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Offshore staffing contracts in Australia: what to check before you sign

By , Co-founder and CEO, Offshored. Published . Last updated .

For Australian business owners and managers who have decided to hire offshore and are reading an agreement. It names no providers. Each point ends with how Offshored's own published terms handle it, so you can hold us to the same test.

What should I check in an offshore staffing contract?

Before you sign an offshore staffing contract in Australia, check nine things in writing: the minimum term and any lock-in, the notice period and what the final invoice looks like, every fee beyond the monthly fee, how and when the fee can change, who legally employs the person, what happens if they leave or do not work out, the confidentiality and intellectual property clauses in the employment contract, how your data is handled and removed, and who manages performance. A provider whose terms are published in full, and match what it said on the sales call, is the one to sign with.

The parts of an agreement that cost money later are the ones that look routine: the term, the notice, the fees that sit outside the monthly fee, and the clauses in a contract you never see, the staff member's employment contract. Nine points cover them. Ask for every answer in writing before the first call ends, and compare the answers with the published terms.

Download the contract checklist (PDF)No form, no email address needed.
  1. Minimum term and lock-in
  2. Notice period and the final invoice
  3. Every fee beyond the monthly fee
  4. How and when the fee can change
  5. Who legally employs the person
  6. What happens if the person leaves or does not work out
  7. Confidentiality and intellectual property
  8. How your data is handled and removed
  9. Who manages performance and what happens when it slips
The nine points

What to check, why it matters and how Offshored's terms answer it

1. Minimum term and lock-in

What to check

Find the minimum term, the renewal mechanism and any early exit penalty. A fixed minimum term is not wrong in itself, but it should buy you something in return. Watch for automatic renewal into a new fixed term.

Why it matters

A lock-in moves the risk of a poor hire from the provider to you. If the person does not work out in month two, a 12 month term means ten more months of fees or an exit penalty.

How Offshored's terms handle it

There is no lock-in contract. The service is free until you choose a candidate and sign a Memorandum of Understanding, and from then on you pay month to month, invoiced in advance. You can end the arrangement with 30 days' notice and the final invoice is prorated (Terms of Service, Ending your partnership with Offshored).

2. Notice period and the final invoice

What to check

Find the notice you must give, the notice the provider must give you, and how the last invoice is calculated. Ask what happens to your team member during notice.

Why it matters

Thirty days' notice is one more invoice. Ninety days with an invoice in advance can mean paying for a quarter you do not use. The team member's treatment during notice tells you how the provider behaves when the money stops.

How Offshored's terms handle it

Thirty days' notice from you. If notice is given part way through a month, the following month's invoice is prorated to the remaining notice period; the Terms give the worked example of notice on 15 March and an April invoice at half the monthly fee. If the ending is a redundancy, Offshored covers the team member's legally required separation pay in the Philippines, 30 days' notice plus one month's salary for each year of service (Terms of Service).

3. Every fee beyond the monthly fee

What to check

Ask for a written list of every circumstance in which you would pay more than the monthly fee: recruitment or placement fees, setup, equipment, software, exit, replacement and late payment. Ask whether the first month is prorated or charged in full.

Why it matters

The headline monthly fee is the number used in every comparison, so extras are where the real price hides. A recruitment fee of one month's salary, charged again on every replacement, changes the arithmetic.

How Offshored's terms handle it

One all-inclusive monthly fee set in your MOU, covering salary, 13th month pay, SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG contributions, HMO health cover after the six month probation, payroll and tax withholding, recruitment, replacement and HR. No recruitment, placement, setup or exit fees. The only other charge is a late payment fee of A$30 per day for each team member on an overdue invoice, published in the Terms. Invoices are sent on the 15th and due on the 30th, in advance of the work period; a start date that is not the 1st means a prorated first month (Terms of Service, Invoicing and payment; pricing).

4. How and when the fee can change

What to check

Find who can change the fee, on what trigger, with how much notice, and whether you can decline. Exchange rate clauses deserve a careful read if the provider invoices in a foreign currency.

Why it matters

A fee that can rise on 30 days' notice at the provider's discretion is not a fixed fee. A fee tied to the team member's salary review, which you decide, is predictable.

How Offshored's terms handle it

The fee changes only when the team member's salary changes, and you make that call. At the annual review each November the team member can make the case for an increase; Offshored shares attendance and disciplinary records, and any increase you approve takes effect on 1 January with the fee adjusted accordingly. Offshored invoices in Australian dollars, so there is no exchange rate clause (Terms of Service, Performance reviews; benchmark methodology).

5. Who legally employs the person

What to check

Find the name and registration number of the company that holds the employment contract, runs payroll and pays the statutory contributions in the staff member's country. Find the Australian company you contract with. Check both on the public registers.

Why it matters

This decides who carries the employment risk. An independent contractor you direct like an employee can raise questions under Australian workplace law; a registered employer in the staff member's own country, with an Australian contracting company, does not.

How Offshored's terms handle it

You contract with Offshored Pty Ltd (ABN 84 664 866 433), the Australian company you pay. Every team member is employed in the Philippines by Australian Pathways OPC (Company Reg. 2023010082245-00), a registered Philippine company that handles salaries, benefits, social security and taxes. You engage a staffing service rather than employing an overseas worker; our guide Is offshoring legal in Australia? covers the Fair Work Act, the Privacy Act and GST.

6. What happens if the person leaves or does not work out

What to check

Find who pays for the replacement search, how quickly candidates arrive, whether a time limit applies, and what the provider needs from you before it will end a placement. Ask how a handover is managed.

Why it matters

People resign and some hires do not suit. A replacement guarantee with a re-recruitment fee is a fee, not a guarantee. A provider that ends placements on a phone call is also one that exposes you to a claim in the staff member's country.

How Offshored's terms handle it

Offshored replaces the team member at its own cost, with no re-recruitment fee, whether they resign or are not the right fit, and presents replacement candidates for your review before the handover date. If you ask for a team member to be terminated, Offshored needs a written report of the performance issues and the steps taken, and two weeks' notice, so the termination complies with Philippine labour law; Offshored then assumes liability for any resulting dismissal claim. Leave cover is arranged the same way (Terms of Service, Performance issues; buyer's guide, question 7).

7. Confidentiality and intellectual property

What to check

Ask to see the clauses in the staff member's employment contract, not only in your agreement with the provider. Confidentiality should survive the end of employment. Intellectual property in the work product should be assigned to you. Ask whether you can require a separate non-disclosure agreement.

Why it matters

Your agreement is with the provider; the person doing the work is employed by someone else. If the employment contract is silent on IP, ownership of the drawings, code or documents the person produces can be arguable.

How Offshored's terms handle it

The Australian Pathways OPC employment contract includes a confidentiality clause that continues after employment ends and an intellectual property assignment, so the work product belongs to the client. You can require a separate Non-Disclosure Agreement. Any unauthorised access, disclosure or misuse of data is treated as a serious breach that may lead to immediate termination, civil liability and prosecution under Philippine and Australian data protection law (Terms of Service, Data security and confidentiality; data security page).

8. How your data is handled and removed

What to check

Under the Privacy Act 1988 your business stays accountable for personal information handled overseas. Ask where the work is done, who controls the logins, what device controls apply, how access is removed when someone leaves, and whether the provider holds any of your data on its own systems. Treat a certification as unconfirmed until you have seen the certificate.

Why it matters

A provider that holds copies of your data on its own servers is a second place your data can leak from. Logins you control, removed on the last day, keep the exposure to the person and the period.

How Offshored's terms handle it

Work is done in your systems under logins you control, and Offshored holds no client data on its own infrastructure. You set the security protocols and can update them at any time, and the team member must follow your policies on data handling, access control, devices, passwords and retention. USB ports and personal cloud drives are blocked on company supplied devices, and every login is removed on the team member's last day. Offshored is not ISO 27001 certified today (data security page; privacy policy).

9. Who manages performance and what happens when it slips

What to check

Find your named contact, the feedback points, how attendance is tracked and the written process for poor performance. Ask what the provider does before it replaces someone.

Why it matters

In a dedicated staffing model you direct the daily work and the provider manages the employment side. A promise to sort it out is not a process; set feedback points and attendance records are.

How Offshored's terms handle it

Every client has a named account manager. KPIs are agreed at onboarding, feedback is collected at the end of months one, three and six of probation, and there is an annual review each November. Shifts are logged on Offshored's timekeeping platform, with attendance records and leave balances available on request. If performance slips, Offshored mediates first and then replaces (Terms of Service, Performance reviews and Performance issues; how it works).

Before you sign

Three signs to stop and ask again

  • The term, the notice period or a fee given on the sales call is different in the written agreement, or missing from it.
  • The provider cannot show you the confidentiality and intellectual property clauses in the staff member's own employment contract.
  • The provider's terms are not published, or the version you are given carries no date.

Offshored's full Terms of Service are published and dated (2026 edition), and the twelve questions to put to any provider are in How to choose an offshore staffing provider. The Terms were read for this page on 1 October 2026.

Checklist

The one page contract checklist

All nine points on a single page, with what to look for and space to note each provider's answer. Print it or fill it in on screen.

Download the checklist (PDF)Free to use and share.
  1. Minimum term and lock-in. Minimum term, renewal and exit penalty, stated in writing. No lock-in is the standard to measure against.
  2. Notice period and the final invoice. Notice both ways, the final invoice calculation, and the team member's position during notice.
  3. Every fee beyond the monthly fee. A written list of every extra: recruitment, setup, equipment, software, exit, replacement, late payment. First month proration.
  4. How and when the fee can change. Who can change the fee, on what trigger, with what notice, and whether you can decline. Currency of invoicing.
  5. Who legally employs the person. The employing company and its registration number. The Australian contracting company and its ABN. Both checked on the registers.
  6. What happens if the person leaves or does not work out. Who pays for replacement, how fast, any time limit, what the provider needs before ending a placement, and who carries the dismissal risk.
  7. Confidentiality and intellectual property. Confidentiality that survives employment, and an IP assignment, in the employment contract itself. NDA available on request.
  8. How your data is handled and removed. Where the work is done, who controls the logins, device controls, access removal on exit, whether the provider holds your data. Certificates seen, not claimed.
  9. Who manages performance and what happens when it slips. A named contact, feedback points, attendance records and a written process before replacement.
FAQ

Questions about offshore staffing contracts

Is a lock-in contract normal for offshore staffing in Australia?

Minimum terms of 6 or 12 months are common in the industry, so a provider offering one is not unusual. It is a choice you should make knowingly: ask what the term buys you, what the exit penalty is, and whether the agreement renews automatically. Offshored has no lock-in; after the Memorandum of Understanding you pay month to month and can end the arrangement with 30 days' notice.

What notice period should I expect in an offshore staffing agreement?

Thirty days is workable for most businesses and is what Offshored's Terms of Service set. Read how the final invoice is calculated: Offshored prorates it to the remaining notice period, so notice on 15 March means an April invoice at half the monthly fee.

Who owns the work an offshore team member produces?

Only what the employment contract says. Ask the provider for the confidentiality and intellectual property clauses in the staff member's own employment contract, not just your agreement with the provider. The Australian Pathways OPC contract behind every Offshored team member assigns the work product to the client and keeps the confidentiality obligation in force after employment ends.

Can an offshore staffing fee go up during the contract?

It depends on the clause. Some agreements let the provider raise the fee on notice or move it with the exchange rate. With Offshored the fee changes only when the team member's salary changes, which you decide at the annual review each November, taking effect on 1 January, and invoicing is in Australian dollars.

What should be in an offshore staffing replacement guarantee?

Who pays for the new search, how quickly candidates arrive, whether a time limit applies, and how the handover is managed. Offshored replaces at its own cost with no re-recruitment fee, whether the person resigns or is not the right fit, and presents replacement candidates before the handover date.

Is this page legal advice?

No. It is general information about what to look for in an offshore staffing agreement, and it states Offshored's own published terms at the "Last updated" date above. For advice on a specific agreement, speak to a lawyer.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Offshored's answers reflect our published Terms of Service at the "Last updated" date above.

Read our terms before you book, then put the nine points to us.

Our Terms of Service are published in full. Book a 20-minute call and ask every question on this page; if the fit is right you will get a fixed monthly fee for your role, month to month, with no lock-in. We reply within one business hour, 8am to 6pm AEST, Monday to Friday.

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