Employment software firm Employment Hero and online jobs marketplace SEEK have ended a Federal Court dispute over access to SEEK's application programming interface, with the court ordering the proceedings be discontinued by consent.
The resolution follows a legal action that Employment Hero commenced last year after SEEK issued a notice in June 2025 terminating the company's access to its jobs posting API.
In a statement, Employment Hero said it no longer maintains its original allegation that SEEK's conduct had an anti-competitive purpose.
"Employment Hero now accepts that SEEK's purpose in issuing the notice on 24 June 2025 terminating Employment Hero's access to SEEK's API was not one of substantially lessening competition, as Employment Hero originally believed, and has agreed to resolve the proceedings," said an Employment Hero spokesperson, Employment Hero.
SEEK supported the conclusion of the case.
A SEEK spokesperson said: "SEEK is pleased that the litigation has now ended and is satisfied with the outcome."
API access restored
Under the agreement between the companies, SEEK will reinstate Employment Hero's access to its API. The interface allows customers of Employment Hero to post jobs with SEEK from within Employment Hero's platform.
SEEK had already maintained Employment Hero's access on a temporary basis while the Federal Court case progressed. The court ordered that access would continue during the proceedings.
Employment Hero's ongoing access will now fall under SEEK's existing contractual framework. The companies said the reinstated integration will operate subject to compliance with all applicable terms and conditions set by SEEK.
SEEK had previously raised issues about Employment Hero's use of data and adherence to its API rules in communications with customers. Employment Hero denied any breach of terms at the time.
Origins of dispute
The dispute began after SEEK issued a notice on 24 June 2025 stating it intended to terminate Employment Hero's API access from August that year.
Employment Hero then filed Federal Court proceedings that alleged breaches of competition law. The company argued that the termination would disrupt recruitment processes for many small businesses that rely on the integration between Employment Hero's platform and SEEK's jobs board.
SEEK rejected the allegations and said it would defend the case. The Federal Court later ordered that API access would remain active on an interim basis while the matter was before the court.
The case centred on access to a digital connection that links Employment Hero's software with SEEK's job advertising service. The integration lets employers create and publish job listings on SEEK without leaving Employment Hero's system.
Termination of access would have required customers to manage SEEK job postings separately from their existing workflow in Employment Hero.
Legal proceedings discontinued
The companies have now confirmed that the Federal Court proceedings have ended. The court ordered that the matter be discontinued by consent, following agreement between the parties.
The outcome removes the prospect of a judicial ruling on the competition law issues raised in the original claim. The parties did not disclose any financial terms or further commercial conditions associated with the agreement.
Both sides said they will not provide additional information on the case beyond their prepared comments.