By Simon Jones, September 5, 2025
Hiring a full‑stack developer in Australia isn’t as easy or as fast as it used to be. With digital products at the core of nearly every business, demand for skilled full‑stack talent has surged across industries. But finding the right candidates? It’s struggling to keep up.
Full stack developer roles now rank among the most high-demand jobs in Australia, but sourcing the right talent locally can take months - often at a steep cost. Salaries are rising. Pipelines are thin. And many businesses simply can’t afford to wait.
That’s why more companies are exploring alternatives.
If you’re an SME, HR leader, or founder navigating tech hiring for the first time, it’s worth comparing your options. Should you hire locally or tap into offshore markets? Each route has trade-offs, but one may unlock faster, smarter, and more cost-efficient growth.
Local vs offshore full‑stack developer hiring: What’s the difference?
When building your tech team, one of the most significant decisions you’ll face is where to source talent from. Hiring locally often means easier collaboration, shared business practices, and time zone alignment, but it also comes with higher costs and longer time-to-hire.
Offshore hiring, on the other hand, opens access to global talent at a lower cost, particularly in countries like India, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. However, managing remote teams across borders presents its own set of challenges, from variations in communication rhythms and cultural expectations.
Each approach offers distinct advantages depending on your business needs, timelines, and budget.
Here’s a side-by-side comparison of how local and offshore full-stack developer hiring stacks up:
| Aspect | Local (Australia) | Offshore (PH, IND, LKR) |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Developers are based within Australia, often working on-site or in the same time zone. | Teams are based overseas, typically in cost-effective tech hubs with strong engineering ecosystems. |
| Proximity | Face-to-face collaboration is easier, with minimal delays in communication or approvals. | Physical distance can require more planning to keep teams aligned across time zones and locations. |
| Talent availability | The talent pool is smaller and more competitive, with high demand across industries. | Access to a wider pool of full-stack developers trained in modern frameworks and emerging tech. |
| Cost | Salaries range from $177,000 to $216,000+ per year, with additional overhead for benefits and tools. | Offshore rates can be 70% lower, with cost-effective access to mid and senior-level developers. |
| Time to hire | Hiring locally can take 6–12 weeks due to limited availability and lengthy recruitment cycles. | Offshore hires can be onboarded in as little as 2–4 weeks via trusted outsourcing partners. |
| Time zone | Teams operate on the same schedule, making real-time collaboration straightforward. | Requires some overlap hours or asynchronous workflows to maintain productivity across time zones. |
| Cultural fit | Strong alignment with local business practices, work culture, and communication styles. | Varies by region. Successful alignment depends on partner-led vetting and a structured onboarding process. |
| Communication | Easier collaboration with in-person or real-time discussions in shared language. | Relies on digital tools (Slack, Zoom, Jira) and proactive comms routines to stay in sync. |
| Scalability | Local talent shortages and rising costs often limit the ability to scale. | Easier to scale dedicated teams quickly in offshore markets without compromising quality. |
A local full–stack developer is a developer based in the same country as your business, often working in-house or within the same time zone. For Australian companies, this means hiring developers who understand local market needs, speak the same language, and operate within familiar regulatory frameworks.
Key characteristics of local full–stack developers:
However, convenience comes with trade–offs. Local full–stack developers are often in short supply, especially those skilled in high-demand stacks like React, Node.js, and Python. As a result, hiring timelines can stretch out, and salary expectations are significantly higher.
Some businesses also explore hiring freelance full–stack developers, but this often leads to inconsistent delivery or a lack of accountability compared to full–time offshore hires.
An offshore full–stack developer is a developer located in a different country, typically in a global tech hub such as India, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. These developers are hired full-time (not freelance) and often work remotely as part of a distributed team.
Offshoring provides businesses with access to a broader and more cost-effective talent pool, particularly when local options are scarce or unaffordable.
Key characteristics of offshore full–stack developers:
The success of offshore hiring often depends on choosing the right partner – one that ensures strong communication practices, alignment of expectations, and cultural compatibility from the outset.
One of the biggest concerns with offshore teams is whether time zone differences will slow things down or cause misalignment. But with the right systems in place, that’s rarely the case.
Most offshore developers are already used to working with global teams, and know how to stay in sync. By building in 2–4 hours of overlap with your local team and using agile workflows, you can keep projects moving without delay.
Here’s how offshore teams stay aligned:
When managed well, offshore teams can often move faster – with progress happening around the clock and fewer bottlenecks waiting for someone to come online.
Full–stack development continues to be one of the most sought–after and well–compensated tech roles in Australia – reflecting the high demand for versatile developers who bring both breadth and depth to their work. However, sourcing a full–stack developer involves more than just looking at salary ranges. You need to weigh speed, quality, scalability, and how much support you'll need to get the right outcome.
For many businesses, local hiring offers familiarity, control, and cultural alignment. But it also comes with higher salary expectations, slower hiring timelines, and added overheads like payroll tax, superannuation, and equipment.
Offshore hiring, by contrast, can reduce labour costs by up to 70% – without sacrificing quality if you partner with a provider that handles vetting, technical screening, and onboarding support.
Here’s a quick comparison of average monthly salaries (in AUD) for full–stack developers across key offshore locations, based on experience level.
| Position | Years of experience / Level | Philippines | India | Sri Lanka |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Stack Developer (React + .NET) | 3–4 years (Junior) | 5,500 | 4,750 | 4,750 |
| Full Stack Developer (React + .NET) | 5–7 years (Mid level) | 6,250 | 6,500 | 5,500 |
| Full Stack Developer (React + .NET) | 8+ years (Senior) | 7,500 | 8,000 | 7,000 |
| Full Stack Developer (React + .NET) | Leads | 9,250 | 10,500 | 8,750 |
Average monthly salaries (AUD) for full–stack developers across key offshore locations, based on experience level.
Source: Comparing Outsourcing Costs Around the Globe (2025) .
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to hiring full-stack developers. The right model depends on your business goals, project timelines, internal capacity, and budget.
Here’s a simple framework to help you assess which model makes more sense for your next hire.
1. What’s your top hiring priority?
| Priority | Why it matters | Best-fit model |
|---|---|---|
| Face-to-face collaboration | Critical for high-stakes projects, complex discovery work, or early-stage prototyping | Local |
| Fast, cost-effective team scaling | Helps rapidly extend capacity without exhausting budget | Offshore |
| Deep local market or industry knowledge | Useful for compliance-heavy sectors (e.g. FinTech, GovTech) | Local |
| Access to niche or modern tech stacks | Offshore markets often specialise in React, Node.js, Python, Go, etc. | Offshore |
| End-to-end ownership with minimal management | Local devs may require less structured oversight for standalone initiatives | Local |
| High volume feature delivery/backlog velocity | Offshore teams are ideal for sprint-driven delivery models | Offshore |
| Budget-conscious product development | Offshore hiring reduces salary and overhead costs significantly | Offshore |
2. Do you have a developer leadership in place?
If you’re a technical founder or have an established in-house lead developer: If you have no internal dev leadership:
Alternatively, work with an offshore provider who can assign a technical lead or team lead to provide structure and guidance.
You may benefit from augmenting with offshore developers for feature builds, testing, or front-end/back-end support.
Offshore is ideal when you already have engineering processes in place and just need extra hands to move faster.
3. What level of support do you need?
| Priority | Why it matters | Best-fit model |
|---|---|---|
| Face-to-face collaboration | Critical for high-stakes projects, complex discovery work, or early-stage prototyping | Local |
| Fast, cost-effective team scaling | Helps rapidly extend capacity without exhausting budget | Offshore |
| Deep local market or industry knowledge | Useful for compliance-heavy sectors (e.g. FinTech, GovTech) | Local |
| Access to niche or modern tech stacks | Offshore markets often specialise in React, Node.js, Python, Go, etc. | Offshore |
| End-to-end ownership with minimal management | Local devs may require less structured oversight for standalone initiatives | Local |
| High volume feature delivery/backlog velocity | Offshore teams are ideal for sprint-driven delivery models | Offshore |
| Budget-conscious product development | Offshore hiring reduces salary and overhead costs significantly | Offshore |
4. Match the model to your product stage
Your product’s stage of development plays a big role in determining the type of developer (and model) you need. Here's how to align your hiring strategy with where you are in the build lifecycle:
1. Early–stage or MVP development
If you're still validating your idea, scoping features, or making architecture decisions, a local full-stack developer can offer closer collaboration and faster iteration loops. Being in the same room (or at least the same time zone) can be critical when everything is still fluid.
Best for:
2. Post–MVP or growth stage
Once your product is validated and you're ready to expand its capabilities, speed up bug fixes, and lower release costs, bringing on offshore full-stack developers can be a smart strategy. With the right partner, you can onboard skilled talent quickly and accelerate delivery without overextending your local team.
Best for:
3. Ongoing maintenance and iteration
If your product is already live and your tech stack is stable, offshore teams are ideal for keeping up with enhancements, resolving issues, and owning delivery. With agile workflows and proper handovers, your backlog keeps moving, even outside your work hours.
Best for:
Why the right offshore partner makes all the difference
Lower costs are a major benefit of offshore hiring, but they’re not the only thing that matters. Many businesses hesitate to go offshore because of concerns around quality, communication gaps, or inconsistent delivery. And those concerns are valid if you go through it alone.
The difference between success and frustration often comes down to who you work with, not where the developer is based.
What a strong offshore hiring partner should provide:
1. Rigorous technical vetting
Developers are assessed through live coding tests, problem-solving exercises, and stack-specific challenges, not just resumes.
2. Soft skills and communication screening
Candidates are evaluated for English fluency, clarity in communication, responsiveness, and collaboration style.
3. Culture–fit matching
Developers are aligned not just with your tech requirements, but also your team’s working style, values, and pace.
4. Structured onboarding
Your developers receive guidance on your tools, team structure, and processes from day one, reducing ramp-up time.
5. Dedicated account management
A local point of contact ensures expectations are met, issues are escalated quickly, and delivery remains on track.
6. Performance monitoring and feedback loops
Regular check-ins and performance reviews help keep quality high and surface any issues early.
7. Time zone alignment strategy
Work schedules are adjusted to create overlapping hours with your onshore team, ensuring smooth collaboration.
8. Retention support
Good providers don’t just place talent – they help retain them by supporting career development, engagement, and recognition.
9. Security and compliance frameworks
Data protection, IP security, and confidentiality protocols are enforced based on your business needs.
When done right, offshore hiring offers faster access to talent, simpler scale-ups, and stronger delivery consistency.
What this means for your hiring strategy
The tech talent shortage in Australia isn’t going away anytime soon.
Waiting around for the “perfect” local hire could be holding your business back.
Offshore hiring may not be the default path for everyone but it’s quickly becoming the smarter, faster, and more sustainable option for businesses that want to build and scale without compromise.
If you're exploring offshore hiring for the first time, our blog on how to beat the technology skills shortage with outsourcing offers a practical next step.
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Simon has over 20 years of experience in technology, cloud architecture, and business transformation, with a strong focus on building scalable solutions and high-performing teams.
As the Co-Founder of Teamified, Simon helps businesses expand their onshore operations quickly and cost-effectively by leveraging global talent. His expertise in fintech, SaaS, and IT infrastructure enables him to design outsourcing strategies that drive operational efficiency and business growth.
Before Teamified, Simon co-founded Assembly Payments and held leadership roles across multiple technology-driven organisations. His deep knowledge of cloud computing, automation, and system architecture has positioned him as a trusted advisor to businesses seeking to optimise their workforce and technology stack.
