Legal administration, digital dictation, billing and document management handled by a dedicated team member in the Philippines who works only for your firm, inside your practice management system, in your hours.
Offshored provides dedicated offshore legal assistants, dictation typists, billing assistants and document management staff to Australian law firms from A$1,900 to A$3,400 a month, all inclusive. Each team member works full time for one firm only, inside the firm’s own systems and under the supervision of its solicitors, and is employed in the Philippines by Australian Pathways OPC.
A suburban or mid-sized firm runs on administration: matters opened, dictation typed, bills out, documents filed where the next person can find them. When that work backs up, solicitors type their own letters at 7pm and bills go out late. This page sets out the roles that work offshore for a law firm, what stays with your solicitors, how confidentiality and the Privacy Act are handled, what it costs and a scenario for a typical firm. Prices are Offshored’s published 2026 bands.
Four roles cover most of what Australian firms send offshore. Each is a full-time, dedicated person who learns your precedents, your partners’ preferences and your practice management system, and stays with you.
Firms that also need reception and intake covered often add a virtual receptionist at A$1,900 to A$2,400 a month who answers in your firm’s name during Australian hours.
Legal advice, appearances, signing, client legal privilege decisions and trust account authorisations stay with your solicitors, as the Legal Profession Uniform Law and the equivalent Acts in the other states require. Rule 37 of the Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules puts supervision of all staff on a matter with the responsible solicitor, and an offshore assistant sits inside that supervision like any other member of the practice: your procedures, your review, your sign-off.
Your team member gets a licensed seat in your practice management system (LEAP, Actionstep, Smokeball, Clio or PracticeEvolve), a work email on your domain, your dictation platform and your document library, all under permissions you set. Court and search platforms, PEXA and trust accounting stay with your authorised staff; the offshore assistant prepares the file, the searches and the paperwork so those steps take minutes. Software licences remain the firm’s, so an extra seat is usually the only added cost. We document the handover in a shared procedure and your account manager checks in through the first weeks.
Confidentiality is the first question every principal asks, and the answer is structural, not a promise. Here is how the arrangement sits against your professional obligations.
The data security answer on our FAQ and our Terms of Service set out the same commitments in full.
| Role | Monthly fee, all inclusive |
|---|---|
| Legal administrative assistant or dictation typist | A$1,900 to A$2,400 |
| Billing and accounts assistant | A$2,100 to A$2,800 |
| Document management and paralegal support | A$2,400 to A$3,400 |
One monthly fee covers recruitment, salary, 13th month pay, SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG contributions, HMO health cover, payroll, tax withholding and day to day HR, plus office space and equipment for office based staff. There are no placement, setup or exit fees, no lock-in contract, and you pay month to month with 30 days’ notice. The pricing page has every band; the 2026 cost guide compares an offshore hire with a Sydney salary once superannuation, payroll tax, leave and recruitment are counted.
Say a firm of four solicitors does conveyancing, wills and estates and family law. Two of the solicitors dictate everything, the office manager types until late, bills go out ten days after the billing day, and the firm cannot justify another full-time onshore salary.
The firm hires one offshore legal assistant through Offshored at about A$2,200 a month for dictation and matter administration. Recruitment takes two weeks: a scoping call, a shortlist of screened candidates with legal office experience who are tested on the firm’s own dictation, two interviews, a Memorandum of Understanding. The assistant works 8:30am to 5:00pm AEST inside the firm’s practice management system and dictation platform.
Dictation now returns the same day, the office manager runs the office again, and bills leave on the billing day because the time entries are already in. Six months on, the firm adds a billing and accounts assistant to take over debtor follow-up and trust reconciliations for the principal to sign. This is an illustration of a typical setup, not a client case study.
Yes. Your team member gets a licensed seat in LEAP, Actionstep, Smokeball, Clio or whichever system you run, under the permissions you set, so matter files, documents and time entries stay in your environment. Nothing is stored on a personal device and you can remove access at any time.
No, when it is set up properly. The Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules allow confidential information to be shared with people the practice engages to deliver or administer legal services, the employment contract with Australian Pathways OPC includes a confidentiality clause, the work stays inside your systems, and the responsible solicitor supervises it. Tell clients in your privacy policy that support staff in the Philippines may access their information.
They can prepare it, not control it. Your offshore billing assistant prepares trust receipts, reconciliations and end of month reports; the authorised principal or associate reviews and signs every trust transaction as the Legal Profession Uniform General Rules require.
Offshored’s bands are A$1,900 to A$2,400 a month for legal administrative assistants and dictation typists, A$2,100 to A$2,800 for billing and accounts assistants, and A$2,400 to A$3,400 for document management and paralegal support, all inclusive, with no placement or setup fees and no lock-in contract.
English is the language of Philippine legal education and the courts, so terminology is rarely the issue. We shortlist candidates with legal office experience or a law-related degree, test them on your own dictation and documents before you interview, and your first weeks include training on your precedents, court forms and house style.
Typically one to two weeks from the first call: we scope the role, shortlist screened candidates in three to four days, you interview and choose, and your team member starts once the Memorandum of Understanding is signed.
More questions? The full FAQ covers legality, superannuation, time zones, working hours, qualifications and performance management. Related pages: offshore staff for mortgage brokers and financial advisers, the roles we staff and the full industry list.
Pick a time and William Smith, Offshored's co-founder, phones you. We scope the role, give you the monthly cost band and tell you honestly whether offshore staff will work for your business. No lock-in, no obligation.
Book a 20-minute call Call +61 437 228 350Prefer to type? Message us on WhatsApp or send the enquiry form. We reply within one business hour, 8am to 6pm AEST, Monday to Friday.