briefs have not yet kept pace with that.

8. Sydney’s digital marketing hiring is split by industry

Tech, ecommerce and consumer businesses are hiring actively. Financial services, insurance and B2B organisations are moving more deliberately, with multi-stakeholder approval processes adding weeks to timelines.

9. Australia’s data and AI market has moved from experimentation to ROI

Organisations are no longer interested in exploratory data science. They want AI that drives measurable business impact. That has made the brief more specific and the shortlist considerably smaller.

10. The strongest candidates across every discipline move within two to three weeks

The people worth hiring are in active processes fast. A slow internal approval or a vague brief is a missed hire.

We’ll be back with more market signals next month. In the meantime, if any of these match what you’re seeing and you’re planning a hire this quarter, book a salary briefing or get in touch with the team.

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About Brightbox Consulting

Brightbox Consulting is a specialist recruitment partner working across AI, Data and Emerging Tech, Product and Delivery, Design and Creative, Digital Marketing, and Engineering. 

We hold a 100% five-star rating on Google and a 100% client return rate. Our clients include Qantas, Telstra, Macquarie, Bupa, Vodafone, and WooliesX, as well as a long list of scale-ups and high-growth businesses across Australia.

 

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After 2 unsuccessful attempts to hire directly, we engaged Brightbox to find us the right kind of candidates for our specific roles – they not only saved me time, but found great people with the right skills and who connected into our NFP purpose.
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Liam and his crew at BB are exceptional recruiters. Liam’s knack for discovering top-notch candidates has greatly benefited our team. He consistently goes above and beyond to understand our needs and has successfully brought us incredible talent. Liam’s professionalism and efficiency have made the hiring process seamless and enjoyable. Liam is a true asset to our recruitment efforts, and I wholeheartedly recommend his services.

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I’m always confident we will have great candidates coming through from Brightbox. I know they look after candidates and clients in their process with a deep understanding of the industry. They could not be faster to respond and always communicate transparently, working around busy client schedules to make it work. I feel lucky to have partnered with Brightbox.

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Liam matched me to the role perfectly! I found Liam’s approach to be very considerate, respectful, and he showed genuinely interest in me as a person and my career goals. Throughout the application process, Liam worked with me to communicate clearly the role and company, guided me through the interview process, and was very supportive and communicative. Now that I’ve been in the new role for a couple of months I am very pleased that it has met my expectation as described, and I’m happy with my career move.

Amy, Candidate

Nicole is super smart, knew heaps about the hiring company and what they were looking for, and gave really clear briefs at every step of the process. She was encouraging and a great communicator.

Linda, Candidate

Katie and the team followed through on their promises and kept me informed every step of the way. It is rare in the industry to find a team that sees the human beyond just a resource and gives the best blend of caring with professionalism.

David, Candidate

Nicole was really supportive and responsive. She was able to help provide guidance and feedback before, during and after the interview process. 10/10!

Kristy, Candidate

Worked with Liam for a number of roles now and he explores more options and connections than other recruiters. He always keeps me up to date and is genuinely a nice guy who takes personal pride in the connections he makes.

Scott, Client

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