Most of Australia's Professional Historians Associations (PHAs) maintain a directory of consultant historians who are qualified and experienced to undertake commissioned histories.
You may decide to invite proposals from registered individuals or request state or territory PHAs to advertise the position directly to their members on your behalf. The contact details of individual PHAs are provided in the menu at the top of this page.
Professional Historians Australia also circulates a national employment bulletin advertising employment opportunities Australia-wide. This assists both PHA members and potential employers. Employers and commissioning bodies may send advertisements to phanswsecretary@gmail.com to participate in this free service.
If you decide to advertise or call for tenders, your organisation may wish to specify that applicants must be eligible for accreditation as a professional historian.
Some organisations and individuals find it helpful to engage a professional historian to assist with the design of a project brief. The relevant state or territory PHA can assist in determining the type and length of history required and a budget that takes into account the Scale of Fees recommended for the engagement of accredited professional historians in Australia.
PHAs can also provide advice regarding contracts and timeframes to ensure that appropriate professional standards are maintained.
In addition, consideration could be given to engaging a professional historian to assist with the recruitment process and/or to sit on the committee overseeing the project.