The short answer
The ten largest software and IT companies headquartered in Australia, ranked by reported number of employees, are Atlassian, Canva, SEEK, REA Group, TechnologyOne, Data#3, Iress, Nuix, Appen and SafetyCulture. Atlassian is the largest, with about 13,813 employees (2025).
The ten companies at a glance
| # | Company | Headquarters | Founded | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlassian | Sydney | 2002 | 13,813 (2025) |
| 2 | Canva | Sydney | 2013 | 5,500 (2024) |
| 3 | SEEK | Melbourne | 1997 | 3,300 |
| 4 | REA Group | Melbourne | 1995 | 2,600+ |
| 5 | TechnologyOne | Brisbane | 1987 | 1,500 (2025) |
| 6 | Data#3 | Brisbane | 1977 | 1,400 |
| 7 | Iress | Melbourne | 1993 | 1,300 (2025) |
| 8 | Nuix | Sydney | 2005 | about 420 (2020) |
| 9 | Appen | Chatswood, Sydney | 1996 | Not stated |
| 10 | SafetyCulture | Sydney | 2004 | Not stated |
Ranked by the most recent employee count stated on each company’s Wikipedia article or official website, checked 24 October 2026. Years in brackets show when that figure applies; companies without a stated figure are listed last.
The companies in detail
1Atlassian
SydneyMakes collaboration software such as Jira and Confluence, used mainly by software teams and project managers. More than 300,000 organisations use its products.
- Headquarters
- Sydney
- Founded
- 2002
- Employees
- 13,813 (2025)
- Ownership
- Public company (Nasdaq: TEAM)
2Canva
SydneyRuns an online graphic design platform with a drag-and-drop editor for presentations, social media posts, websites and other visuals, built for people without design training.
- Headquarters
- Sydney
- Founded
- 2013
- Employees
- 5,500 (2024)
- Ownership
- Private
3SEEK
MelbourneOperates one of Australia’s largest online job boards and runs employment platforms in several Asian markets, plus related learning and investment businesses.
- Headquarters
- Melbourne
- Founded
- 1997
- Employees
- 3,300
- Ownership
- Public company (ASX: SEK)
4REA Group
MelbourneRuns online real estate advertising platforms, including realestate.com.au, through its subsidiaries in Australia and abroad.
- Headquarters
- Melbourne
- Founded
- 1995
- Employees
- 2,600+
- Ownership
- Public company (ASX: REA), majority-owned by News Corp Australia
5TechnologyOne
BrisbaneDevelops enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, now delivered as software as a service, for government, education and other large organisations.
- Headquarters
- Brisbane
- Founded
- 1987
- Employees
- 1,500 (2025)
- Ownership
- Public company (ASX: TNE)
6Data#3
BrisbaneAn information and communications technology company that supplies software, infrastructure and IT services to organisations across Australia.
- Headquarters
- Brisbane
- Founded
- 1977
- Employees
- 1,400
- Ownership
- Public company (ASX: DTL)
7Iress
MelbourneBuilds software for the financial services industry, including trading, wealth management and financial advice tools used by more than 500,000 people.
- Headquarters
- Melbourne
- Founded
- 1993
- Employees
- 1,300 (2025)
- Ownership
- Public company (ASX: IRE)
8Nuix
SydneyBuilds software that finds insights in large volumes of unstructured data, used for digital forensics, eDiscovery and regulatory compliance.
- Headquarters
- Sydney
- Founded
- 2005
- Employees
- about 420 (2020)
- Ownership
- Public company (ASX: NXL)
9Appen
Chatswood, SydneyCreates and labels the datasets used to train and improve artificial intelligence systems, working with a large global crowd of contributors.
- Headquarters
- Chatswood, Sydney
- Founded
- 1996
- Employees
- Not stated
- Ownership
- Public company (ASX: APX)
10SafetyCulture
SydneyMakes mobile and IoT software for workplace safety, health and quality checks; its iAuditor inspection app launched in 2012.
- Headquarters
- Sydney
- Founded
- 2004
- Employees
- Not stated
- Ownership
- Private
Also worth knowing
These companies did not make the ranking, for the reason given, but are often mentioned alongside it.
- Culture Amp: Melbourne-based maker of employee engagement and performance software; no employee figure is stated, so it was not ranked.
What this list tells us about Australia’s software industry
- Sydney is the main hub. 4 of the ten companies on this list are headquartered there, with others in Melbourne, Brisbane, Chatswood, Sydney.
- A long track record. The oldest company here, Data#3, was founded in 1977; the youngest, Canva, in 2013.
- Founding wave. More companies on this list were founded in the 1990s (4) than in any other decade.
- Ownership mix. 8 of the ten are publicly listed and 1 are subsidiaries of, or majority-owned by, other groups; the rest are independent private companies, cooperatives or state-linked organisations.
Australia at a glance
- Capital
- Canberra
- Official languages
- English
- Currency
- Australian dollar (AUD)
- Population
- 27.8 million (2025 est.)
- GDP per capita (nominal)
- $75,172 (2026 est.)
Economy. Services make up about 71% of GDP, industry about a quarter and agriculture under 4%.
Technology. The Australian technology sector contributes an estimated A$167 billion a year to the economy.
Country figures from Wikipedia’s article on Australia, checked 24 October 2026. Estimates are rounded and dated as stated there.
Working with software companies in Australia
- Time zone. Australia spans several time zones, from UTC+08:00 to UTC+11:00 across the year. Agree overlap hours in writing before a project starts.
- Data protection. Check which data protection law applies to any personal data you share, and put the obligations into your contract.
- Due diligence. Large companies on this list mostly sell their own products or enterprise services. If you need a development partner for a specific project, ask for case studies, interview the engineers and start with a short paid trial. Our guide on how to choose an IT staff augmentation company includes a free vendor scorecard.
- Budget. Typical 2026 hourly rates by region are in our IT staff augmentation cost and rates guide.
- Extra capacity. If you want developers to join your own team rather than outsource a whole project, our IT Staff Augmentation Company provide dedicated engineers who work in your time zone, tools and processes.
How we built this list
- Candidates. We started from Wikipedia’s list of companies of Australia, the country’s best-known technology firms and companies regularly named in the local and international business press.
- Scope. We kept companies whose main business is software, IT services or a software-based platform, and that are headquartered in Australia. Telecom operators, banks and hardware makers were left out, as were local offices of foreign groups. Companies founded in Australia but now headquartered abroad are listed separately when relevant.
- Verification. For every company we checked headquarters, founding year, ownership, size and whether it is still active against its Wikipedia article or, where none exists, its own official website, on 24 October 2026. Each entry links to the page we checked.
- Ranking. Companies are ranked by their most recently stated number of employees, the most comparable size measure available for public and private firms alike.
- No payments. No company paid or was asked to appear. iCreativez Technologies is itself a software and IT services company, so we do not include or rank ourselves on country lists.
Employee figures come from different years, are sometimes self-reported on company websites and sometimes count a whole group rather than one company, so treat the ranking as a guide to scale rather than an exact league table.
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Software companies in nearby countries
Frequently asked questions
What is the largest software company in Australia?
By reported number of employees, Atlassian is the largest software and IT company headquartered in Australia, with about 13,813 employees (2025). It makes collaboration software such as Jira and Confluence, used mainly by software teams and project managers. More than 300,000 organisations use its products.
Which city is the main software hub in Australia?
Among the companies on this list, Sydney is home to the most: 4 of the ten are headquartered there.
What is the oldest software company in Australia on this list?
Data#3, founded in 1977 and headquartered in Brisbane.
How did you choose the software companies in Australia?
We considered the best-known companies headquartered in Australia whose main business is software or IT services. We verified each one against its Wikipedia article or official website and ranked them by reported number of employees. No company paid to be included.
What is the economy of Australia based on?
Services make up about 71% of GDP, industry about a quarter and agriculture under 4%. The Australian technology sector contributes an estimated A$167 billion a year to the economy.
What languages and currency are used for business in Australia?
The official language is English, and the currency is the Australian dollar (AUD).
Can I hire software developers to work with a team in Australia?
Yes. Many businesses combine local partners with remote developers. iCreativez Technologies provides dedicated developers and offshore teams that can work your hours; see our dedicated developers page or contact us.
Sources
All company details were checked on 24 October 2026 against these pages:
- Wikipedia: List of companies of Australia
- Atlassian: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlassian
- Canva: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canva
- SEEK: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seek_Limited
- REA Group: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REA_Group
- TechnologyOne: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TechnologyOne
- Data#3: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data3
- Iress: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iress
- Nuix: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuix
- Appen: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appen_(company)
- SafetyCulture: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SafetyCulture
- Wikipedia: Australia (country profile)
If you represent a company on this page and a detail has changed, contact us and we will review it. Related guides: top IT staff augmentation companies 2026 · staff augmentation vs outsourcing vs managed services.