Forget AI: Offshoring is now the biggest threat to Aussie jobs

Australian workers are being warned that the greatest immediate threat to their jobs isn't artificial intelligence, it's the rapidly accelerating shift towards offshore workforces that can reduce business operating costs by up to 60 percent.
 

Outsourcing expert and Orbii founder Ivan Trajkovski said offshoring had undergone a dramatic transformation and was now poised to reshape the Australian workforce faster than many businesses, workers and policymakers realised.   Trajkovski is considered the offshore whisperer, an expert in helping businesses large and small to move work and jobs offshore to reduce costs and labour risks.  His motto, send, save and succeed is helping many business owners to cut costs and improve their bottom line. 
 

"Everyone is talking about AI taking Australian jobs, but the more immediate threat is a skilled person overseas who can perform the same role for a fraction of the cost," Trajkovski said.
 

"AI cannot replace the human connection that customers still want. Offshoring can provide both: a real person delivering the service and substantial savings for the business.
 

"That is why this shift is so powerful. Businesses do not have to choose between reducing costs and retaining human service, they can have both."
 

Businesses can slash operating costs by up to 60 percent
 

Trajkovski said offshoring could potentially reduce overall operating costs by up to 60 percent through lower wages and employment costs, less need for expensive Australian office space, reduced recruitment and onboarding expenses, lower infrastructure costs and fewer local payroll-related on-costs.
 

Depending on how the arrangement is structured, businesses may also avoid Australian superannuation, leave, workers' compensation and payroll tax obligations, although appropriate legal and accounting advice is essential.
 

"When businesses calculate the total cost of employing someone in Australia, it goes far beyond the wage," Trajkovski said.
 

"There is superannuation, payroll tax where applicable, workers' compensation insurance, recruitment, leave entitlements, equipment, office space, utilities, technology, training and management overheads.
 

"With a properly structured offshore arrangement, many of those costs can be dramatically reduced or may not apply at all. The total saving can reach up to 60 percent, and that is impossible for business owners to ignore."

Australian businesses are being pushed offshore
 

Trajkovski said Australian businesses were facing a brutal combination of escalating wages, rent, energy, insurance, compliance and financing costs while softer consumer spending was making it increasingly difficult to pass those increases on to customers.
 

Tax uncertainty, including changes and ongoing debate surrounding capital gains tax settings, was adding further pressure to business owners already concerned about declining margins, investment risk and the future value of their enterprises.
 

"For thousands of Australian businesses, offshoring is no longer an optional growth strategy, it is becoming a financial survival strategy," he said.
 

"Business owners are being squeezed from every direction. Their customers want lower prices, their employees need higher wages and almost every cost involved in running a business continues to rise.
 

"They are reaching the point where they feel they have no other option."
 

The competitive advantage is too great to ignore
 

Trajkovski said Australian businesses could build offshore teams across countries including the Philippines, Malaysia, Fiji and Indonesia at substantially lower costs than equivalent local teams.
 

Customer service, administration, bookkeeping, payroll, marketing, graphic design, software development, IT support, recruitment, sales support, data processing and professional-services support were among the growing number of functions being moved offshore.
 

"If one company can reduce its operating costs by up to 60 percent while its competitor continues carrying high Australian wages, superannuation, office space and employment overheads, the competitive gap becomes enormous," Trajkovski said.
 

"The business using offshore talent can lower its prices, invest more in marketing, improve its technology, expand faster and survive difficult economic conditions for longer.
 

"Businesses that refuse to consider offshoring may soon find themselves competing against companies with radically lower cost bases."
 

Offshoring is no longer the cheap call centre model
 

Trajkovski said outdated perceptions of offshoring as low-quality, anonymous call centre work were preventing Australians from understanding the scale of the transformation already underway.
 

"Modern offshoring is sophisticated, highly skilled and deeply integrated into the business," he said.
 

"These are qualified accountants, software developers, designers, executive assistants, customer-service specialists, recruiters and marketing professionals working as genuine members of Australian teams.
 

"They attend meetings, use the same systems, communicate directly with customers and, in many cases, become indistinguishable from locally based employees.
 

"Offshoring has evolved from sending basic administrative tasks overseas to building entire departments overseas."

Improvements in video conferencing, cloud-based systems, cybersecurity, workforce management and online collaboration had removed many of the barriers that previously made offshore employment difficult.
 

"A business in Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane can now build and manage a highly capable international team almost as easily as it can employ people in another Australian city," Trajkovski said.
 

Australians still want humans, not chatbots
 

Trajkovski said the intense focus on AI was masking an important reality: consumers still wanted to deal with people, particularly when they had a complex question, complaint or urgent problem.
 

"Customers are already frustrated by automated menus, useless chatbots and systems that keep sending them in circles," he said.
 

"They do not necessarily want AI. They want a capable human being who listens, understands the problem and fixes it.
 

"Offshoring enables businesses to provide that human interaction at a fraction of the Australian cost. That makes it commercially powerful and potentially far more disruptive to traditional jobs than many people appreciate."
 

He said AI was likely to strengthen offshoring rather than eliminate the need for offshore workers.
 

"The winning model will not necessarily be AI replacing every person. It will be skilled offshore employees using AI to work faster, manage more customers and deliver greater value," he said.
 

"That combination could create an extraordinary productivity and cost gap between businesses that embrace global teams and those that refuse to change."
 

Business owners feel they have no other option
 

Trajkovski said many business owners did not want to reduce Australian employment but felt they were being pushed towards offshoring by economic conditions.
 

"Business owners are not sitting around plotting how to eliminate Australian jobs, they are looking at their accounts and asking how they can keep the doors open, remain competitive and protect the businesses they have spent years building," he said. 
 

"When wages, superannuation, rent, energy, insurance, interest, compliance and taxes keep rising while customers are spending less, something has to give.
 

"For many businesses, the choice will not be between employing an Australian and employing someone offshore, it will be between engaging someone offshore, leaving the role unfilled or potentially not surviving."
 

A warning Australian workers cannot afford to ignore
 

Trajkovski said the greatest risk was to roles that could be performed remotely, measured digitally and delivered without a physical presence in Australia.

"If your job can be done entirely through a laptop and an internet connection, you are now competing in a global labour market whether you realise it or not," he said.
 

"That does not mean every Australian job will disappear, it means Australian workers will increasingly need to demonstrate value that goes beyond completing routine tasks.
 

"Local knowledge, strategic thinking, leadership, creativity, relationship management and specialist expertise will become even more important."
 

He said governments and industry leaders needed to stop treating offshoring as a fringe business practice and recognise it as a fundamental economic shift.
 

"We need a serious national conversation about competitiveness, productivity and the increasingly high cost of employing people in Australia," Trajkovski said.
 

"Businesses cannot continue absorbing relentless cost increases while being expected to compete against companies drawing talent from the entire world.
 

"Offshoring will deliver the savings, flexibility and competitive edge many businesses urgently need. The uncomfortable truth is that what helps save Australian businesses may also place a growing number of Australian jobs at risk."
 

About Orbii
 

Orbii is an offshoring one stop shop for any Australian business considering outsourcing or offshoring.
 

Founded by outsourcing expert Ivan Trajkovski, Orbii provides independent advice on how to outsource successfully, which business functions to offshore and how to avoid common risks and costly mistakes. Its experienced team can help businesses plan, facilitate and organise their offshore arrangements from initial enquiry through to implementation.
 

Orbii also offers the world's first comprehensive register of offshore service providers. Similar to Finder, the platform enables businesses to explore and compare providers, services, locations and capabilities in one trusted place.  Combining intelligent matching technology with more than 20 years of industry experience, Orbii connects businesses with suitable, high-quality and affordable talent around the world.
 

Based in Melbourne, Orbii's mission is to remove the guesswork from outsourcing and help businesses source, save and succeed through trusted global talent.
 

For more information, visit www.orbii.co.