About Melbourne HR
Melbourne HR is a full-service HR consulting company, proud to be serving small and medium businesses across Victoria.
We don’t operate on a ‘one-size-fits-all’ policy, instead we take the time to learn all there is to know about your company, your People and your objectives, and then craft HR solutions to help you get to where you want to be.
From contracts and policies, to recruitment and performance management, Melbourne HR is ready to help with all your HR needs.
Our passion is helping businesses like yours, get the most out of its People.
Our areas of expertise
HR Contracts, Policies and Procedures
Employee Dispute Management
Remuneration Guidance
HR Outsourcing
Workplace restructure and redundancies
Performance Management and Dismissals
HR Audit
Recruitment Services
Leadership Training
The Melbourne HR story
Melbourne HR was founded in 2014 by David Simpson – a HR professional with well over a decade of experience in management and leadership roles within the Defence Force, Corporate entities and tech Start-ups.
It was through this career path that David identified a need in the market for accessible HR advice and outsourcing options for local small and medium businesses – and thus, the idea of Melbourne HR was born.
As he continued to grow his business idea and develop the Melbourne HR services, David drew upon two specific experiences:
As a Lieutenant in the Royal Australia Navy, David was the most senior seagoing Operations Officer at the Darwin Fleet Base, where he was tasked with auditing a range of under-performing crews. The completed audit showed that a large proportion of crew problems stemmed from poor HR processes – poor morale, poor training management and poor people management. To change this, David built a custom training program for each crew, established direct and simplified communication processes between departments, and finally, overhauled crew management to erase negative culture and create a positive standing benchmark. As a result of this, David’s training programs were standardised and are still in use today as the training templates for Patrol Boats.
Across 2013 – 2014, during his tenure as the Operations Manager of TalentBox, David was responsible for providing consulting to companies on the take up and installation of their new technology platform. Clients included a major supermarket chain, as well as many small and medium enterprises. It became apparent that a number of these companies employed either under-skilled hires or delegated HR tasks to an ancillary function or another employee’s portfolio of tasks. The impact of this resulted in poor morale, personnel development, hiring practices and retention – leaving a negative effect on the company’s bottom line.
Overall, David saw a clear disparity between the sophisticated systems of the larger businesses, and the fast and personal nature of small business HR.
He went on to launch Melbourne HR, with the goal of injecting sophistication into small business human resource management.
The small and medium enterprise market deserves best practice HR delivered efficiently and cost-effectively – that’s the Melbourne HR difference.
Melbourne HR Today
Melbourne HR was founded in 2014 by David Simpson, a HR professional with a background spanning the Defence Force, corporate leadership, and fast-moving technology start-ups.
David saw a clear gap in the market: small and medium businesses needed access to the same quality of HR capability and systems that larger organisations rely on — delivered in a way that’s practical, efficient, and commercially grounded. That insight became the foundation of Melbourne HR.
From Advisory to Execution
Over the past decade, Melbourne HR has grown into a team that doesn’t just advise — we execute. Our clients trust us to act as their HR department, managing everything from compliance and performance to engagement and leadership development.
We’ve built sophisticated systems and refined our internal platforms to handle the operational complexity of delivering outsourced HR at scale. Managing entire HR functions for multiple businesses — each with unique needs, structures and cultures — is no small feat. Through years of development and hands-on experience, we’ve created the processes, tools, and expertise that make this possible.
Creating Commercial and Human Value
Our philosophy balances commercial outcomes with genuine employee experience. We believe great HR delivers measurable value to the business and creates workplaces where people feel connected, empowered and accountable.
That dual focus — commercial performance and human impact — underpins everything we do. It’s what helps our clients grow sustainably, retain great people, and build strong organisational cultures.
Building Capability from Within
At Melbourne HR, we also invest heavily in our own team. Our internal graduate program has produced outstanding professionals, and our commitment to weekly training and professional development ensures we continue to lead the way in a field that’s otherwise unregulated.
We’ve effectively built our own internal standards for practice — ensuring that every member of our team delivers HR with rigour, commercial insight, and a strong sense of partnership.
The Melbourne HR Difference
Over the years, we’ve partnered with countless businesses to help them grow — from start-ups scaling from 10 to 50 people, to established organisations looking to elevate their HR capability.
We’ve mastered the complexity that others avoid, and turned it into a strength. Our execution-centric model means we don’t just design HR solutions — we make them happen.
That’s the Melbourne HR difference:
sophisticated, action-driven HR — delivered with clarity, integrity, and impact.
MHR is a proud member of the AVOB Organisation
MHR is a proud supporter of The Smith Family