How to Hire Your First Offshore Team Member: A Practical Guide for Australian Professional Services Firms
Most Australian business owners spend six to twelve months thinking about their first offshore hire before they actually do it.
They've heard it works. They know the cost case. They've probably been referred by someone who did it two years ago and won't shut up about how good their loans processor is.
But they don't know where to start. So they do nothing.
This is a step-by-step guide to making your first offshore hire the right way — from figuring out which role to start with, through to your team member's first week on the job.
Step 1: Decide What You're Actually Hiring For
The most common mistake is starting too broad. "I need help with admin" is not a job description. It's a symptom.
Before you write a single job ad, answer this question: what is the single task eating the most of your time, or your team's time, that someone else could do with the right training?
For mortgage brokers, it's almost always loan processing — submitting applications, chasing lenders, preparing docs, following up settlements. For accountants, it's bookkeeping, data entry, and client onboarding. For financial planners, it's SOA prep and compliance documentation.
Pick one role. One specific function. Your first offshore hire should not be a "general admin assistant who can do anything." That hire is hard to train, hard to manage, and hard to evaluate. A defined role with defined tasks is where you start.
Write a list of the top 10 tasks you want them to own. If you can't list 10 tasks clearly, you're not ready to hire yet.
Step 2: Know What You're Paying
You don't need to guess. The market rates for Filipino professionals in 2026 are:
Loans processor / mortgage admin: $1,600–$1,800 AUD/month
Bookkeeper / accounts admin: $1,400–$1,600 AUD/month
Financial planning support / paraplanning: $1,600–$2,000 AUD/month
Executive assistant / general admin: $1,400–$1,600 AUD/month
Accountant (degree-qualified): $1,600–$2,000 AUD/month
On top of base salary, budget for:
Mandatory government contributions (SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG) — roughly 10–12% of salary
13th month pay — one additional month's salary, paid in December, required by law in the Philippines
Employer of record (EOR) platform like Deel — approximately $49–$99 USD per month for compliant payroll
All-in, you're looking at $2,000–$2,400 AUD/month for a well-structured hire in most roles. That's $24,000–$29,000 per year. Compare that to $70,000–$90,000 for a local equivalent and you start to understand why the firms that did this three years ago aren't looking back.
Don't underpay. Paying below market rate for Filipino talent is how you get high turnover and underperformance. The savings are significant enough that you don't need to squeeze the salary.
Step 3: Write a Job Description That Actually Attracts Good Candidates
Filipino professionals are choosing between multiple opportunities. A vague job description attracts the candidates with the fewest options. A clear, specific description attracts people who know exactly what they're getting into.
Your job description should include:
What the role involves (specifically)
Not "assist with admin tasks." Write out the actual tasks: "Process mortgage applications in ApplyOnline, liaise with lenders via email and phone, prepare loan documentation packs, follow up outstanding conditions." Be specific enough that someone reading it knows exactly what their day looks like.
Software and tools required
List the platforms you use. If you're a broker: ApplyOnline, MyCRM, Nextdoc, FLEX. If you're an accountant: Xero, MYOB, BGL. Candidates who already know your software hit the ground faster.
Hours and timezone
Most Australian firms ask for 9am–5pm AEST (or AEDT during daylight saving). Manila is two to three hours behind Sydney, so this is entirely workable — your hire starts early by Philippine standards, but it's normal for anyone working with Australian clients.
Salary (in PHP)
Convert to Philippine Peso and list the monthly salary. AUD rates look good to Australians. PHP rates are what candidates are comparing. $1,700 AUD/month is approximately ₱67,000 PHP/month at current exchange rates. That's a well-paying position in Metro Manila.
The company and what you do
Don't underestimate this. Candidates research who they're working for. A short, honest paragraph about what your firm does, how many people are in the team, and what working with you looks like matters.
Step 4: Screen for the Right Person — Not Just the Right CV
The resume is the least reliable indicator of whether someone will succeed in your role.
You're looking for three things: English communication ability, attention to detail, and coachability.
Communication ability: The best way to assess this is a live video call. Not a written assessment — a call. Can they explain their experience clearly? Do they understand your questions? Are they confident communicating in English in a professional context? You'll know in ten minutes.
Attention to detail: Give them a practical task relevant to the role. For a loans processor, this might be reviewing a sample application summary and identifying errors or missing information. For a bookkeeper, reconciling a simple set of transactions. The task doesn't need to be complex — you want to see how carefully they work and whether they ask clarifying questions before starting.
Coachability: Ask about a time they had to learn something new on the job. Ask how they prefer to receive feedback. People who've been doing this well for international clients will have clear answers. People who haven't will be vague.
Ignore candidates who can't show up prepared to a video call. It tells you how they'll approach work.
Step 5: Structure the Employment Correctly
This is where most businesses overcomplicate it.
When you hire a Filipino professional, you have two options:
Option 1: Independent Contractor
The most straightforward structure. You engage the person as a contractor — they invoice you, you pay them directly via Wise, PayPal, or bank transfer. No platform fees, no employer contributions, easy to set up. This is how the majority of Australian firms hire Filipino professionals, and it works well. A clear contractor agreement sets out the scope, rate and termination terms — and that's the foundation of the arrangement.
Option 2: Employer of Record (EOR)
An EOR like Deel employs your team member on your behalf in the Philippines, handling payroll, statutory contributions (SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG), tax compliance, and contracts. You pay the platform fee ($49–$99 USD/month) on top of the salary. This adds cost and admin, but gives the hire a formal employment contract and statutory benefits if that matters to you or them.
Most Australian SMEs use the contractor model. It's simpler, cheaper, and the standard way this is done.
Step 6: Onboard Properly — The First 30 Days Determine the Next 12 Months
The biggest mistake firms make after a good hire is a bad onboarding.
They brief the person loosely, throw them into tasks, and then wonder why the quality isn't where they expected. The problem isn't the hire. It's the setup.
Your first 30 days should look like this:
Week 1: Orientation
Go through your business — what you do, who your clients are, how you make money, what success looks like. Walk through every tool they'll use. Set up access to all systems. Introduce them to the team (including Australian team members). Do a daily check-in call — even if it's fifteen minutes.
Week 2: Shadow and repeat
Have them shadow your existing process — watch recordings, review real examples, see how tasks are done. Then have them do a task while you watch. Give specific, direct feedback. Not "that looks good" — "the client comms section needs to include the expected settlement timeline and lender reference number."
Week 3–4: Supervised independence
They complete tasks. You review output. Correct in real time. The goal is that by the end of week four, you're reviewing a small percentage of their work rather than all of it.
The firms that invest the first 30 days properly end up with self-managing team members inside three months. The firms that don't complain that offshore hiring doesn't work.
Step 7: Run 30, 90, and 150-Day Check-ins
A good hire isn't just someone who does good work on day one. It's someone who stays, improves, and becomes part of how your business runs.
Three check-in points to build into your process:
30 days: How are they settling in? What's still unclear? Are there tools or processes they're finding difficult? What do they need from you? Listen more than you talk.
90 days: Review performance against the tasks you hired them for. Are the tasks getting done at the standard you need? Where are the gaps? What training would make them more effective? This is also the point where you start talking about what the role could grow into.
150 days: By now they should be operating independently on their core tasks. This check-in is about the future — what else could they take on? Are they happy? Is there anything in the working arrangement that isn't working? What would make them want to stay long-term?
Turnover kills the value of an offshore hire. A team member you've invested in for twelve months is worth ten times what a new hire is worth on day one. Treat retention like a business metric.
The Agency Question
At some point in this process, you'll talk to an offshore agency.
They'll tell you they handle everything — sourcing, screening, onboarding, compliance, management. You just pay a monthly fee.
Here's what they don't tell you: that monthly fee includes a permanent markup on the staff member's salary. They're charging you $2,800/month, paying the staff member $1,800/month, and keeping $1,000/month for themselves — every month — indefinitely.
Over three years, that's $36,000 in fees for an arrangement that provides you with zero ongoing value after placement. The staff member is doing the work. The agency is clipping a ticket.
The alternative is direct hire. You find the person (or someone does it for you), you own the employment, and you pay what the person actually earns. No markup. No ongoing fee. No intermediary sitting permanently between you and your team member.
At Tarino, the fee is $5,000 — once. The hire is yours. We step away after placement.
What To Do Next
If you're ready to make your first offshore hire, the process is simpler than it sounds when you break it into steps.
Start with the role. Be specific about the tasks. Hire for communication ability and coachability. Structure employment properly from day one. Invest in the first 30 days.
Done right, your first offshore hire should reduce your cost base by $40,000–$60,000 per year and give you back ten to fifteen hours of your week.
Most of the firms that have done this wish they'd started sooner.
Want to hire without the agency markup? Visit tarino.au or reach out directly. One fee. You own the hire.
This guide reflects direct hire practices as of 2026. Salary rates are AUD equivalents based on current market data. EOR platform costs and statutory contribution rates may vary.