What Is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)? A Guide for Australian SMBs

Software That Reads Resumes So You Don’t Have To

If you’ve applied for a job at a larger company in the past decade, your application almost certainly passed through an Applicant Tracking System before a human saw it. Now those same tools are becoming accessible to smaller businesses. Here’s what they do and whether one makes sense for your business.

What Is an ATS?

An Applicant Tracking System is software that manages the hiring process from the moment a candidate applies to the moment they accept an offer. , it’s a database for job applications, with tools built around it to help you screen, sort, communicate with, and track candidates.

A standard ATS handles:

• Posting job ads to multiple job boards from one place (Seek, Indeed, LinkedIn)
• Collecting and organising applications in one location
• Screening resumes against keywords or criteria you set
• Tracking where each candidate is in the process (applied, phone screen, interview, offer)
• Communicating with candidates through the system (interview invites, rejections)
• Storing candidate records for future roles

The “tracking” part refers to the candidate pipeline, not anything sinister. You can see at a glance who’s at which stage, who needs to be followed up, and how long your hiring process is taking.

Do Australian SMBs Need One?

If you hire two or three people a year, probably not. A shared spreadsheet and email folders will do the job without spending money on software.

The case for an ATS gets stronger when:

• You’re hiring 10 or more people per year
• Multiple managers are involved in reviewing candidates
• You’re posting to more than two job boards and manually copying applications between them
• Compliance matters: you need records of who applied and why they weren’t selected
• You want to build a talent pool to draw from for future roles

In Australia, Fair Work obligations around equal employment opportunity and record-keeping make the compliance argument real, particularly for businesses in industries with high turnover or frequent hiring.

What It Costs

Entry-level ATS options like Breezy HR, Workable, or TeamTailor start from around $50 to $250 per month for small businesses. Mid-range options with more automation and integrations (Greenhouse, Lever) typically run $500 to $1,500 per month. Many vendors price by the number of active job postings or users rather than a flat rate.

Some applicant tracking has are also built into broader HR platforms. Employment Hero, which is popular with Australian SMBs, includes basic applicant tracking as part of its HR suite. If you’re already paying for an HR platform, check what’s already included before buying a standalone ATS.

What a Good ATS Workflow Looks Like

A well-set-up ATS removes the admin, not the thinking. A typical workflow: job ad goes live through the system to Seek and Indeed simultaneously. Applications come in and are sorted by your preset criteria. You move candidates through stages (applied, phone screen, interview, offer) with a drag-and-drop pipeline view. Automated emails go out to acknowledge applications, book interviews, and notify unsuccessful candidates. At the end of the process, you have a complete record of every candidate, every decision, and the time each stage took. That last part matters for compliance and for improving your next hire.

The Seek Integration Question

For most Australian businesses, Seek is the dominant job board. Any ATS you seriously consider should integrate directly with Seek so applications flow in automatically. Seek also offers its own talent management tools, but they’re separate from your core HR stack. Check compatibility before you buy.

One Honest Take

An ATS won’t fix a bad hiring process. It will make your bad process more efficient. If you don’t have clear criteria for what you’re looking for in a candidate, no software will help you find that person faster. Before you buy, spend an hour writing a proper job description and deciding what “good” looks like for the role. Do that first, and the software becomes useful.

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Sources

• Fair Work: Employer obligations and record-keeping
• Seek employer pricing and products
• Employment Hero HR and ATS (AU)

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