Consultants
1 business you can compare and book online.
Consultants bring outside expertise to a specific problem, whether that is marketing strategy, HR, IT, operations or business turnaround. There is no general licence for consulting in Australia, which makes due diligence your job: relevant experience, referenced results and clear scope matter far more than a polished pitch. The best engagements start with a tightly defined problem and an agreed way to measure success.
OneBookPlus makes the first step easy: book a discovery call or initial consultation directly from a consultant's live calendar, with the agenda and background captured upfront. Follow-up sessions, workshops and review meetings are scheduled in the same place, keeping a clean record of the engagement from first call to final deliverable.
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How to choose a good Consultant
- Look for evidence of results in businesses like yours: case studies, references and outcomes you can verify.
- Insist on a written scope with deliverables, timelines and what is excluded before any work starts.
- Check who does the work; senior consultants sometimes sell the engagement and hand delivery to juniors.
- Confirm professional indemnity insurance, particularly for advice that carries financial or compliance consequences.
- Prefer consultants who transfer capability to your team rather than creating permanent dependence on themselves.
- Ask how success will be measured, and be wary of anyone who cannot answer plainly.
Questions to ask before you book
- Have you solved this specific problem before, and can I speak to a past client?
- What exactly will I receive, by when, and what is out of scope?
- Who will do the actual work on my engagement?
- How do you charge, and what happens if the scope changes partway through?
- How will we measure whether this engagement succeeded?
What does a consultant cost in Australia?
Australian consultants typically charge $120 to $300 or more per hour depending on specialisation and seniority, with day rates commonly $1,000 to $2,500. Many prefer fixed-price project fees or monthly retainers, which give you cost certainty and are worth requesting. Discovery sessions are often free or low cost. Consultants registered for GST add 10 per cent to fees, and business consulting costs are generally deductible. Rates vary enormously, so weigh proposals on likely return, not hourly rate alone.
Frequently asked questions
Do consultants need a licence in Australia?
General business, marketing, HR and IT consulting requires no licence. Some specialist areas do carry regulation: financial product advice requires an Australian Financial Services Licence or authorisation, tax advice for a fee requires Tax Practitioners Board registration, and migration advice requires registration as a migration agent. Ask which regime applies if advice touches those areas.
How do I know if a consultant is any good?
Ask for outcomes, not activity: what changed for past clients, and can you verify it with a reference call. Look for specific industry experience, a willingness to define measurable success upfront, and comfort saying what they do not do. A consultant who pushes back on your brief is often more valuable than one who agrees with everything.
Should I pay hourly or a fixed project fee?
Fixed fees suit well-defined projects because you carry no time risk and comparisons between proposals are clean. Hourly or day rates suit open-ended advisory work where scope genuinely cannot be pinned down. Retainers work for ongoing access. Whatever the model, cap the total and require approval before extra billable work.
What should a consulting agreement include?
At minimum: scope and deliverables, timelines, fees and payment terms, who owns the intellectual property created, confidentiality, insurance, and how either side can end the engagement. For anything material, ask for evidence of professional indemnity insurance. A consultant who resists putting scope in writing is telling you something important.
Are consulting fees tax deductible for my business?
Fees for advice connected to running your business are generally deductible in the year incurred, and GST-registered businesses can usually claim the GST credit. Advice tied to capital matters, such as buying or restructuring a business, may need different treatment, so confirm the specifics with your accountant.
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