How to Compete Globally for Executive Talent
in Australia and New Zealand
Attracting top global leaders to ANZ roles demands more than a strong brand. It requires a fully engineered relocation, compensation, and integration strategy.
Australia and New Zealand offer world-class liveability, economic stability, and increasingly global mandates for leadership roles. Yet when competing with the U.S., UK, and major Asian hubs, ANZ companies must ensure their executive hiring strategy reflects operational sophistication, not just enthusiasm.
We’ve identified four essential levers companies must pull to successfully attract and land global executive talent.
1. Design Relocation as a Full-Service Experience
Relocating a global executive is not just a logistics task, it’s a family decision. High-performing talent weighs not only career growth but the cost and disruption to their household.
To convert interest into commitment:
- Cover end-to-end logistics: airfares, shipping, interim housing and transport, and on-the-ground settling services.
- Support partners and children: school selection, spousal career placement, visa assistance for dependents.
- Offer tax advisory and financial guidance: help the executive understand net take-home, tax obligations, and how to optimize compensation.
Relocation is more than moving boxes. It’s about minimising disruption to the life they've built elsewhere. Companies that understand this win faster.
2. Make Flexibility a Strategic Advantage
Flexibility is no longer a benefit. It’s a baseline expectation for global talent.
What top candidates expect:
- A hybrid model (e.g. 2–3 days on site) that aligns with performance, not presenteeism
- Transitional remote onboarding or phased relocation.
- A regional mindset, where time zones and geography are managed, not feared.
We attracted a Singapore-based CTO by offering 90 days remote, 2 flights back to their home country, and a family relocation. Flexibility sealed the deal.
3. Own the Visa Process, Don’t Delegate It
Skilled visa pathways in both Australia and New Zealand are improving. But the complexity remains a real deterrent without proactive support.
Best practice includes:
- Sponsoring and fully covering visa applications for executives and dependents.
- Navigating fast-track pathways (e.g. Australia’s new Specialist Stream or NZ’s AEWV).
- Providing an immigration advisor or internal liaison to manage timelines and documentation.
4. Offset Cost-of-Living with Intelligent Compensation Structuring
Sydney and Melbourne rank among the most expensive cities in APAC. Auckland and Wellington follow closely behind.
To remain competitive:
- Benchmark compensation against expat indices, not just local salaries.
- Offer housing or cost-of-living stipends for the first 6–12 months.
- Package flex benefits (e.g. health, transport, school fees) as tools to manage out-of-pocket expenses.
- Communicate lifestyle ROI: healthcare, safety, education, and environment, without using it to justify underpaying.
- Let them speak to a peer or similar aged executive within the company where they can have honest conversations about local and personal insights.
The Bottom Line
Global executives aren’t just comparing jobs. They’re comparing life plans.
Firms in Australia and New Zealand that succeed in attracting top-tier international leadership do three things well:
- De-risk the move for the candidate and their family.
- Show operational polish across relocation, visas, and onboarding.
- Slign flexibility and compensation with the expectations of a globally mobile workforce.
When done right, ANZ becomes more than a relocation, it becomes a strategic career move.
Want to build a global executive hiring model that works in the ANZ market?
Written By
Verge Das Neves
Vice President, ANZ
Megan Casson
Senior Marketing Specialist