Methodology

A ghost job is an advertisement that may not represent an active, immediately available role. It is different from a job scam: the listing may be associated with a genuine employer, but there may be no current intention to make a hire.

We do not apply a national percentage to ghost jobs. There is not yet a peer-reviewed, Australia-specific study that provides a reliable national estimate of their prevalence.

Some ads warrant closer attention when they appear to remain open for an unusually long time, offer little concrete detail about the work, or use wording that appears to invite applications for future rather than current opportunities. No one sign proves that an ad is a ghost job: legitimate roles can take time to fill, be reposted, or be advertised for ongoing recruitment.

This caution is supported by peer-reviewed Australian research: a Queensland study found that vacancy duration can vary with the role's skill level, regional accessibility, and the size of the advertising firm. We therefore treat an ad's age as one consideration among several, rather than evidence on its own. Read the study.

The Ghost Checker combines a range of listing signals in a probabilistic model. It applies thresholds to estimate the likelihood that a specific advertisement may not be tied to active hiring, and presents the result as a likelihood rather than a fact. We intentionally do not publish the precise signals, weights, or thresholds, so the tool can remain useful as job-ad behaviour changes.

The result is a prompt to investigate further—not a verdict on an employer. If a listing is flagged, consider checking the employer's careers page, looking for a clear closing date, or contacting the employer before investing significant time in an application.

The Salary Calculator starts with the gross income you enter and annualises it using the selected pay frequency. It then uses the tax settings for the financial year you select to estimate your annual take-home pay.

The estimate applies marginal income-tax brackets and the Low Income Tax Offset where relevant. For Australian residents, it also estimates the Medicare levy, the Medicare levy surcharge when you say you do not have private hospital cover, and compulsory study or training loan repayments when selected.

Superannuation is shown separately from take home pay. If your salary excludes super, we estimate the employer super guarantee on top of your cash salary. If it includes super, we derive an estimated cash salary from the package amount before calculating deductions. The calculator then shows annual, monthly, fortnightly, and weekly figures; these are annual estimates divided by 12, 26, and 52 respectively.

Results are rounded to cents and are intended as a guide. Actual payroll and tax outcomes can differ because of salary sacrifice, deductions, other income, family circumstances, the exact timing of pay, private-health details, loan balances, and payroll withholding or rounding. The calculator is not tax or financial advice.