How to hire cybersecurity talent in Australia's shortage market

The shortage is real — and specific

Jobs and Skills Australia's 2025 Occupation Shortage List found cybersecurity GRC specialists in shortage in every state and territory except the Northern Territory, and cybersecurity engineers in shortage nationally. Hays' FY26/27 IT contractor research found 26% of employers name cybersecurity as an acute skills shortage.

In practice that means the people you want are already employed, already being approached by other recruiters, and comparing more than one offer. A slow or vague process loses them.

Pin down which kind of security you need

"Cyber security analyst" can mean very different jobs. Before you brief anyone, decide which of these you actually need:

• Security operations — SOC analysts, threat hunters and incident responders.
• Engineering and architecture — designing and building secure cloud, network and identity platforms.
• Governance, risk and compliance (GRC) — policy, controls testing and frameworks such as ISO 27001, Essential Eight or APRA CPS 234.
• Identity and access management — IAM, PAM and identity governance platforms.
• Offensive security — penetration testers and red teamers.

A clear domain lets a recruiter search the right communities and certifications, and stops you interviewing people who are excellent at the wrong job.

Separate must-haves from nice-to-haves

Long lists of certifications shrink the pool fast. Keep the must-haves to what the person genuinely needs on day one — for example an existing security clearance for a federal role, or hands-on experience with your SIEM. Everything else can be learned.

Move faster than the market

Specialists in shortage areas often have several conversations running at once. A tight process helps:

1. 1Agree the brief, salary or day-rate range and interview panel before the search starts.
2. 2Hold interview slots in diaries for the week the shortlist lands.
3. 3Keep to two interview stages where you can, with a technical conversation rather than a long take-home test.
4. 4Give feedback within 24 hours and be ready to make an offer quickly.

Our cybersecurity recruitment team typically delivers a qualified shortlist within 48–72 hours of a confirmed brief, so the rest of the process is usually where time is won or lost.

Consider contract and team options

Hays found 60% of employers engage contractors to access specialist skills for project work. If you need to uplift controls before an audit or deliver a remediation program, a contractor or a small project delivery team can start sooner than a permanent hire — and you can convert later with a contract-to-permanent arrangement.