Rec People exists to support Local Government by providing services that will find them the best and most talented permanent or temporary staff in sport, recreation and leisure
Our Story
Rec People has been a trusted human resources partner to local government for 17 years as of 2025. Originally called Rec Relief, the company’s core business was providing temporary staffing to local government sport, recreation and leisure departments.
In 2018, Rec Relief changed it’s name to Rec People and while temporary staffing is still at the core of the business, Rec People has expanded its service offerings to provide permanent, temporary and project-based options for local governments across Victoria and Australia wide.
During the Covid lockdown period, Rec People took the lead in providing a focal point for local government employees to come together and share knowledge through the Rec Ignite program.
Rec People has also successfully developed and run courses for hundreds of local government employees in the areas Recreation and Open Space Planning, Sport and Club Development, Diversity and Inclusion, Physical Activity and Activation and Gender Impact Assessments.
Today, Rec People has built relationships with the majority of local councils in Victoria. We have extensive experience in the sport, recreation and leisure space specifically, including an in-depth understanding of the culture of each local council we deal with.
Rec People works very closely with our council partners to provide fast temporary staffing via our mobile workforce comprised of experienced industry experts. Rec People also offers tailored permanent recruitment options customised to budgets and targeting the industry’s best talent.
Meet the management team
Mandy Nolton
The creative leader who is not afraid to do things differently
Mandy’s passion for learning and innovative attitude enabled her to identify an opportunity to work in the Recreation and Leisure industry across a number of different councils.
Since 1994, Mandy has worked in community recreation roles within Local Government and private enterprise, combining her passion for community recreation and leading and developing a small business. Starting her career in the aquatic and leisure facility management environment, Mandy worked in a number of indoor and outdoor facilities before moving into recreation development, project management and recreation planning roles. After 24 years of delivering recreation and leisure projects and providing leisure planning services to Local Government, Mandy is managing and growing the Rec People business.
Larissa Kleiss
Show me da money!
Larissa is everyone’s favourite person in the office. Why, I hear you ask? Because she looks after the finances (which means payroll). Larissa’s been on the Rec Relief/Rec People journey most of the way with Mandy and her business support role is vital to the success of Rec people.
Leisa Bourke
Admin support with a smile
Leisa has almost 20 years’ experience in providing professional Office Management & Executive Support Services primarily with global enterprise organisations.
Leisa is detail orientated and highly organised. She thrives on supporting busy professionals so that they are freed up to focus on their core business. She is motivated by adding value to a successful team.
Joe Novella
A Comms, Marketing and
I.T all rounder
Joe is Rec People’s Marketing And Content Manager, which means that he’s responsible for all the content you see on the website, newsletter and social media channels. A published writer and film maker, Joe is a devilishly handsome, charisma machine with an intellect that has more moving parts than an exploding star. It’s Joe’s job to help the world understand just how great Rec People’s services are and how they can help Local Government.