Australia’s Hiring Systems Are Pushing Candidates Out, New National Research Finds
- Jonathan H. Westover, PhD
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Australia’s hiring systems are pushing candidates out rather than filtering for talent, with six in 10 job seekers abandoning an online application midway, according to new national research from WorkPro.
The findings are published in WorkPro’s whitepaper, The Recruitment Revolving Door: Improving the Candidate Experience, based on a survey of 5,600 Australian job seekers conducted in October and November 2025. The study found 61% have exited an application at least once, with nearly four in ten (39.8%) saying they walked away because the process was too long or had too many steps.
At a time of heightened hiring competition, the findings suggest preventable process friction may be costing employers ready-to-work candidates.
The research identified the same breakdown points appearing repeatedly: uploading a résumé only to retype the same details, completing background checks across different platforms, and starting from scratch with each new application.
More than half (53%) say the hardest systems require them to begin again from the start. Thirty-one per cent upload their résumé and then manually re-enter the same information. Thirty-five per cent say they do not know what is happening with their application.
Tania Evans, Founder and CEO of WorkPro, said the findings reflect a pattern the organisation has observed for years.
“For close to two decades, we’ve listened to Australian workers, employers and recruiters,” Ms Evans said.
“What we continue to hear is consistent. People are ready to work, but hiring processes remain time-consuming, repetitious and fragmented.”
She said the survey confirms the issue is not candidate capability, but system continuity.
“Our latest research shows the same friction points appearing again and again - repeated applications, re-uploads, and being asked to complete the same tasks they’ve already completed elsewhere,” she said.
“Recruiters experience the same duplication internally. Information is re-requested, checks are re-run, and activity increases while progress slows.”
In compliance-heavy sectors such as healthcare, aged care, construction and logistics, abandonment rates are above average, particularly where identity and verification steps are repeated rather than recognised.
The research confirms candidates are digitally capable and willing to comply with screening requirements. Frustration arises when completed effort is not retained or carried forward.
“When nearly four in ten candidates abandon an application because it is too long or complex, every unnecessary reset represents lost talent,” Ms Evans said.
The report outlines how screening and compliance can be sequenced so verified credentials, licences and identity checks are completed once, digitally credentialled and securely reused within validity periods, with candidate consent.
“At WorkPro, we believe job readiness should travel with the worker, not restart with every job application,” Ms Evans said.
“Breaking the recruitment revolving door requires connected systems, recognising verified effort, and responsibly reusing information.”
WorkPro is calling on employers, particularly those facing workforce shortages, to review where duplication and system resets are creating avoidable drop-off, and to redesign hiring workflows so verified effort is recognised and responsibly reused.
The full whitepaper, The Recruitment Revolving Door: Improving the Candidate Experience, is available for download here: www.workpro.com.au/resources/whitepaper/the-recruitment-revolving-door
WorkPro is an end-to-end workforce compliance and recruitment platform founded by entrepreneur Tania Evans in 2007. WorkPro streamlines the entire employment compliance process by automating candidate screening, eLearning and ongoing compliance monitoring within a single dashboard.
WorkPro’s suite of products is purposefully designed to empower individuals throughout their employment journey, placing people at the heart of the process. The company's comprehensive suite of solutions simplifies compliance management and enables individuals to showcase their qualifications confidently.
