Australia’s Tech Job Market Has Changed: Here’s How to Navigate It

Featuring insights from Leon Kondel, Director, Head of Technology & Transformation at Fuse Recruitment
 

The Australian technology job market is going through one of its most significant periods of change in recent memory. Layoffs have made headlines, AI is reshaping what employers need and candidates who thrived a few years ago are finding the market harder to navigate. But transition does not mean a decline and for tech professionals who understand where the market is moving, there is genuine opportunity to excel. 

The Fuse team recently caught up with Callam Pickering, Senior Economist at the Indeed to discuss his 2026 Australia Jobs and Hiring Trends Report. The data tells a story of a market that has moderated but remains fundamentally active, with a decisive shift in the types of skills employers are prioritising. 

What the Data Shows 

The headline numbers from the Indeed Hiring Lab paint a nuanced picture. Australian job postings finished 2025 at 48% above their pre-pandemic baseline and forward-looking indicators of labour demand remain healthy, suggesting there are still a significant number of roles to be filled. 

What has changed is the composition of demand. By the end of 2025, 5.8% of Australian job postings mentioned artificial intelligence in their job descriptions, up from 2.8% a year earlier. That figure doubled in twelve months. It is the clearest signal in the market that AI literacy has moved from a differentiator to a baseline expectation across a growing share of technology roles. 

The share of postings mentioning AI has reached new heights even as growth in the total pool of jobs stagnates. For tech professionals, this means the market is not simply smaller than it was. It is different in kind and those who adapt to that difference are the ones moving successfully. 

Leon Kondel, Director, Head of Technology & Transformation at Fuse Recruitment, sees this playing out directly in hiring conversations. “The roles we are filling consistently right now are in engineering, cloud and operations. Demand in those areas has not let up. What has changed is that employers are being a lot more specific about what they want. They are not hiring broadly and hoping someone grows into it. Knowing they have more choice in this market, they want someone who can hit the ground running and solve their specific problem.” 

Where Demand Is Concentrated 

Not all technology roles are experiencing the same conditions. AI engineers, machine learning engineers and data scientists are in demand, supported by infrastructure positions such as AI platform engineers and MLOps specialists who manage deployment and reliability. Director of Artificial Intelligence has also emerged as a significant future role, as more organisations move to establish dedicated AI leadership at the executive level. 

Importantly, the growth in AI-related roles is no longer confined to technology companies. Demand for AI capability is expanding into financial services, healthcare, retail, manufacturing and the public sector, with organisations hiring not only engineers but also AI product managers, prompt engineers, AI governance specialists and AI operations professionals. If you are a tech professional who has been focused on opportunities within technology firms, the addressable market is broader than you may realise. 

Cybersecurity continues to attract strong and consistent employer interest. As organisations expand their digital footprints and regulatory requirements tighten, demand for professionals who can protect infrastructure, manage risk and respond to incidents shows no sign of easing. 

Cloud and infrastructure roles remain active, particularly where candidates can demonstrate experience across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. The shift from on-premise to cloud-native architecture continues across virtually every industry and professionals who can manage that transition are in demand well beyond the technology sector. 

The AI Literacy Imperative 

One finding from the Indeed Hiring Lab data stands out above the rest for its practical implications for candidates. AI literacy is now the most in-demand skill that Australian employers are looking for when hiring. Eight in ten global company leaders say they are more likely to hire a candidate who is comfortable using AI tools than someone with more experience but less AI proficiency. 

This is a significant shift. Experience and tenure, which have historically been strong predictors of hiring outcomes, are being weighed against a candidate’s willingness and ability to work with AI tools. Australian workplaces are actively adopting AI tools and incorporating them into their recruitment processes, products and workflows, which means this is not a future consideration. It is a present one. Candidates who cannot demonstrate AI engagement are increasingly at a disadvantage, regardless of their broader experience. 

Leon is direct on this point. “Almost every hiring manager I speak to is asking about AI in some form now. It does not matter if the role is a cloud architect or a data analyst. They want to know what their competitors are doing, if candidates are actually using these tools or just listing them on a resume. My advice to candidates is simple: if you are not genuinely engaging with AI in your day-to-day work, start now, because that gap is only going to become more visible as the year goes on.” 

What This Means If You Have Been Affected by Redundancy 

Technology sector redundancies have been a consistent feature of the past eighteen months and Australia has not been insulated from that trend. If you have recently been affected, the most important thing to understand is that the market conditions creating those redundancies are the same conditions creating new demand elsewhere. 

The roles most exposed to displacement are those centered on routine quality assurance, legacy system maintenance and general coordination. The roles attracting the most consistent interest are those tied to building, managing and optimising the systems driving that change. 

Leon works with candidates in this position regularly. “I have spoken with a lot of good tech professionals over the past twelve months who have been caught up in restructures that had nothing to do with their performance. The market is still active for the right skill sets, but you do need to be honest about where you sit within it. The candidates who move quickly are the ones who come in with a clear story about where they are heading, not just where they have been. That clarity makes a real difference when we are putting them in front of a client.” 

Six Practical Tips for Tech Candidates in 2026 

Understanding the market is one thing. Knowing how to navigate it is another. Here is what we recommend for technology professionals approaching their job search this year.

1. Move beyond technical credentials alone.

Technical capability alone is no longer sufficient. The modern engineer can work a process end to end, from talking requirements with the business, executing with AI as a help and demonstrating benefits back to the business on the other end. As AI tools become more accessible to non-engineers, the ability to design effective prompts, interpret model outputs, evaluate bias and understand model limitations is emerging as a cross-functional requirement and human-AI collaboration is becoming as important as coding itself. Candidates who can demonstrate business impact alongside technical execution are consistently more competitive.

2. Lead with your AI capability, even if it is still developing.

Employers are not only looking for seasoned AI engineers. They are looking for professionals who are engaged with AI tools and willing to build on that engagement. If you are using AI in your current role, make it visible in your resume and in interviews. If you are not yet using it, start now and be ready to speak to it.

3. Target sectors beyond traditional tech companies.

The technology sector is not the only employer of technology talent. Financial services, healthcare, infrastructure and government are all investing heavily in digital transformation and need professionals who combine technical capability with domain knowledge. These sectors can also offer greater stability than product-focused tech companies navigating structural change.

4. Be specific in your applications.

With job postings elevated but competition higher than in recent years, volume-based job searching is less effective than it was. Tailoring your resume and cover letter to each role, demonstrating clear alignment with the employer’s context and researching the organisation before you apply will all improve your outcomes significantly.

5. Invest in visible, verifiable skills development.

Certifications in cloud platforms, AI fundamentals, cybersecurity, or data analysis signal to employers that you are actively developing and not waiting for formal training. The most successful professionals in this market are those who combine technical expertise with adaptability and a genuine willingness to learn. Short courses and project-based portfolios both count.

6. Engage a specialist recruiter early.

In a market where many roles are filled through relationships before they reach a job board, working with a recruiter who knows the technology sector gives you access to opportunities that are not publicly visible. A good recruiter will also give you an honest read of how your profile is landing with employers and help you sharpen your positioning before you get in front of hiring managers. 

The Bigger Picture 

2026 is shaping up as a year of measured recovery and strategic adaptation, where modest growth, ongoing labour shortages in specialist areas and rapid technological change create both challenges and opportunities. For technology professionals, the challenge is real but so is the opportunity. The market is rewarding those who have stayed current, who can articulate their value clearly and who are approaching their search with the same rigour they would bring to a complex technical problem. 

If you are exploring your options or want to understand how your profile sits in the current market, reach out to our Technology and Transformation team today at hello@fuserecruitment.com or search our job board for our current opportunities here.