As the legal dispute between Seek and Employment Hero plays out in the Federal Court, newly resurfaced correspondence reveals a shift in Seek’s public messaging around the reasons for cutting off the startup’s access to its job posting API.
On June 24, Seek emailed customers notifying them that Employment Hero’s API access would be terminated on August 25.
The communication focused on service continuity and integration preferences, with no mention of compliance breaches or concerns about data use.
“After reviewing the partnership, and the strategic direction of both businesses, we’ve made the decision to discontinue our integration with Employment Hero,” the email stated.
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“From Monday the 25th of August, 2025, you’ll no longer be able to post job ads to Seek via this integration.”
The job ad giant acknowledged the disruption and added: “We’re committed to minimising the impact this change may have on your business and will work closely with you in the coming weeks to ensure the service you receive from Seek is uninterrupted”.
Employment Hero CEO Ben Thompson addressed the API termination the following day in a blog post, writing that Seek had made the decision “as part of a broader strategy shift” and describing Seek as a long-time “Gold Partner”.
“Yesterday, Seek informed us that it will terminate our API access, effective 25 August 2025,” Thompson wrote.
Seek is a critical integration for many customers and our foremost priority is continuity and confidence for every employer. As such, we have been working hard on options to keep this a key component of our all-in-one Employment Operating System.
Neither the June email nor Employment Hero’s public response made any mention of compliance issues.
Seek’s July email introduced new claims about data use and compliance
In contrast, a July 24 follow-up email from Seek to customers included new allegations about the startup’s conduct.
The fresh correspondence was sent the same day as the Federal Court ordered Seek to maintain API access for Employment Hero while the matter is before the court.
Justice Elizabeth Cheeseman ruled on Wednesday that Seek must not “terminate, deliberately disrupt or degrade” Employment Hero’s access, unless a breach of API terms is proven.
It’s SmartCompany’s understanding that both parties agreed to maintain API access ahead of the court order.
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In the email, Seek said it had “expressed concerns to Employment Hero about its practices on multiple occasions in the past” and that it would be “monitoring Employment Hero’s adherence to our terms closely”.
“Employment Hero must comply with our Seek API Terms of Use – the same ones that apply to all partner platforms that integrate or have access to Seek and your ads and applications,” the July 24 email stated.
“These terms include obligations around use of data and compliance with applicable laws – areas where we have expressed concerns to Employment Hero about its practices on multiple occasions in the past.”
Seek also described Employment Hero’s legal claims as lacking substance, stating it would “vigorously defend the legal action” and “strongly” rejects the allegation that it misused its market power.
“We believe that the vibrancy of competition generates innovation that is very beneficial for you and all customers,” the email read.
As reported by SmartCompany earlier this week, Employment Hero has denied any wrongdoing and framed Seek’s conduct as anti-competitive.
“We consider that the termination was a breach of the competition laws,” a spokesperson said.
SmartCompany contacted Seek and Employment Hero for this story; both declined to comment.
