What Referoo does

Referoo is a privately held SaaS provider of online employment verification and background screening, headquartered in Sydney with a regional entity in London (Referoo UK Ltd) and operations across Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. The company was founded in 2017 by co-founders Chris Hunter and Neil Rose and operates with an 11-50 employee headcount. Its core product, Referoo Hub, is a cloud-first platform that consolidates reference checks (conducted via email, phone, or SMS), background checks, ID verification, right-to-work checks, work-history checks, criminal-history checks, and UK DBS checks into a single interface that integrates with HR and ATS systems via API. Differentiated features include IP tracking for fraud detection, LinkedIn-based referee verification, and customizable questionnaires, all supported by ISO 27001 certification, OWASP SAMM framework alignment, AES 256 encryption at rest, and TLS 1.3 in transit.

Referoo monetizes primarily through monthly or annual subscriptions priced by check volume, supplemented by pass-through fees on third-party background and identity checks billed monthly in arrears. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; a 14-day free trial serves as a self-serve entry point, while a book-a-demo motion targets enterprise buyers. The go-to-market is hybrid PLG with sales-assisted enterprise engagement, leveraging a partner ecosystem spanning ATS/CRM, HRIS, Compliance & Onboarding, Consulting, Industry, and Rec Tech categories, alongside industry association memberships (LASA, RCSA, NDS). Named customers span banking (Kiwibank), retail (The Warehouse Group, Petstock), aged care (KinCare), facilities management (Ventia), and recruitment (Robert Walters, Hudson, Collar, Falcon Recruitment), indicating a diversified enterprise and recruitment-agency base. Platform uptime is reported at 99.98% over 90 days across segregated AU and UK environments.

The company is bootstrapped with no disclosed funding rounds or external institutional investors, and operates wholly-owned subsidiaries rather than a holding-company structure. No parent company, M&A activity, leadership changes, or product-launch timeline data are publicly disclosed, and detailed financial metrics (revenue, ARR, headcount trend) are not available, representing material data gaps for external assessment.

Name

Referoo

Legal name

Referoo Pty Ltd

Website

https://referoo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Referoo is a bootstrapped Australian SaaS provider of online reference checking, background screening, and ID verification, serving HR teams and recruitment agencies across Australia, the UK, and New Zealand through its Referoo Hub platform with HR/ATS integrations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Platform Subscription: Monthly or annual subscription fees for access to the Referoo Hub platform and reference checking capabilities. Subscription tiers include usage limits on reference checks. Additional reference checks beyond the limit incur extra fees.
2. Third Party Checks: Fees from third-party background checks (criminal history, identity verification, DBS checks, etc.) passed through to clients. These are charged monthly in arrears and are provided by third-party providers with pricing set by those providers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Referoo sells a cloud-based employment screening platform (Referoo Hub) that enables organizations to run reference checks, background checks, ID verification, right-to-work checks, work history checks, surveys and criminal history (DBS / Australian NPC) checks from a single integrated interface. The platform targets HR teams, in-house recruiters and recruitment agencies, with multi-channel referee outreach (email, phone, SMS), fraud detection features, and direct integrations to HR and ATS systems. Customers subscribe via tiered monthly or annual plans with usage-based overages and pass-through fees for third-party checks.

Product overview

Referoo is a comprehensive online employment-checking platform that offers a unified product portfolio centered on the Referoo Hub platform. The core offering consists of reference checks (conducted via email, phone, or SMS), background checks from leading providers, and ID verification services. These are supplemented by specialized modules including Right to Work Checks, Work History Checks, Surveys, Advanced Digital Footprint Check, and Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks for the Australian market. UK-specific offerings include Basic, Standard, and Enhanced DBS Checks. All services are accessible through the Referoo Hub, which serves as the central intelligent platform integrating with HR and ATS systems to streamline the hiring process across all employment check types.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Referoo Hub Cloud-based intelligent platform that consolidates reference checks, background checks, ID verification, right-to-work checks, work history checks, surveys, advanced digital footprint checks and criminal history checks into a single interface with native HR/ATS integration. Targets HR teams, in-house recruiters and recruitment agencies that want to replace multiple screening tools with one workflow.
• Reference Checks Reference checking service that contacts former employers and referees via email, phone or SMS to deliver candidate insights, with customizable questionnaires, company branding, IP-based fraud detection and LinkedIn verification of referees. Used by HR and recruitment professionals during hiring.
• Background Checks Aggregator-style background checking service offering an extensive range of third-party background checks (criminal, identity, employment history, etc.) sourced from leading providers and consolidated through the Referoo Hub to support industry and regulatory compliance.
• ID Checks Identity verification service that confirms candidate identity using digital ID verification methods including selfie photography and Digital ID Network integration with express consent. Used by employers to confirm who they are hiring.
• Right to Work Checks Verification service confirming that a candidate has the legal right to work in their jurisdiction, supporting employer compliance with immigration and employment eligibility rules.
• Work History Checks Service that validates a candidate's previous employment history to confirm the accuracy of work experience claims during hiring.
• Surveys Customizable survey tooling for collecting structured candidate and referee feedback as part of the employment screening workflow.
• Advanced Digital Footprint Check Add-on service that examines a candidate's online presence and digital identity to provide additional screening insights beyond standard reference and background checks.
• Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks Australia-specific criminal record checks providing nationally coordinated criminal history verification through accredited Australian providers, supporting local employment compliance.
• DBS Checks UK-based criminal record checking service offered at Basic, Standard and Enhanced DBS levels with access to barred list services, processed electronically and integrated into HR or ATS platforms for UK employers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.98% platform uptime over 90 days
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability2 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• LASA (Leading Age Services Australia)minorOthersIndustry partner association providing networking and credibility in the aged care and senior services sector.
• RCSA (Recruitment, Consulting & Staffing Association)minorOthersIndustry association partner for the recruitment and staffing sector, providing market credibility and industry representation.
• NDS (National Disability Services)minorOthersIndustry partner in the disability services sector, supporting organizations that provide services to people with disabilities.
• ATS/CRM PartnerscoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology integration partnerships with Applicant Tracking Systems and Customer Relationship Management platforms enabling seamless workflow integration for mutual customers.
• HRIS PartnerscoreTechnology or IntegrationHuman Resource Information System integration partnerships allowing Referoo to access candidate data and push verification results directly into HR platforms.
• Compliance & Onboarding PartnerscoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partnerships with compliance and onboarding platforms to provide comprehensive employment verification as part of onboarding workflows.
• Consulting PartnersminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsulting partners who implement and deploy Referoo solutions for enterprise clients requiring hands-on implementation support.
• Industry PartnersminorOthersVarious industry-specific partnerships enabling Referoo to serve specialized sectors including healthcare staffing, aged care, and disability services.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Xref: Australian-headquartered SaaS reference checking platform offering automated reference checks via email/SMS, multi-channel referee outreach, and ATS integrations. Direct head-to-head competitor in AU/NZ with publicly listed status providing a useful valuation benchmark.
• RefNow: Reference checking platform focused on the AU/NZ market with automated referee workflows and ATS integrations. Closest direct peer by product scope and regional focus, competing for similar HR and recruitment customers.
• Truework: US-based employment and income verification platform integrated with payroll and HR systems. Comparable in automating employment verification workflows and in pursuing API-driven distribution through HR tech partners.
• Veremark: UK-based background screening and reference checking platform with global coverage. Comparable in product scope (reference checks, background checks, right to work) and target market overlap, particularly in the UK where Referoo also operates.
• Crosschq: US-based reference checking and talent quality platform offering automated reference checks plus talent intelligence analytics. Direct competitor in the reference checking category with similar ATS integration-led GTM.

Broad incumbents

• HireRight: Global employment screening provider offering background checks, drug testing, identity verification, and workforce solutions. Established incumbent serving large enterprise customers across multiple jurisdictions, comparable in product breadth if not regional focus.
• Checkr: US-based background check leader with broad product coverage including criminal, identity, employment, and continuous monitoring. Operates at significantly larger scale and broader scope than Referoo; represents the global incumbent expanding internationally.
• Sterling (Sterling Backcheck): Global background screening and identity verification provider serving enterprise and government clients. Larger incumbent with broader portfolio including background checks, identity, and credentialing; comparable on regulated screening use cases.

Emerging players

• SpringVerify: India-based background verification platform offering reference checks, criminal checks, employment history, and ID verification. Adjacent player with comparable product surface; differs by geography and target market segment.

Regional players

• Vitay (by SRA Information Technology): Australian employment screening and reference checking provider serving local HR and recruitment customers. Regional competitor with overlapping product set and customer base, primarily operating in the same Australian market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Referoo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/referoo
• Xx.com/TheReferooTeam

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Referoo