70 verified organisations
Speaker bureaus and speaking agencies in Australia
70 organisations, each one checked on its own website.
Australia's speaking industry is smaller than it looks. A handful of bureaus do most of the corporate work, and most of them sit in Melbourne or Sydney.
Saxton has been running since 1965 and is the biggest. ICMI, Keynote Entertainment, Claxton and Celebrity Speakers all carry rosters in the thousands. Below them sit boutique bureaus and speaker management companies with small exclusive rosters. Then there's a long tail of entertainment agencies that'll book you a comedian, a band and a keynote speaker in the same phone call.
That last group matters more than people expect. Twenty-four of the organisations on this page are entertainment agencies with a speaker section. If you're an event organiser who needs an MC and a band as well as a keynote, they are often the easier call.
The big bureaus are choosy about who they take on. Saxton and ICMI both want at least five paid bookings in the past twelve months, on-stage video and client references before they'll add a speaker. For you, that's a useful filter: anyone on those rosters is already being paid to speak. Smaller bureaus are far more open, and several have a form anyone can fill in. That doesn't make their speakers worse, but ask for video and a recent client reference yourself.
Fees are mostly hidden. Only a minority of the organisations here publish a band at all. The ones that do tend to start around $2,000 to $5,000 and climb from there.
One thing worth knowing before you start emailing: several sites that look Australian aren't. The Australian Speakers Bureau is run by SpeakIn out of Singapore. Speakers Corner is a London business, BigSpeak sits in California, and London Speaker Bureau Asia has a North Sydney office but is run out of Kuala Lumpur. They all list Australian speakers and they're all real businesses. Not one of them is a local agency.
Industry bodies sit alongside the bureaus, but they don't book anyone. Professional Speakers Australia runs a Find a Speaker directory, and only members who can verify $50,000 of speaking income get a listing. That makes it a decent place to find experienced speakers and contact them direct. The conference organiser and association bodies mostly list suppliers rather than speakers. The exception is the Australian Business Events Association, whose services directory has an entertainment and speaker category.
Speaker bureaus 20
Saxton Speakers
Australia's largest bureau, running since 1965, with more than 1,000 speakers, MCs and entertainers across business, innovation, sport and politics.
Australian Speakers Bureau (operated by SpeakIn)
An Australia-branded site operated by SpeakIn, a Singapore aggregator, listing speakers in AI, business and digital marketing from 47 countries.
Ovations Speakers Bureau
Sydney bureau with published fee bands, covering AI, change, customer experience and economics, along with MCs and after-dinner speakers.
Corporate Speakers Australia (LUKE Corporate Speakers International)
Trades as LUKE Corporate Speakers International, booking leadership, business, motivational and AI speakers Australia wide.
Encore Speakers
Queensland-registered business bureau covering sales and marketing, leadership and culture, and AI, innovation and technology.
Great Expectation Speakers and Trainers
Brisbane bureau booking speakers, trainers and MCs Australia wide, with celebrity speakers and entertainers on its list too.
Speakers Corner
London bureau with a global roster of more than 12,000 speakers across 50 countries, listing Australian business and technology names.
Claxton Speakers International
Founded in Sydney in 1996 with an open roster of about 1,500 names, weighted to futurists, economists, journalists and public figures.
Elite Speakers
Perth bureau founded by a group of industry veterans, with a dedicated AI category and named resource-sector clients.
Speakers Solutions
Small Melbourne bureau operating since 1997 that publishes its fees, covering business leadership, health and wellbeing, and social issues.
BigSpeak Speakers Bureau
California bureau that books internationally and lists some Australian speakers, with business, AI, change management and host categories.
London Speaker Bureau Asia
Asia arm of the London Speaker Bureau, with a North Sydney office and a global roster of more than 4,000 speakers.
Speakers Connect
Hong Kong bureau covering business, leadership and technology that has supported events in Sydney and Melbourne.
Speaking Out
Boutique Melbourne agency of about 350 speakers built around social justice, personal development and education, serving schools, councils and universities.
Australian Speakers Bureau (boutique)
Small boutique bureau with a roster drawn from Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.
Agency X
Brisbane athlete and media talent agency offering speaking, MC, appearance and brand ambassador work.
Blaklist Agency
A First Nations owned creative talent agency in Sydney representing hosts, storytellers, performers, models and designers.
Speakers Ink
Literary speakers agency booking authors, illustrators and poets into schools, libraries and events across Australia and New Zealand.
Booked Out Speakers Agency
Established in 1994, the schools, libraries and communities arm of the same business as Speaking Out.
Paper Bird Speakers Agency
Fremantle children's bookshop initiative placing about 40 children's authors and illustrators with schools and festivals.
Speaker management 6
ODE Management
Sydney speaker management company with a small exclusive roster, covering education, finance, health, technology and sales.
Leading Voice Speaker Management
Founded in 2016 by two directors from one of Australia's largest bureaus, with a small hand-picked exclusive roster of speakers and executive coaches.
CMC Talent (Creative Media Careers)
Melbourne talent management for broadcasters, hosts, presenters and experts, relevant to MC and host bookings.
TalentINK Group
Sydney talent management for television personalities, influencers, journalists and lifestyle presenters, with an MC and speakers list.
The Fordham Company
Family-owned Sydney celebrity and personality management firm of more than 40 years, covering sport, media, entertainment, politics and publishing.
Token (Token Artists)
Melbourne comedy artist management company that markets its own comedians as keynote speakers and MCs.
Entertainment agencies that book speakers 24
Platinum Speakers and Entertainers
Independent Melbourne bureau and IASB member covering business, AI, sales and marketing, with published fee bands that start at the lower end of the market.
ICMI Speakers & Entertainers
A 35 year old family business, now part of the Launchd Group, with one of the broadest topic lists in the country including advertising, marketing and AI.
Keynote Entertainment
Melbourne bureau with a large open database of more than 2,000 presenters across 44 categories, including branding and marketing, AI and entrepreneurship.
Inspire Speakers
Founded in 2014, covering AI, business, entrepreneurs and CEOs, sales and marketing, and technology.
Talent Corp
Sydney media and talent marketing agency with a speakers and entertainment arm alongside brand ambassadors and influencers.
The Booker Bureau
Boutique Melbourne bureau and entertainment agency founded in 2013, with explicit marketing and business sales categories.
Australian Network Entertainment (ANE)
Sydney agency of more than 25 years supplying celebrity MCs, television personalities, sports stars and comedians, with AI and business keynote categories.
Celebrity Speakers Bureau (Celebrity Speakers Australia)
A 40 year old Sydney bureau of more than 5,000 personalities, leaning to celebrity, media and sport.
Blue Planet Entertainment
Melbourne music and entertainment agency with a speaker division that leans to sport and celebrity names.
Essential Speakers (Essential Talent)
Australian arm of New Zealand's Essential Talent, launched in 2024 and IASB accredited, with more than 300 talent through its global network.
Apples & Pears Entertainment
Sydney entertainment agency of more than 20 years with a corporate speakers menu covering business and corporate trainers.
Artist Bookings
Melbourne entertainment agency with a strong First Nations MCs, comedians and presenters roster.
Enhance Entertainment
Sydney agency of more than 25 years with roughly 370 speakers, alongside strong council, festival and activation work.
Instinct Music (Instinct Events & Entertainment)
Large Melbourne corporate entertainment agency with a keynote speaker and MC section, and a published keynote guide from $10,000.
Onstage Entertainment
Brisbane event entertainment company with a guest speakers and MCs service alongside bands, DJs and acts.
Australian Entertainment Services (AES)
Melbourne music-led agency of more than 30 years with a small MCs and professional speakers section.
Bandshop
Melbourne music-led agency whose comedians, MCs and speakers section is dominated by comedians.
Corporate Comedians
Brisbane comedy booking agency of nearly 20 years, with about 40 performers and a small keynote speaker service.
Fane Australia
Australian arm of UK live-events producer Fane Group, touring authors and personalities and offering them as keynote speakers.
Grandstand Agency
Western Australian agency serving corporate, mine-site and community events, with MCs, comedians, sport personalities and keynote speakers.
Primetime Entertainment & Events
Darwin and Top End agency with an MCs and speakers offering alongside its wider entertainment bookings.
Big Sky Entertainment
Perth agency operating since 2010, focused on corporate and mining-sector events, with an MC and speakers category.
Character Builders
Brisbane training and schools-program company that also books motivational speakers for south-east Queensland corporate clients.
Island Entertainment
Tasmania's main entertainment agency, founded in 2001 and a listed supplier with Business Events Tasmania, carrying national keynote speakers including AI voices.
Directories, marketplaces and industry bodies 17
EntertainOz
Long-running Australian entertainment and speaker directory with a free listing and a price filter, including 47 speakers under business and marketing.
Talks.co
Platform matching podcast hosts with expert guests and virtual summits, claiming more than 10,000 expert profiles.
Professional Speakers Australia (PSA) - Find a Speaker
The national industry body for speakers. Its Find a Speaker listing only includes Professional Members, who need a verified speaking income.
Professional Conference Organisers Association (PCOA) - Associate Partner Program
Industry body for professional conference organisers, the people who shortlist conference speakers. It also certifies event managers and event companies.
AuSAE (Australasian Society of Association Executives) - Supplier Directory
Association executives body with supplier directories for Australia and New Zealand, aimed at the association leaders who run member conferences.
Australian Business Events Association (ABEA) - Services Directory
The national business events body formed in 2023, with an entertainment and speaker category in its member services directory.
Sessionize - Speakers Directory
Call-for-speakers platform with more than 85,000 public speaker profiles, used by Australian technology and community conferences.
Bark.com (Australia) - Motivational Speakers
Lead marketplace where buyers post a request and professionals pay to respond, with a published speaker price guide.
Business Events Adelaide (Adelaide Convention Bureau) - Membership
South Australian convention bureau with about 200 industry members. There is no public speaker directory.
Business Events Perth - Membership
Western Australian convention bureau whose members are venues, suppliers and conference organisers.
Business Events Sydney (BESydney) - Supplier Search
Sydney's convention bureau, with a supplier search across member hotels, venues, conference organisers and service providers.
Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) - Partnership Program
Melbourne's convention bureau, with a Find a Supplier search across more than 250 private enterprise partners and an event enquiry service.
SpeakerHUB
Large global speaker directory, free for organisers, claiming more than 68,000 members and event planners.
SpeakerLinq
Newer speaker directory and audience-engagement tool priced in Australian dollars, with a free tier.
Gold Coast Speakers
Small regional directory of more than 60 speakers with direct booking and no commission.
Pickstar
Australian marketplace where bookers post requests and vetted talent apply, built around sports stars and celebrities.
eSpeakers Marketplace
The software behind PSA's Find a Speaker and many bureau directories, with a public marketplace where organisers can search for and book speakers.
Other organisations 3
Leishman Associates (ICMI Tasmania franchise)
Hobart conference organiser and Tasmanian franchisee of ICMI, choosing speakers for the conferences it runs.
Consult Clarity - Australian keynote speaker lists
Editorial best-speaker lists for Australia covering association conferences, cities and topics, which rank well in Google and AI search.
Speaker Advisor
Curated best-speaker lists by topic and free matching advice, run by a working speaker in Melbourne.
By city
Who is actually based in each city, rather than who covers it from elsewhere.
Questions people ask about Australian speaker bureaus
What does a speaker bureau actually do?
A bureau sits between the speaker and the event. It keeps a roster and markets those speakers to event organisers. It also handles the booking, the contract and usually the payment. The organiser gets a shortlist without doing the research. The speaker gets work without doing the selling.
Bureaus are paid by the booking, so they have every reason to put forward someone who will land in the room. That also means they are selective about who goes on the roster.
What is the difference between a bureau and speaker management?
A bureau represents a lot of speakers and doesn't usually own the relationship. Most speakers sit on several bureau rosters at once, so two bureaus can put forward the same person.
Speaker management is exclusive. The company takes a small roster, often ten to twenty people, and builds each career: positioning, fee growth, the lot. ODE Management, Leading Voice and TalentINK work this way.
If the speaker you want is managed, you'll usually book through the manager. Nobody else is selling them.
What commission does an Australian speaker bureau take?
None of the bureaus listed on this page publish a commission rate. That was checked across all 70 organisations here.
What matters to you is the total. Ask whether the fee you've been quoted already includes the bureau's cut or has it added on top. Then ask what else will be added, such as travel and GST.
Can I find speakers outside Sydney and Melbourne?
Yes. Most of the big bureaus sit in Melbourne or Sydney, but they book nationally, and several other cities have agencies of their own.
In Perth, Elite Speakers is a bureau with resource-sector clients, while Big Sky Entertainment and Grandstand Agency both work corporate and mining-sector events. Brisbane has Great Expectation and Onstage Entertainment, and Gold Coast Speakers is a small regional directory with direct booking. Island Entertainment is Tasmania's main entertainment agency. Up north, Primetime Entertainment covers Darwin and the Top End.
If travel is on your bill, a local speaker can cut it.
Are speakers on the big Australian bureau rosters vetted?
At the top end, yes. Saxton and ICMI only take on speakers who have done at least five paid engagements in the past twelve months, and both ask for on-stage video and client references. Talent Corp uses the same five-bookings threshold.
Smaller bureaus and directories are more open, and some run an application form anyone can fill in. A listing there tells you less. Ask for video of a real talk and a recent client you can call.
What do keynote speakers charge in Australia?
Most bureaus hide it, but the ones that publish give a useful picture. Ovations' lowest band is $3,500 to $5,000. Platinum Speakers says bookings start from about $2,000 plus GST and runs a fee filter from there. Bark.com publishes a guide of $3,650 to $8,000. Instinct Music guides keynote speakers at $10,000 and up.
At the top end, BigSpeak lists an Australian speaker at USD 30,000 to 40,000. Celebrity and sports names run higher again.
Should I ask more than one bureau for a shortlist?
You can, and for a big keynote it often makes sense. Bureau rosters overlap, though. Most speakers sit on several at once, so two bureaus may come back with some of the same names.
If that happens, pick one bureau to handle that speaker. Two agents chasing the same date for the same person just slows things down. It also helps to tell each bureau up front that you're asking around.
How far ahead should I book a speaker?
For a conference keynote, six to twelve months is normal, and popular names go earlier than that. Annual conferences often lock their speakers a full year out.
Shorter notice is possible, especially through the larger bureaus and entertainment agencies, which carry deep rosters and can find someone available. You'll have less choice.
Why do entertainment agencies show up in a speaker directory?
Because in Australia they book a real share of the speaking work. Twenty-four of the organisations on this page are entertainment agencies with a speakers or MC section alongside their bands, DJs and comedians.
For an organiser running a gala dinner or a conference that needs an MC as well as a keynote, one call covers it. The trade-off is depth. Their speaker rosters are usually thinner on business topics than a specialist bureau's.
Are the Australian-sounding speaker sites actually Australian?
Not always. The Australian Speakers Bureau is operated by SpeakIn, a company based in Singapore. Speakers Corner is a London bureau. BigSpeak is in Santa Barbara, California. London Speaker Bureau Asia has a North Sydney office but is run out of Kuala Lumpur.
All of them list Australian speakers and all are real businesses. Just know who you're dealing with before you sign, and check which currency you're being quoted in. BigSpeak, for example, lists one Australian speaker at USD 30,000 to 40,000.
Can I find a speaker through Professional Speakers Australia?
Yes, but PSA won't book them for you. It's the industry body, not an agency. Its Find a Speaker directory lists Professional Members, and that tier needs verified speaking income of $50,000 in the past twelve months plus a five-minute unedited live recording.
So everyone listed is already earning from speaking. You contact them and book direct. The directory runs on eSpeakers, which is the same software behind many bureau directories.
How do I get a listing on this page corrected or added?
Email us. Every listing here was checked on the organisation's own website on the date shown at the bottom of the page, but websites change and we'd rather be right than fast.
Nobody pays to appear on this page, and nobody can pay to be removed from it or moved up it. See how we verify for the full method.
In summary
70 speaker bureaus, speaking agencies and industry bodies operate in Australia, all verified on their own websites as at 7 October 2026. Of those, 23 publish fee guidance publicly and 47 quote privately. Listings are grouped by what each organisation actually is: bureaus, speaker management, entertainment agencies that book speakers, and directories or industry bodies. Speakers Bureaus Directory is independent, published by FMY International Trading Co., Ltd., with no paid listings.
Listings last verified 17 September 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we will fix it.