Published 13 September 2026 by Offshored. Offshore staffing has its own vocabulary, and much of it arrives from three directions at once: the outsourcing industry, Philippine employment law and Australian compliance rules.
Dedicated offshore staff are full-time team members employed by a staffing provider in another country who work exclusively for one client, in that client's systems and business hours.
This glossary explains 45 of the terms Australian business owners and managers meet when they hire offshore staff, in plain English and in one place. Each definition stands on its own, and every term has its own link, so you can send a colleague straight to the one they asked about.
Offshore staffing is hiring people who live and work in another country to fill ongoing roles in your business. The team members are recruited and employed through a staffing provider in that country, but they report to you, use your systems and keep your business hours. Australian businesses most often offshore to the Philippines because of English fluency, a large university educated workforce and a two to three hour time difference. Read how Offshored's model works.
Dedicated offshore staff are full-time team members employed by a staffing provider in another country who work exclusively for one client, in that client's systems and business hours. They are not shared across accounts and not billed by the task. Offshored uses this model: you choose the person, they work only for your business, and Offshored handles recruitment, onboarding, payroll and day to day HR. See how it works.
Outsourcing is paying another company to deliver a function or outcome, such as bookkeeping, customer support or payroll, using that company's own staff, processes and tools. You buy the result rather than the person, and the provider decides who does the work and how. It suits well defined, repeatable tasks. Offshore staffing differs in that you direct a named person day to day. See the comparison of offshoring, outsourcing and virtual assistants.
BPO stands for business process outsourcing: contracting an entire business process, such as inbound customer service or claims processing, to a specialist provider, usually one running large shared delivery centres. BPO providers typically sell by volume, with agents rotated across client accounts and measured on call or ticket targets. Offshored is not a BPO. Its team members are dedicated to one client each and managed as part of that client's own team.
An employer of record (EOR) is a company that legally employs a worker in one country on behalf of a business in another. The EOR holds the employment contract, runs payroll, pays statutory contributions and carries local compliance, while the client directs the work. Dedicated offshore staffing rests on the same legal footing: Offshored's team members are employed in the Philippines by Australian Pathways OPC, so the Australian client engages a staffing service rather than employing an overseas worker.
Staff augmentation is adding provider supplied people to your existing team, usually for a project or a fixed period, to cover a skills or capacity gap. The term is most common in IT and software, where an agency places developers or testers under the client's project lead. It is close to dedicated offshore staffing, but usually shorter term and project based rather than an ongoing role in the business.
Seat leasing is renting a fully equipped workstation in an offshore provider's office, with desk, computer, internet, power backup and security, for staff you recruit and employ yourself. The provider supplies the facility and sometimes payroll, but not the people or their management. It suits businesses that already have a Philippine entity or a team leader on the ground. Offshored includes office space for office based team members within its monthly fee instead.
Onshore, nearshore and offshore describe where a worker is relative to your business. Onshore staff are in Australia. Nearshore staff are in a neighbouring country or a close time zone. Offshore staff are in a more distant country. For Australian businesses the Philippines sits in between: it is technically offshore, but Manila is only two hours behind Sydney on standard time and three hours during daylight saving, so the working day overlaps almost completely.
A virtual assistant (VA) is a remote worker who handles administrative, customer or marketing tasks for one or more clients, typically as a freelancer or through a VA agency, and often on an hourly or part-time basis. A dedicated offshore team member differs in being full-time, employed rather than contracted, and working only for you. Offshored places virtual assistant style roles as full-time dedicated staff. See the roles Offshored recruits for.
A job description is the written summary of the role you want filled: purpose, day to day tasks, systems used, hours, reporting line and the skills and experience required. In offshore staffing it is the document the provider recruits against, so the more specific it is, the better the shortlist. Offshored recruits from your job description, and the typical time from brief to a team member starting is one to two weeks.
Probation in the Philippines is a trial period of up to six months at the start of employment, set by the Labor Code. If the team member meets the standards made known to them at hiring, they become a regular employee, a step called regularisation. Regular employees have security of tenure and can only be dismissed for the just or authorised causes listed in the Labor Code, with due process. Offshored's HMO cover begins after probation.
13th month pay is a mandatory annual benefit in the Philippines equal to one twelfth of the basic salary a rank and file employee earned during the calendar year. Employers must pay it on or before 24 December under Presidential Decree 851. It is not a discretionary bonus. Offshored builds 13th month pay into the monthly fee, so there is no separate December charge. See what an offshore team member costs.
SSS is the Social Security System, the Philippine government scheme that provides sickness, maternity, disability, retirement, unemployment and death benefits to private sector employees. Both employer and employee make monthly contributions, calculated on the employee's salary band, and the employer files and remits them. Offshored's monthly fee includes the employer's SSS contributions for each team member.
PhilHealth is the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, the national health insurance scheme that subsidises hospital and outpatient care for members. Employers and employees share a monthly premium based on salary, and the employer remits it. PhilHealth cover is basic, which is why most professional employers add a private HMO plan on top. Offshored's monthly fee includes PhilHealth contributions.
Pag-IBIG is the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), a compulsory Philippine savings scheme that funds housing loans and short term loans for members. Employer and employee each contribute a small fixed monthly amount, and the employer remits it. Together with SSS and PhilHealth it makes up the three statutory contributions every Philippine employer must pay. Offshored's monthly fee includes the employer's Pag-IBIG contributions.
An HMO in the Philippines is a private health plan from a health maintenance organisation that gives an employee access to a network of hospitals and clinics, covering consultations, tests and hospital stays beyond what PhilHealth pays. It is not required by law, but it is a standard benefit in professional roles and matters a great deal to candidates. Offshored provides HMO cover for each team member after their six month probation, within the monthly fee.
Attrition is the rate at which team members leave and need replacing, usually expressed as a percentage of the team per year. It is the number to ask any offshore provider about, because high attrition means repeated recruitment, retraining and lost knowledge. Full-time employment, benefits such as HMO, a fair salary review and a real place in the client's team all reduce it. Contract or task based arrangements tend to increase it.
Time zone overlap is the number of working hours in which your offshore team and your Australian office are both at their desks. Manila is UTC+8, which is two hours behind Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane on standard time (AEST, UTC+10) and three hours behind Sydney and Melbourne during daylight saving (AEDT, UTC+11). Offshored's team members work their client's business hours, so an 8:30am Sydney start is a 6:30am Manila start and the overlap is the full working day.
KPIs, or key performance indicators, are the handful of measures you use to judge whether a role is delivering: invoices processed per day, calls answered within three rings, tickets closed, leads qualified. For an offshore team member they should be agreed in the first weeks, written down and reviewed regularly, because clear KPIs remove most of the difficulty of managing someone remotely. They are also the natural basis for any service level agreement.
A service level agreement (SLA) is the part of a contract that sets measurable standards for a service, such as response times, turnaround times, availability and what happens when a standard is missed. In outsourcing the SLA binds the provider, because the provider controls the work. In dedicated offshore staffing the SLA is lighter, because you direct the team member yourself; the provider's commitments cover recruitment, replacement, payroll and HR support instead.
SOPs, or standard operating procedures, are written step by step instructions for the recurring tasks in a role: how to process a supplier invoice, log a support ticket or prepare a property listing. They are the single biggest predictor of a smooth offshore start, because a team member with good SOPs can be productive in their first week and needs far less live supervision. Screen recordings of you doing the task are a fast way to build them.
Onboarding is the structured first weeks of a new team member's role: system access, introductions, SOPs, shadowing, early tasks and regular check ins. In offshore staffing it has two halves. The provider handles employment onboarding (contract, payroll, benefits, device and security setup) and the client handles role onboarding (what the job is and how you want it done). Offshored manages the first half and supports the client through the second.
An account manager is the named person at the staffing provider who looks after the relationship with a client: checking in on performance, resolving HR matters, handling replacements and salary reviews, and being the first call when something is not working. Offshored assigns each client an account manager, so day to day HR sits with Offshored while day to day direction of the work stays with the client.
PEZA is the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, the government agency that registers special economic zones and grants tax incentives to export oriented businesses operating inside them, including many large BPO providers. A provider's PEZA status affects that provider's own tax position, not the Australian client's. It is not a measure of quality or data security, so treat it as background information rather than a selection criterion.
BGC is Bonifacio Global City, a planned business district in Taguig, Metro Manila, and one of the main centres for professional services, finance and technology firms in the Philippines. It is known for modern office towers, reliable infrastructure and a large pool of university educated professionals. Offshored's Manila office is at Suite 706, HSS Corporate Building, BGC, where its office based team members work; most Offshored team members work from home.
DOLE is the Department of Labor and Employment, the Philippine government department that sets and enforces employment standards: minimum wage, hours, leave, holiday pay, occupational safety and the rules on probation, termination and contracting. A Philippine staffing provider must comply with DOLE rules for every team member it employs, which is the compliance layer that sits underneath any offshore staffing arrangement for an Australian client.
The Data Privacy Act of 2012 (Republic Act 10173) is the Philippines' privacy law, administered by the National Privacy Commission. It is modelled on international standards and requires organisations that process personal information to appoint a data protection officer, keep security measures, notify breaches and have lawful grounds for processing. For an Australian business it means an offshore team member's employer is bound by a privacy regime comparable in structure to Australia's. See how Offshored handles data security.
An NBI clearance is a certificate issued by the Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation confirming that the holder has no criminal record on file in the national database. It is the standard pre-employment background check in the Philippines and the closest equivalent to an Australian national police check. Every Offshored hire completes a pre-screening interview and an NBI clearance before being endorsed to a client.
The monthly fee is the single recurring amount an Australian client pays a staffing provider for each dedicated offshore team member, quoted in Australian dollars. At Offshored it starts from A$1,900 per month and covers the team member's salary, 13th month pay, SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG contributions, HMO cover after probation, payroll and tax withholding, plus office space and equipment for office based staff. See the full cost guide and pricing by role.
An all-inclusive fee is a monthly fee that bundles everything a team member costs (salary, statutory contributions, benefits, payroll, HR, office and equipment) into one figure with no separate charges. The phrase is worth testing when comparing providers: ask what is excluded. Common extras elsewhere include recruitment fees, setup fees, equipment, HMO, 13th month pay and overtime. Offshored's monthly fee is the only charge a client pays, apart from a late payment fee.
A placement fee, also called a recruitment or setup fee, is a one off charge some providers add when a team member starts, often a percentage of annual salary or a fixed amount per hire. It covers sourcing and screening. Offshored charges no recruitment, placement or setup fees. Recruitment is included in the monthly fee, which also removes any incentive for the provider to keep replacing people.
A lock-in contract commits a client to a minimum term, typically six or twelve months per team member, with exit fees if you leave early. Providers use lock-ins to recover recruitment costs. A no lock-in arrangement lets you end the engagement with a notice period instead, and keeps the pressure on the provider to perform. Offshored has no lock-in contracts and no minimum term: the engagement ends on 30 days' notice. See the pricing page for the terms.
A replacement guarantee is a provider's promise to recruit a replacement at no extra charge if a team member resigns or does not work out within a set period, commonly the first three to six months. Ask how long the guarantee runs and whether it starts again with each replacement. Because Offshored charges no recruitment or placement fees at any stage, a replacement is recruited at Offshored's cost and is never a separate invoice.
A salary review is a scheduled reconsideration of a team member's pay, usually once a year, based on performance, tenure and movement in the local market. In dedicated offshore staffing the provider recommends the increase and the client approves it, since it flows through to the monthly fee. Regular reviews are one of the strongest levers against attrition, because good Philippine professionals have plenty of options. Read more in the cost guide.
The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) is the law that sets minimum employment conditions in Australia's national workplace system: the National Employment Standards, modern awards, unfair dismissal rules and the Fair Work Commission. It covers employees of Australian employers. A team member employed by a Philippine company and working in the Philippines is covered by Philippine labour law instead, which is why the employer of record matters. Read whether offshoring is legal in Australia.
Misclassification is treating a worker as an independent contractor when the substance of the relationship is employment, which in Australia can expose a business to back pay, superannuation, penalties and sham contracting claims under the Fair Work Act. It is the main legal risk in hiring an overseas individual directly on a freelance basis. Engaging staff through a provider that employs them locally avoids the question, because the team member is an employee, just not yours.
The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) is Australia's federal privacy law, and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) are the 13 rules inside it that govern how personal information is collected, used, stored, disclosed and secured. The Act applies to most businesses with annual turnover above A$3 million and to some smaller ones, including health service providers. If your offshore team member will see customer or client data, the APPs are the rules that apply.
APP 8 is the Australian Privacy Principle on cross border disclosure of personal information. Before an organisation discloses personal information to an overseas recipient it must take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient handles it in line with the APPs, and it generally remains accountable for the recipient's handling. Keeping data inside systems you control, with access rather than copies, and a written contract with the provider are the practical ways to meet it. See Offshored's data security page.
The Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme is the part of the Privacy Act that requires organisations to notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and affected individuals when personal information is lost or accessed without authorisation and serious harm is likely. It applies wherever the breach happens, including through an offshore team member's device or account. Controlled logins, blocked USB ports and removing access on the last day are the standard safeguards.
GST on imported services refers to the rules, in force since July 2017, under which overseas suppliers of services to Australian customers may have to register for and charge Australian GST. Supplies to a GST registered business for business use are generally excluded, so an Australian business buying from a foreign provider usually pays no GST on the fee. Offshored Pty Ltd is an Australian registered company, so its invoices are handled on your BAS like any other Australian supplier's.
A BAS, or Business Activity Statement, is the form an Australian business lodges with the ATO, monthly or quarterly, to report and pay GST, PAYG withholding and PAYG instalments. An offshore team member engaged through a staffing provider is a business expense on the BAS like any other supplier invoice. There is no PAYG withholding, because the team member is not your employee, and any GST on the invoice is claimed as a credit.
STP, or Single Touch Payroll, is the ATO system through which Australian employers report each employee's salary, tax withheld and superannuation every pay run, directly from their payroll software. Dedicated offshore staff do not appear in your STP reporting, because they are employed by the provider's Philippine entity rather than by you. Their pay, tax and contributions are reported in the Philippines by that employer.
An AI Operator is an Offshored role for a team member who runs AI tools and automations on a client's behalf: writing and refining prompts, checking and correcting AI output, keeping workflows running and reporting on results, so the business gets the benefit of AI without an Australian staff member spending their day on it. AI Operator roles cost A$2,450 to A$5,500 per month, depending on the technical skill required.
Client-controlled systems means the offshore team member works inside the client's own software, accounts and logins, whether through a VPN or direct access, rather than in the provider's environment or on copies of the client's data. The client keeps ownership and control of the data, can see the work as it happens and can remove access at any time. Offshored's team members work this way, and every login is removed on the team member's last day.
Australian Pathways OPC is the registered Philippine company (Company Registration 2023010082245-00) that legally employs Offshored's team members in the Philippines. OPC stands for one person corporation, a company type under the Philippine Revised Corporation Code. Offshored Pty Ltd, the Australian company clients contract with, recruits and manages the team, while Australian Pathways OPC holds the employment contracts, runs payroll and pays statutory contributions, so clients engage a staffing service rather than employing an overseas worker.
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