On assignment
The first $2,500.
Due when the role is assigned to The Diesel Desk and the search begins.
PricingStraight answers before the search
THE CLEAR PRICING MATRIX. NO PERCENTAGE, NO SURPRISES.
The work changes with the brief, but the commercial shape should be easy to understand. Here is how The Diesel Desk prices the three ways it helps a workshop keep moving.
Start a vacancy brief01The matrix · service by service
$10,000 flat fee / permanent / non-exclusive (includes the 1-month free replacement guarantee) · fixed-term cover from $2,500 · $7,500 + GST / retained search / exclusive, paid as three staged $2,500 milestones.
| Service | Headline fee | Best for | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent recruitment | $10,000 flat fee | Permanent / non-exclusive heavy diesel, fleet or workshop leadership hire | Direct search, verified shortlist, whole-offer advice; includes the 1-month free replacement guarantee |
| Fixed-term cover | From $2,500 | Fixed-term cover for planned leave, shutdowns, overhauls and demand peaks | Role mapping, available trade-qualified cover and a clear term/start plan |
| Retained search | $7,500 + GST | Retained search / exclusive permanent search | Paid as three staged $2,500 milestones |
02The guarantee · permanent recruitment
Pay for the fit, not the CV.
The $10,000 flat fee includes a 1-month free replacement guarantee. If the hire does not work out within the first month, we go back to the market for a replacement at no additional recruitment fee, provided the original role and offer remain materially the same.
One clear permanent fee
Trade-literate shortlist
1-month replacement cover
Offer and interview support
05Retained search · one role · one search · one recruiter
One role. One recruiter. Nobody else working it.
A retained search gives the role to one recruiter, exclusively — and it means you commit that nobody else is working it either. Not an internal HR person, not another agency, not a manager quietly asking around their network.
One role. One search. One accountable recruiter.
$7,500 + GST total fee — three payments of $2,500.
Paid in three staged milestones: $2,500 position specification & search criteria agreed · $2,500 qualified trade shortlist presented & interviews set · $2,500 final candidate placed & offer accepted.
On interview or shortlist
The second $2,500.
Due when the first candidate interview takes place, or the shortlist is presented — whichever comes first.
On placement
The final $2,500.
Due when the candidate is hired and the role is filled.
It stops the CV race
Share a brief across multiple agencies and every one of them races to fire candidates at you first. None of them does the work. Ten CVs from six agencies isn't a search — it's noise. Exclusivity removes the race entirely.
Nobody is undercutting the offer
This is the hidden cost of a non-exclusive brief. Several recruiters approach the same mechanics with different versions of the role — sometimes with different numbers on it. Word gets back. Candidates compare notes, the rate inflates, or the good ones walk because the story doesn't hold. One recruiter means one version of the truth in the market.
The internal search is what usually kills it
The part clients don't think about. The brief stays “in-house as well, just in case” — the operations manager, the supervisor, someone's mate who knows a guy. It looks free. It isn't. Passive candidates get approached from two directions with two different stories, and the best tradespeople — the employed ones you actually want — are the first to disengage, because a muddled brief reads as a workshop that doesn't know what it wants.
And there's the seriousness signal. A mechanic being headhunted can tell the difference between a role the business is genuinely committed to filling and one being half-heartedly shopped around. Exclusivity is how you show the former.
It changes what the recruiter can do
A non-exclusive brief can't justify the investment. Exclusivity is what buys a real headhunt: mapping the market, approaching employed tradespeople who aren't looking, inspecting the workshop, tooling and roster so the pitch is credible. That work doesn't happen on a speculative brief — the recruiter might lose it to a competitor at any moment.
Staged payments are accountability, not admin
Three payments, three delivered milestones: specification agreed, shortlist presented, placement confirmed. You are never paying for activity. Every payment follows something you can actually see.
It's cheaper — and that's the honest framing
Retained is $7,500 against the $10,000 flat fee. Exclusivity isn't a premium you pay for; it's what lets the fee come down. And it is still never a percentage of the remuneration package.
What you\'re actually giving up
Let\'s be straight about the trade-off. Retaining the search means giving up the comfort of hedging — no second agency running in parallel, no quiet word through the network as a backup. If you\'d rather keep those options open, take the $10,000 flat fee instead and we\'ll work the brief alongside whoever else you choose.
What you\'re buying in exchange is one recruiter who is fully accountable, one consistent story in the market, and a fee $2,500 lower than the non-exclusive route.
Why we recommend it for a permanent hire
For a permanent hire you intend to fill properly, retained is the preferred and most cost-effective route. It\'s the cheaper of the two permanent options, it removes the CV race and the competing versions of the offer, and it buys the headhunt rather than a speculative shortlist. One role, one search, one accountable recruiter — brief to signed offer.
05FAQ · before you brief us
The useful answers.
What is included in the $10,000 permanent fee?+
The fee covers the full direct search: the brief, market mapping, confidential outreach, trade and workshop-fit vetting, shortlist presentation, interview support and the 1-month free replacement guarantee.
What happens if the hire does not work out?+
If a permanent hire leaves or is released for performance reasons within the first month, The Diesel Desk will run a replacement search at no additional recruitment fee. The original role and offer need to remain materially the same.
How is fixed-term cover quoted?+
The starting point is $2,500. The final quote reflects trade scarcity, equipment capability, location, start date, expected term, roster and whether travel or accommodation needs to be arranged.
What are the payment terms?+
We confirm the fee and timing in writing before the search begins. Permanent recruitment is invoiced when the candidate starts; fixed-term and advisory work is quoted against the scope and timing.