ABOUT THE STUDY

WOULD SMES USE OFFSHORE
WORKERS TO RELIEVE THE PRESSURE
OF WAGE INCREASES AND A TIGHT
LABOUR MARKET?

Money Transfer Comparison asked business owners if they would source labour from overseas, including hiring overseas consultancies, freelancers, contractors, full-time employees and casual employees.

The survey found that 60 per cent of businesses would look overseas for talent to combat rising wages and staff shortages. Specifically:

• 25% would do so to cut labour costs.
• 21% would do so as they are struggling to find talent in Australia.
• 14% would do so to tap into new overseas skillsets.

While 40 per cent of businesses are not struggling with high wages or sourcing staff, a small percentage (8%) would consider sourcing overseas workers to relieve financial pressures in general.

Would you outsource work to overseas consultancies, freelancers, contractors and employers due to rising wages and talent shortages locally?

BY STATE.

Across the states, businesses would outsource work overseas at varying degrees. Three-quarters (75%) of South Australian businesses would source overseas labour as a cost-saving measure. This is followed by almost one-third of businesses in NSW (30%) and just over a quarter Victoria (28%).

One in three (33%) business owners in Victoria would source talent overseas due to the difficulty in finding talent here in Australia. This is followed by Western Australia (24%), NSW (18%) and Queensland (13%).

Forty-four (44) per cent of business owners in Queensland are not currently considering outsourcing work overseas, followed by Western Australia (33%), Victoria (31%), NSW (26%) and South Australia (13%).

In summary, 88 per cent of businesses in South Australia would source labour overseas, while only just over one-third (38%) of Queensland businesses would do so as a result of increased wages and the local labour shortage.

Would you outsource work to overseas consultancies, freelancers, contractors and employers due to rising wages and talent shortages locally? (By State.)

WHAT SKILLS ARE AUSTRALIAN SMES SEEKING FROM OVERSEAS WORKERS?

Among the businesses willing to source labour from overseas, 21 per cent are after employees with technical skills, followed by consultants (18%), contractors (17%), admin or virtual assistants (14%), bookkeepers (13%), customer service (12%), marketing (11%), human resources (10%), and sales (9%). Just over a third (35%) of business owners are not looking to outsource workers from outside Australia.

What category of work would you fill with overseas labour?

BY STATE.

Across the states, 29 per cent of Victorian and 23 per cent of NSW businesses would source people with technical skills. Overseas consultants would be engaged by more than a quarter (27%) of Victorian businesses, followed by one fifth (19%) in NSW. Over a third (39%) of South Australian businesses would outsource to contractors. Furthermore, 23 per cent of West Australian businesses would source marketing experts overseas. Other findings include:

• 19% of NSW SMEs would outsource admin & virtual assistant roles overseas.
• 18% of WA businesses would outsource bookkeepers overseas.
• 17% of Victorian SMEs would outsource customer service overseas.
• 14% of WA businesses would outsource their HR overseas