What a consultant’s website needs

On This Page

1. What buyers check
2. What your site needs
3. Case studies without breaching confidentiality
4. Titles and regulated fields
5. Check your wording
6. Showing prices
7. If you want government work
8. Enquiries and privacy
9. My view
10. Questions I get asked

Most consultants get their work through people they know. The website's job is what happens next: someone hears your name, looks you up, and decides whether to call. Search "consultant website" and you get galleries of pretty examples, none of them Australian and none of them about what that visitor is actually checking. This guide is about that: what an Australian consultant's site needs to say, and the few rules that shape how you say it.

What buyers check

There's no Australian survey of how businesses choose a consultant. The best-known data is American and dated, but it's consistent. In a 2014 survey of more than 1,000 buyers of professional services by Hinge, a marketing firm, 80.8% said they looked at the firm's website before hiring, more than searched online or asked colleagues. Gartner's 2026 survey of business buyers found they used an average of seven information sources, and 45% used AI tools to gather information on vendors.

So most buyers still start with a name from someone they trust, then check the site. It has to confirm what they were told, quickly: who does the work, whether you've solved a problem like theirs, what they'd get and roughly what it costs.

What your site needs

Tick these off for your homepage and service pages. Your ticks save in this browser.

A useful trick: most of this is already in your proposals. The parts the Institute of Management Consultants' code says you agree before starting work, "objective, scope, timeline, planned outcome and any deliverables and fees", map straight onto web pages:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Case studies without breaching confidentiality

Case studies are what buyers want most, and what confidentiality makes hardest. No law says you need permission to name a business client, but your engagement contract probably does, and the IMC's code tells members not to disclose confidential information "without the owner's explicit consent". So describe the client instead of naming them, unless they've agreed in writing.

Two legal points. A case study is a set of claims about your services, so the Australian Consumer Law applies. And if it quotes the client, it's a testimonial, where the law reverses the burden: a testimonial "is taken to be misleading unless evidence is adduced to the contrary". Keep the client's written words and permission on file.

Fill this in to draft one.

Three habits make case studies believable. Say what the client's team did, not just what you did. Give the period and how the result was measured. And never write "guaranteed" anything: the ACCC says businesses should not "make promises they can't keep".

Client logos

A strip of client logos is rarely trade mark infringement, but it can imply an endorsement, partnership or current relationship that isn't there, which the consumer law bans, and the artwork is someone's copyright. Get written permission from each client. If you've worked for a government department, name it in words. Don't use its crest: the Prime Minister's department says the Coat of Arms must not be shown "in a way which might lead a reader to believe that the material is of Australian Government origin or has Australian Government endorsement."

Titles and regulated fields

Management consulting has no licence or protected title in Australia. The IMC describes its code as "a self-regulatory regime", binding only its members. "CMC" (Certified Management Consultant) is a voluntary IMC certification for Full members and Fellows; it isn't a registered trade mark or a legal title here, but claiming it when you don't hold it is a false claim under the consumer law.

Some consulting fields are regulated, and the words on your site matter:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Not protected, as far as I could find: "management consultant", "business consultant", "HR consultant", "IT consultant", "accountant", "town planner", "OHS consultant" and "environmental consultant". The consumer law still applies to every claim. If you're in a Professional Standards Scheme, the scheme's liability wording goes on your website too, but only if you're actually in one.

Check your wording

Paste your homepage or a bio. This flags regulated titles to check against your registration, and claims that are hard to prove.

It flags words to check, not every problem. A title can be fine if you hold the registration it implies.

Showing prices

Most consultants don't publish rates, and there's no data on how many do. I'd at least say how you price: fixed fee per stage, day rate or retainer, whether expenses are extra, and whether prices include GST. If you can, give a "from" price for a defined first step, like a diagnostic or a workshop. It filters out enquiries that were never going to work.

On GST: the consumer law's single-price rule applies to services "of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use", and not to prices shown only to companies. So "+GST" pricing for business consulting isn't unlawful in itself. If you sell to individuals, like coaching or careers advice, show the GST-inclusive price.

If you want government work

The Commonwealth's Management Advisory Services Panel is how most federal consultancies are bought, and it's closed outside its refresh rounds; tenders are published on AusTender, so register there and follow the planned procurements. BuyICT's professional and consulting services marketplace opens periodically. But you don't have to be on a panel: BuyICT says agencies can engage small businesses directly for smaller procurements, under the Commonwealth Procurement Rules. In NSW, the Performance and Management Services Scheme lets suppliers apply at any time.

For the website, government buyers look for the same things tenders ask for: case studies, your ABN, the insurance you hold, and a capability statement. List only the panels you're actually on. And note that consultants doing Commonwealth contract work are covered by the Privacy Act whatever their size, including as subcontractors.

Enquiries and privacy

Most small consultancies are exempt from the Privacy Act, but not all: Commonwealth contractors and health service providers are covered regardless of turnover. Either way, keep your enquiry form short: name, work email, organisation and a line about the problem. Say not to send confidential documents through the form. Keep the newsletter sign-up separate, because the Spam Act needs consent, and an enquiry isn't consent to a newsletter.

My view

A consultant's website doesn't need to be clever. It needs to make a referral feel safe: a clear statement of the problems you solve, the people who'll do the work, a few honest case studies, what an engagement produces, and how it's priced. Build it from your best proposal, keep every title exactly as held, and get permission before you name anyone.

Questions I get asked

What should a consultant's website include?

The problems you solve and for whom, who does the work, two to four case studies, what an engagement produces, how pricing works, and an easy way to get in touch.

Can I name my clients on my website?

No law requires permission to name a business client, but your contract may, and naming them can imply an endorsement. Get written permission, or describe them instead.

Is "management consultant" a protected title in Australia?

No. There's no licence for management consulting. "CMC" is a voluntary certification from the Institute of Management Consultants.

Should consultants publish their rates?

Many don't. At least explain how you price, and consider a "from" price for a defined first step.

How do consultants get government work?

Through panels like the Management Advisory Services Panel and BuyICT when they open, NSW's Performance and Management Services Scheme, and direct engagement for smaller jobs. Register on AusTender.