Hiring Filipino Talent Direct Is Now a Criminal Risk for Australian SMEs — and Most Still Don’t Know It

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Julius Schoenfeld, Co-Founder, Team Up Now

Email: julius@teamupnow.com.au

Web: www.teamupnow.com.au

Date: April 2026

SOUTH MELBOURNE, VIC — Team Up Now, an Australian ethical offshore staffing agency specialising in Filipino talent, is urging SME owners to urgently review their offshore hiring arrangements. A series of legal developments since 2024 — including a landmark Fair Work Commission ruling, a follow-up compensation award, and a new criminal wage theft offence — have dramatically raised the stakes for any business engaging offshore workers as independent contractors without a formal Employer of Record (EOR) structure.

The Legal Timeline: How the Risk Has Compounded

2024: The ruling that changed everything.  In Pascua v Doessel Group Pty Ltd [2024] FWC 2669, the Fair Work Commission ruled that a Filipino paralegal engaged as an "independent contractor" was in fact an employee entitled to Australian workplace protections. The Commission found that geographic distance, contractual labels, and invoice-based payment arrangements do not override the true nature of the working relationship. The key factors — fixed hours, daily supervision, company tools, and integration into business operations — pointed to employment. The ruling put Australian businesses on notice: offshore does not mean outside Australian law.

2025: The Commission went further.  In Pascua v Doessel Group Pty Ltd [2025] FWC 1833, the same case returned to the Fair Work Commission — which then awarded the worker compensation for unfair dismissal. The ruling confirmed that offshore workers misclassified as contractors can not only claim back wages and entitlements, but can pursue unfair dismissal remedies against Australian businesses. The case is now a two-part precedent.

1 January 2025: Wage theft became a criminal offence.  New criminal wage theft laws took effect at the start of 2025. Under the amended Fair Work Act, intentional underpayment of a worker is no longer a civil matter alone — it carries the risk of criminal prosecution, including substantial fines and potential imprisonment. For any business whose offshore "contractor" is later reclassified as an employee, back-wages owed beneath Australian minimum wage thresholds now fall within scope of this criminal regime.

2025-26: Superannuation obligations increased to 12%.  The superannuation guarantee rate for 2025-26 is 12% of ordinary time earnings — up from prior years. For businesses with reclassified offshore workers, this means growing back-payment liability on super in addition to wages, leave entitlements, and any unfair dismissal compensation.

"When the original Pascua ruling came down in 2024, a lot of business owners shrugged it off as an edge case. It wasn't. The follow-up compensation award in 2025, combined with criminal wage theft laws and a 12% super rate, means the liability sitting on the books of businesses doing this direct is now compounding every single pay cycle. We're talking back wages, super, leave entitlements, unfair dismissal compensation — and now criminal exposure on top. This is not a compliance grey area anymore. It's a clear and present risk."

— Julius Schoenfeld, Co-Founder, Team Up Now

Who Is at Risk

The risk is not limited to large businesses or formal outsourcing arrangements. Legal experts and industry sources confirm that any Australian business engaging offshore workers — including virtual assistants, bookkeepers, paralegals, customer service staff, and developers — may be affected if the working relationship resembles employment.

Key risk indicators include:

•  Fixed or set working hours determined by the Australian business

•  Daily check-ins, supervision, or performance management by the Australian business

•  Use of company-provided tools, systems, or email addresses

•  Worker integrated into the business's operations and not free to work for others

•  Paid an hourly rate rather than a fixed price per deliverable

•  Contract formed or accepted while the Australian employer was in Australia

Industry sources report that lawyers are now advising clients of all sizes — from sole traders to companies with 80+ offshore staff — to move to a formal EOR model as a matter of urgency.

The Solution: Hiring and Compliance in One Structure

An Employer of Record (EOR) structure resolves the compliance problem entirely. Under an EOR model, a locally registered entity in the Philippines becomes the legal employer of the offshore worker — handling Philippine labour law compliance, payroll, statutory benefits (SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, 13th month pay), and tax. The Australian business maintains full operational control and direction of the worker, without carrying the legal employment relationship — and therefore without the Fair Work Act exposure.

Team Up Now provides both the recruitment and the EOR structure as a single service — removing the need for Australian businesses to find and manage a separate EOR provider on top of their hiring process. The company also offers Australia's first lifetime replacement guarantee in the offshore staffing category: if a dedicated staff member ever leaves for any reason, they are replaced at no additional placement cost.

"The direct-hire model was always solving for cost. Our model solves for cost and compliance — because the two aren't in conflict. A properly structured EOR arrangement is still 50-70% cheaper than an equivalent Australian hire. The difference is you're not sitting on a growing pile of legal exposure at the same time."

— Julius Schoenfeld, Co-Founder, Team Up Now

Australian businesses can assess their offshore hiring risk and calculate the true cost of a compliant EOR structure at www.teamupnow.com.au/eor-calculator. Information on the lifetime replacement guarantee is available at www.teamupnow.com.au/lifetime-guarantee.

ENDS

For media enquiries or to arrange an interview with Julius Schoenfeld, contact julius@teamupnow.com.au.

Sources:

Pascua v Doessel Group Pty Ltd [2024] FWC 2669 — Fair Work Commission — fwc.gov.au

Pascua v Doessel Group Pty Ltd [2025] FWC 1833 — Fair Work Commission — fwc.gov.au

Doessel Group Pty Ltd v Pascua [2025] FWCFB 43 — Fair Work Commission Full Bench

Fair Work Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Act 2023 — Criminal wage theft provisions effective 1 January 2025

Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992, s.12(3) — 12% SG rate for 2025-26

Employment Hero, "The Offshore Revolution: Compliance Risks for Australian Businesses" (August 2025) — employmenthero.com

Onyx Legal, "How to Avoid Your Overseas Outsourced Worker Being Covered by Fair Work" (October 2025) — onyx.legal

AJ & Co., "Are Your Offshore Contractors Actually Employees?" (October 2025) — ajandco.com.au