Australia’s workforce is global now: Are employers ready?

In recent years, employers have been navigating significant regulatory upheaval. Expanded Fair Work Commission guidance on flexible work has reshaped expectations and increased employer obligations. At the same time, reforms such as the criminalisation of wage theft, the Right to Disconnect, and the upcoming rollout of Payday Super have added new layers of compliance, administration, and operational complexity.

All of this is unfolding against the backdrop of a persistent skills shortage and ambitions for global expansion, which continues to intensify competition for talent and place added pressure on businesses to rethink how they attract, hire, and retain people.

The result is a domestic employment environment that is increasingly risk-laden, administratively heavy, and difficult for businesses to navigate with confidence.

Of course, global hiring comes with its own complexity, from payroll and tax through to local employment requirements and compliance. This begs a question: do the gains outweigh the operational lift, or does hiring internationally create more friction than it solves?

Ultimately, the answer depends less on where organisations choose to hire and more on how deliberately they design their approach.

Why global hiring continues to accelerate

Global hiring continues to gain momentum among Australian employers, driven by talent shortages, competitive pressure, and the need for greater operational flexibility.

Local hiring constraints remain a major catalyst. 75% of Australian businesses are struggling more to find qualified local talent than they were a year ago, and skills shortages are particularly acute in technology, engineering, finance, and specialised professional services roles. And the business impact is already being felt. More than half of Australian businesses (56%) report missing a key business goal in the past 12 months due to a lack of talent. Delayed product launches and postponed expansions all carry long-term consequences.

But many organisations are also turning to global hiring to strengthen their competitive edge. International teams bring diverse perspectives and local market insight that can be difficult to replicate within a domestic team. Research from Diversity Council Australia’s Inclusion@Work Index finds that inclusive teams are 2.5 times more likely to be willing to work extra hard to help their team succeed, and are 10 times more likely to be innovative than non-inclusive teams. This diversity also plays an increasingly important role in shaping workplace culture. International teams tend to be more diverse not only in nationality, but in experience, thinking, and approach. A broader team can help foster more inclusive cultures where different perspectives are actively encouraged, reducing the risk of groupthink and strengthening collaboration across the organisation. Team members in different time zones also allow businesses to maintain round-the-clock operations, which can lead to increased productivity and quicker project turnaround times.

Taken together, it is therefore telling that 86% of Australian employers say they would increase international hiring if it were as easy and low-risk as hiring locally. The opportunity here is clear to businesses, but execution remains the biggest hurdle.

Compliance: the biggest friction point

If these are the factors pulling employers toward global hiring, compliance complexity is what often holds them back.

Employment regulations vary significantly across countries, covering areas such as contracts, payroll and taxation. Even minor errors have the potential to expose organisations to penalties or reputational damage. As governments update labour laws to reflect new ways of working, the pace of regulatory change has accelerated.

Our data shows that 68% of Australian HR leaders have faced employment-related compliance challenges in another country. The risk compounds when global hiring is reactive. When organisations rush to secure talent without fully mapping regulatory obligations, compliance becomes an afterthought. HR teams are then left managing complexity across multiple jurisdictions with limited visibility and little room for error.

At the same time, domestic compliance demands are rising. As local employment rules become more prescriptive, HR leaders are juggling increased obligations at home whilst navigating unfamiliar regulatory environments abroad. Without the right systems and foundations in place, this combination quickly becomes unsustainable.

How planning and consolidation make global hiring sustainable

There are practical steps Australian employers can take now to reduce compliance risk and make global hiring more sustainable, and less of a headache.

The starting point is clarity. Organisations should regularly review their existing employment arrangements across every jurisdiction where they operate, including countries where employees may relocate in the future. This helps surface inconsistencies, identify exposure early, and flag where additional legal guidance is required before issues escalate.

System consolidation is equally critical. Fragmented HR, payroll, and finance tools increase the likelihood of errors and make oversight across borders more difficult. A centralised approach to workforce data creates a single, reliable view of global employment and reduces the risk of conflicting information. When paired with AI-driven analysis, these systems can also support faster, more informed decision-making and reduce manual administrative effort over time.

Strong cross-functional collaboration further strengthens compliance. Regular alignment between HR, legal, and finance teams enables organisations to anticipate regulatory changes and adjust internal processes before problems arise. The goal is not to respond to compliance failures after the fact, but to build structures that prevent them in the first place.

Finally, compliance needs to be embedded early in the hiring journey. Clear pathways for international hiring reduce rushed decisions and ensure roles are designed with local requirements in mind from the outset. As regulatory frameworks continue to evolve, senior HR leaders also play an important role in broader policy discussions, helping shape more practical approaches to modern, cross-border work.

Global hiring, without the headache

Taken together, these steps shift global hiring from a reactive challenge to a deliberate, scalable strategy.

Australian employers are increasingly looking beyond their borders for talent. The question now is whether their organisations are equipped to manage the complexity that comes with it. Those that invest early in integrated systems, clear hiring pathways, and a proactive approach to compliance are far better positioned to hire globally with confidence.

As talent flows freely between borders, readiness to hire globally will ultimately determine which businesses can turn global hiring into an advantage, rather than a risk.

Nick Martin is the GTM Lead APAC at Remote