Software developers lead cross-border hiring in Australia
Australian employers are turning to overseas talent to plug skills gaps in technology and leadership roles, even as the country plays only a minor part in one of the world's fastest‑growing AI professions, according to new data from HR and payroll platform Deel.
The company's 2025 State of Global Hiring report, based on more than one million worker contracts across 37,000 firms in over 150 countries, shows software developers have become the dominant cross‑border hire for Australian businesses.
"Software developers were the leading cross-border hire for Australian companies, largely to address local skill shortages," said Lauren Thomas, global economist at Deel.
"It is no coincidence these roles have dropped off the national skills shortage list, suggesting global talent pools have helped close the gap."
Thomas said employers' reliance on overseas workers has implications beyond individual organisations.
"Filling hard-to-source roles benefits individual businesses, but the productivity gains extend further. Persistent skills gaps and poor job matching can weigh on productivity economy-wide. Access to global talent helps reduce that drag."
The report notes that nearly 100 high‑growth startups worldwide that raised more than US$100 million between 2020 and 2025 clustered their cross‑border hiring in wealthy economies.
Australian companies mirror this pattern, with the United States and United Kingdom now among their main destinations when recruiting staff abroad.
Meanwhile, Australians themselves are increasingly being hired directly by employers overseas without relocating.
The report identifies the US, UK, and Canada as leading destinations for Australian cross‑border talent, with software developers and sales managers among the most sought‑after roles.
Deel records a 46% rise in Canadian companies hiring Australians over recent years, placing Australia in Canada's top four source countries for cross‑border workers.
Rise of AI trainer roles
Meanwhile, Deel's data points to rapid expansion of AI trainer roles globally — a job category that barely existed two years ago.
General AI trainer positions on the platform grew 283% in 2025, with more than 70,000 people now engaged in tasks from basic data labelling to specialist feedback in areas such as medicine, economics, and translation.
Almost 60% of these workers are based in the United States, followed by India, the Philippines, Canada, and Kenya.
Australia accounts for only a small portion of that workforce, yet local employers are emerging as active users of AI trainers, according to the report.
Within the Asia‑Pacific region, the country ranks as the second‑largest employer of AI trainers, behind Singapore.
The findings come despite Deel's research in November showing that AI had reshaped hiring for 98% of organisations in Australia.
