Hiring in 2026: Trends, Challenges & Opportunities for Talent Teams in ANZ

About This Download

Hiring is making its comeback. But it’s not a return to reckless growth or speed-at-all-costs. In 2026, hiring confidence is rising alongside a stronger focus on applicant quality, verification, and systems that can actually keep up. Based on insights from eighty-two HR, Talent Acquisition and People & Culture leaders across Australia and New Zealand, the Hiring26 Trends Report unpacks what’s driving hiring decisions, where risk is increasing, and how talent teams can hire smarter in a high-volume, high-scrutiny environment.

What's Inside:

The 2026 hiring outlook

Understand how many organisations expect to increase or maintain hiring in 2026, and how confidence has shifted compared to last year.

Growth, but with greater scrutiny

See why business growth has overtaken attrition as the primary hiring driver, and why higher scrutiny is now a non-negotiable.

Quality versus quantity, still unresolved

Explore why hiring teams are overwhelmed by applications but still struggling to find quality candidates, and how this is impacting efficiency and candidate experience.

Candidate misrepresentation and fraud risk

Learn how exposure to fraud has increased, why confidence in detection remains low, and where current screening approaches are falling short.

What hiring leaders actually want

Discover the tools, systems and support HR and TA leaders would prioritise if budget wasn’t a constraint.

Practical next steps for 2026

A clear, actionable guide to auditing your process, simplifying your tech stack, strengthening verification, and building a business case for investment.

The Hiring26 Report covers:

what’s driving hiring decisions this year
why applicant quality and volume remain the biggest challenges
how candidate fraud and misrepresentation are evolving
where confidence in fraud detection is falling short
what systems and tools hiring leaders want most
practical steps to hire smarter, reduce risk, and improve outcomes.

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Want a sneak peek at some of our findings?

79% of organisations expect to maintain or increase hiring in 2026.
52% are hiring to meet business growth, up from 35% in 2025.
59% struggle to source high-quality candidates, while 50% are overwhelmed by application volume.
Exposure to candidate fraud has increased by 12% compared to 2025.
Only 15% of leaders are very confident their process can detect fraud.
43% want automated fraud alerts to improve hiring decisions.

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