Our Story

Over 40 years in recruitment

In 1976, three young draftsmen founded a company in a modest bungalow in Melbourne’s southern suburbs.


In more than four decades since, Bayside Group has grown to become one of Australia’s leading recruitment companies.


Initially Bayside Drafting Australia (now Balpara), the company grew quickly and developed recruitment capabilities to meet project deadlines.



As a result, Bayside Personnel was established in 1978 to recruit engineering and technical professionals – this was the first of our specialist recruitment brands. 


Over the years, the company established eight specialist brands, allowing us to meet market demands. In 2021, the group underwent an exciting transition, consolidating these brands into one – Bayside Group. 

For over 45 years, the company has set the industry standard, and continues to do so. This transition allowed the group to build on its collective strengths, expand our services, and improve continuity of work for our on-hired employees. 


The company has been built on our dedicated consultants’ unique insights and capabilities, which has enabled us to deliver comprehensive employment, industrial relations and workplace safety services. 


Throughout our history, we have strived to increase our capabilities. As a result of rapid technological advancement, we started NineWire in 2009 to provide innovative I.T. business solutions to our clients. With such advanced approaches, we continue to make a meaningful impact and create lasting differences. 

Through the decades

The Bayside Group has survived three global recessions, employed thousands across the world, and prospered in an increasingly global economy. Bayside Drafting Australia was founded by John Wilson, Robert Blanche and Warwick Evans in 1976, while still in their 20s.


Our first specialist recruitment brand was established soon after, focusing on engineering and technical professionals. Throughout the years, we have learned many lessons and acquired invaluable knowledge about employment services, industrial relations and workplace safety.

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    The 1980s - adapting to a new economy


    In 1981, Australia entered a two year-long economic recession, which saw unemployment and inflation rates rise above 10%. A sharp fall in employment meant that many Melbourne-based recruitment companies went bust. But Bayside not only survived the recession, it expanded during it.


    In response to the early 80s recession, Bob Hawke’s Labor Government introduced radical economic reforms, which saw trade barriers knocked down, the Australian dollar floated, state companies privatised and further employee protections introduced. These reforms helped Bayside to diversify its businesses, expand beyond Melbourne and Victoria, and incorporate workplace management and safety practices into its recruitment operations. By the end of the decade, the company had opened offices in Sydney, Adelaide and Perth.



    The 1990s - going global


    In the early 90s, Australia endured its worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Several major financial institutions collapsed, including the State Bank of Victoria. Unemployment once again rose above 10% and businesses throughout Australia went bust. The economic downturn decimated the recruitment industry - two in three recruitment companies went out of business.


    Once again, Bayside pulled through - its diversification strategy key to its survival. In the first half of the decade, the company established healthcare and industrial brands. It also started to service a range of healthcare, and oil and gas customers in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The company’s international division has since placed over 2,000 people globally.


    In 1998, Bayside Group established CozWine to recruit and manage workers for Australia’s burgeoning wine industry. Now known as Acclaimed Workforce, this is the country’s leading regional food and wine recruiter.



    A new century


    In the first few years of the new century, Bayside diversified its business even further, acquiring two more recruitment companies - Techstaff and Bridge Consulting. As Australia’s economy grew unimpeded, so did the company.


    Even in the midst of the Global Financial Crisis, which impacted many Western economies, Bayside continued to grow, as did the Australian economy as a whole. This was in part due to a changing global economy, and the emergence of China as an economic superpower. By 2011, Bayside Group had acquired two automotive recruitment firms and established Alitis IT recruitment.


    In 2017, the Bayside Group took over Reed Global’s operations in Australia, expanding Austra Health’s scope to include social and community care and allied health, and also providing office space to Ethiopiaid, which was established by Sir Alec Reed in the 1980s.


    With active involvement in the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association (RCSA) and the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI), our directors have played an instrumental role in shaping and enhancing industry best practice.

Award winning recruitment and workforce management specialists

Top 25 LinkedIn Most Socially Engaged Staffing Agencies for the Asia Pacific Region 2017

Recruitment & Consulting Services Association (RCSA) Client Service Excellence Award 2015

RCSA Outstanding Contribution Award, Founding Director Robert Blanche 2011

Ford Australia Proactive Supplier, Relationship and Distinction Awards, 2008 – 2010 respectively

RCSA named the McLean Award for Workplace Safety after Bayside Group employee Malcolm McLean 2007

Victorian Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) Award for People Management 2006

For further information about the Bayside Group, contact us today.