Employ Australians as a foreign employer

We will advise you on how to employ people in Australia as a foreign enterprise and help you set up a compliant employment structure from the start.

Hiring employees in Australia as an overseas business involves navigating a legal framework that applies in full regardless of where your enterprise is based or incorporated. Australia’s employment laws, including minimum standards, modern award obligations, and superannuation requirements, apply to anyone working in Australia under your direction and control. Foreign employers who apply their home country’s employment arrangements to Australian hires regularly discover non-compliance when a regulator investigates or an employee makes a claim. Setting up your Australian employment correctly before problems develop is significantly less costly than correcting a non-compliant structure after the fact.

What does employing people in Australia require of a foreign employer?

A foreign employer who engages workers in Australia is subject to Australian employment law in the same way as a domestic employer. The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) sets the minimum employment standards that apply to all Australian employees, including the National Employment Standards, which cover entitlements such as minimum leave, notice periods, and unfair dismissal protections. Most employees are also covered by a modern award that sets minimum pay rates and conditions for their industry or occupation. Employers are also required to make compulsory superannuation contributions under the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (Cth), regardless of where the employing entity is based. Foreign employers without a registered Australian entity have the option of engaging an employer of record service, but that arrangement does not remove liability for the employment relationship and must be carefully structured.

Does Australian employment law apply if I employ someone through a contract governed by foreign law?

Yes. Australian employment law applies to anyone performing work in Australia under an employment relationship, regardless of where the employing entity is based or what law governs the contract. The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the National Employment Standards apply to all employees in Australia covered by the national workplace relations system, which includes the vast majority of private sector employees. A contract governed by foreign law does not displace Australian legal entitlements, and an employee who does not receive those entitlements may bring a claim regardless of what the contract says.

Do I need an Australian entity to employ people in Australia?

You do not need an Australian entity to employ people in Australia, but operating without one creates practical and compliance challenges around payroll, superannuation, tax withholding, and workers compensation. Many foreign employers engage an employer of record service to engage Australian employees on their behalf while retaining day-to-day direction of the worker, but this arrangement needs to be properly structured to avoid creating a deemed employment relationship directly between the foreign employer and the worker. We advise on the most appropriate structure for your situation and the obligations that attach to each option.

Which modern award applies to my Australian employees?

Modern award coverage is determined by the industry in which the employer operates and the classification of the employee’s role within that industry, not by the employer’s nationality or the location of its headquarters. Most Australian employees are covered by a modern award under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) that sets minimum pay rates, penalty rates, and allowances in addition to the National Employment Standards. Getting award coverage wrong is one of the most common causes of underpayment claims against foreign employers, and we advise on which awards apply to your Australian workforce and what they require.

What are my superannuation obligations as a foreign employer?

A foreign employer who pays salary or wages to an employee working in Australia is required to make superannuation contributions at the legislated rate under the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (Cth). This obligation applies regardless of where the employer is based, whether the employee is an Australian citizen or a temporary visa holder working in Australia, and whether the employer has an Australian entity. Failure to meet superannuation obligations attracts a superannuation guarantee charge with penalty components, and we advise on how to meet these obligations within your employment structure.

Employment structure assessed before problems develop.

Award coverage identified so your pay rates are compliant from day one.

Contracts and policies prepared that comply with Australian law, not your home jurisdiction's.

Getting your Australian employment structure right before you hire is cheaper than fixing it after a claim.

Foreign employers who establish Australian employment arrangements without local legal advice regularly discover that their structure is non-compliant when the Fair Work Ombudsman investigates or an employee makes a claim. Setting up correctly from the start is significantly less costly than the consequences of getting it wrong.

Australian employment law applies to your Australian workers whether or not your business is based here.

You have people working in Australia, or you are planning to hire Australians, but your existing employment arrangements are based on the law of your home jurisdiction and may not meet Australian requirements. Australia’s employment framework is detailed, frequently updated, and enforced by regulators who actively investigate non-compliance, particularly among foreign employers who may not be aware of how comprehensively the law applies to them. The gap between what you have in place and what Australian law requires is a risk that compounds with each hire and each pay cycle.

We will advise on how Australia's employment law framework applies to your specific situation and structure.
We will identify which modern awards apply to your Australian workforce and what those awards require in terms of pay rates, allowances, and conditions.
We will prepare employment contracts and policies that comply with Australian law.
We will advise on your superannuation, payroll tax, and workers compensation obligations as an employer in Australia.

You are bringing people on board in Australia to support your business, and you want the employment arrangements you put in place to be legally sound from day one.

Your business has identified the need for people on the ground in Australia, whether to serve local clients, run operations, or build out a local team. You have an existing employment framework in your home country, and it feels like a reasonable starting point for your Australian hires. The challenge is that Australian employment law applies in full regardless of how your arrangements are structured elsewhere, and the gaps between your existing framework and what Australian law requires can be significant, particularly around award coverage, superannuation, and unfair dismissal protections. You want to get this right before it becomes a problem.

What's included in your foreign employer Australian employment advice service

Australian employment law applicability assessment.
Employment structure advice and entity options review.
Modern award coverage identification.
Employment contract and policy preparation.
Superannuation, payroll tax, and workers compensation obligations advice.

What goes wrong when foreign employers operate in Australia without local employment law advice?

Foreign employers who engage Australian workers without seeking local legal advice regularly fall into patterns that create significant liability over time. The most common failure is award non-compliance: the employer pays a salary that seems generous by home country standards but does not meet the minimum rates required by the applicable modern award, creating an underpayment claim that compounds with every pay cycle. The second common failure is misclassifying workers as contractors when the relationship is actually employment, which can trigger back payment obligations for superannuation, leave entitlements, and PAYG withholding. When the Fair Work Ombudsman investigates, it does not limit its inquiry to the current period, and a foreign employer who has been operating non-compliant arrangements for several years can face a back payment liability that far exceeds what proper advice at the outset would have cost.

Here is how we help you establish a compliant Australian employment structure.

We assess how Australian employment law applies to your specific situation and advise on the employment structure that best suits your business model and workforce needs. We identify which modern awards apply to your Australian workers, what they require in terms of pay rates and conditions, and help you prepare contracts and policies that comply with Australian law. We advise on your superannuation, payroll tax, and workers compensation obligations so that your Australian employment structure is compliant before your first Australian hire. Employers who take this approach are in a position to grow their Australian operations without the compliance problems that a reactive approach creates.

Three steps to a legally compliant Australian employment structure.

Structure assessed, obligations identified, employment set up correctly.

Assess the structure.

We advise on how Australian employment law applies to your situation, which employment structure is most appropriate, and what obligations attach to each option.

Identify the obligations.

We identify which modern awards apply, what pay rates and conditions are required, and what your superannuation, payroll tax, and workers compensation obligations are.

Set up correctly.

We prepare employment contracts and policies that comply with Australian law and establish the compliance processes your business needs from day one.

Employment lawyers experienced in advising foreign employers operating in Australia, with expertise across Australian employment law, modern award coverage, and cross-border employment structures.

We understand the appeal of adapting your existing employment arrangements to an Australian context. What works well in another jurisdiction feels like a reasonable starting point, and the differences can seem minor until a claim or investigation makes them expensive. Our employment lawyers have advised foreign employers across a range of industries on establishing and restructuring their Australian employment arrangements, from first hires through to full workforce integrations. We know where the common compliance failures occur and how to set up a structure that meets Australian requirements from the start.

We understand you want to know the cost, before we get started.

We will map out our process, from beginning to end, so you know what the journey will look like before you get started.

We will provide you with a clear and detailed Work Proposal covering each step along the way.

Our fair fees are all-inclusive. No hidden costs for telephone calls, emails, photocopying, couriers, or coffee.

Our great lawyer guarantee

We want to be part of your team over the long term. We achieve this by adhering to these core principles:

Take the time

We listen carefully to understand what you want to achieve. Then we thoroughly explain our advice and step you through the documents. You can be sure you know the full consequences.

Share our knowledge

We will pass on as much knowledge as we can, so you can make your own informed decisions. We want to make you truly independent.

Stick to our knitting

We only do what we're good at. You can be confident that we know what we're doing and don't pass on the cost of our learning.

Work as one team

Someone will always be available to answer your questions, or point you in the right direction. You will also benefit from a range of perspectives and experience.

Fair pricing

For advice and documents, we provide a fixed or capped quote so you don't take price risk. If you're in a dispute, we map out the process and costs so you know what to expect.

It's your show

We're not in this for our egos. We're in it for a front row seat to witness your success.

Ready to get your Australian employment arrangements right?

How to co-own property without conflict, confusion, or costly mistakes

You’ve been told to make a family trust election. Here’s what that actually means.

Changes to trust taxation in the Federal Budget: Is there still a case for keeping a family trust in my structure?

How we built our AML/CTF compliance into the way we already work

Tagged 297