Why Australian Accounting Firms Outsource Bookkeeping: The Shortage Data, Payday Super and the Disclosure Rules#
Three published numbers frame the Australian picture. In Jobs and Skills Australia's 2025 Occupation Shortage List, 29% of occupations were in shortage, but of the eight accounting, auditing and bookkeeping occupations we look at below, only two were. The bookkeeper workforce was 91,800 people, with employment down by 1,000 a year. And from 1 July 2026, Payday Super counts superannuation deadlines in business days after each pay day, with the usual period ending on the seventh.
This article sets out those figures, what they do and do not say about hiring, which work can go offshore, and the rules that apply when it goes to India. We are an Indian firm of Chartered Accountants that does offshore bookkeeping inside the client's QuickBooks Online file. Each figure is linked to its source, with the year, and the sources are listed at the end.
What the shortage list actually says#
Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) published its 2025 Occupation Shortage List on 15 October 2025. It is still the latest list on the JSA site. JSA's announcement reports 29% of occupations in shortage, down from 36% in 2023 and 33% in 2024, with two in five professional occupations still in shortage.
For the occupations a bookkeeping practice cares about, the list reads:
| Occupation (ANZSCO code) | 2025 rating |
|---|---|
| Accountant (General) 221111 | No Shortage |
| Management Accountant 221112 | No Shortage |
| Taxation Accountant 221113 | Shortage |
| External Auditor 221213 | Shortage |
| Internal Auditor 221214 | No Shortage |
| Accounts Clerk 551111 | No Shortage |
| Bookkeeper 551211 | No Shortage |
| Payroll Clerk 551311 | No Shortage |
The ratings are the same in all eight states and territories. The two shortage occupations are at skill level 1. Bookkeeper is at skill level 3, and Accounts Clerk and Payroll Clerk at level 4.
So the data does not show a general shortage of accountants or bookkeepers in Australia. It shows a shortage in two senior roles, tax accountants and external auditors. These are senior, licensed roles, not roles an offshore bookkeeping team can fill. A firm that is short of tax accountants may choose to move routine bookkeeping off those people's desks so their time goes to tax work. That is a choice a firm can make, and the data does not show that it is what firms are doing.
Four of the accounting occupations are also on the Core Skills Occupation List used for skilled migration: Accountant (General), Management Accountant, Taxation Accountant and External Auditor, with CA ANZ, CPA Australia and IPA as assessing authorities. The list is carried in the Migration (Specification of Occupations and Relevant Assessing Authorities - Subclass 186 Visa) Instrument 2024, Compilation No. 4 of 28 March 2026. Bookkeeper, Accounts Clerk and Payroll Clerk do not appear. Being on the list is an eligibility step only, and an amendment after 28 March 2026 is possible.
The workforce profile#
JSA's occupation profiles give a second view. The figures below are from the Accountants (ANZSCO 2211) and Bookkeepers (ANZSCO 5512) profiles, last modified 2 April 2026.
| Measure | Accountants | Bookkeepers |
|---|---|---|
| Employed | 215,500 | 91,800 |
| Annual employment growth | +5,800 | -1,000 |
| Median age | 42 | 52 |
| Female | 54% | 89% |
| Part-time | 16% | 60% |
| Median weekly earnings | $2,003 | $1,400 |
Employment and growth are from the ABS Labour Force Survey for February 2026. Earnings are from the ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours for May 2025, for full-time non-managerial employees at the adult rate, before tax. Age and the female and part-time shares are the 2025 four-quarter average. The profiles report past-year change, not a projection. The earnings rows are labour-market facts and say nothing about what any service costs.
The bookkeeper profile is an older, mostly part-time workforce that shrank by 1,000 over the year, in an occupation JSA rates No Shortage. That is a profile of a workforce that is not growing, not a shortage.
The workload driver: Payday Super#
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025 (Act No. 57, 2025, registered 7 November 2025) commences on 1 July 2026, so it is now in force. It amends the SG Administration Act 1992 to work on "QE days" (qualifying-earnings days) instead of quarters. The "usual period" for a contribution ends on "the seventh business day after the QE day", and the "extended usual period" ends on the 20th business day.
Payday Super is a payroll and superannuation obligation of employers. We do not process payroll or superannuation. Its relevance to bookkeeping is modest. When contributions are measured per pay day rather than per quarter, payroll-related records and the bank accounts that super payments leave have to be current on a shorter cycle. Keeping those records coded and reconciled is bookkeeping work. The payroll run, the super payments and the compliance decisions stay with the employer and the firm advising it.
What can and cannot be outsourced#
The line is about who is responsible to the client. Work that stays with the firm:
- BAS and other activity statements, income tax returns, and their preparation and lodgement
- Payroll and superannuation processing
- Sign-off on accounts and the firm's own review conclusions
- Advice to the client
- The client relationship
Work that can be done by an offshore team inside the client's QuickBooks Online file, and that we do:
- Monthly bookkeeping and month-end close
- Accounts payable and accounts receivable
- Bank, credit card and loan reconciliations
- Cleanup of past periods: recategorisation, duplicate entries, undeposited funds, "Ask My Accountant" balances
- Financial statements and management reports for the firm to review
- Year-end close and tax-ready workpapers for the firm to use
We do not prepare or lodge BAS, tax returns, payroll or super, we are not registered tax or BAS agents, and we work in QuickBooks Online only. For the mechanics, see our guides on backoffice support for accounting firms, sending a client file to an offshore bookkeeping team and the month-end close in QuickBooks Online. Our parallel articles are Why US CPA and Accounting Firms Outsource Bookkeeping and Why UK Accounting Firms Outsource Bookkeeping.
Why India#
The profession's size. ICAI's 77th Annual Report for 2025-26 records 452,825 members as on 1 April 2026: 123,155 Fellows and 329,670 Associates. Of these, 158,887 were in full-time practice.
ICAI, CA ANZ and CPA Australia, stated precisely. ICAI's FAQ on MoUs and MRAs, updated on 20 May 2026, lists mutual recognition agreements with CPA Australia and with CA ANZ. CPA Australia's release says the two bodies renewed their agreement for a further five years. These agreements apply to members only. The FAQ states that audit and practising rights are not included, and that the route needs limited exams. Our qualification therefore carries no Australian audit or practising rights, and we do not claim any.
The services export figure. The Reserve Bank of India's survey of software and ITES exports for 2024-25, published on 4 November 2025, put exports of "finance and accounting auditing bookkeeping and tax consulting services" at US$ 8.2 billion (Rs 69,245 crore). That was 12.3% of ITES/BPO exports.
Time zones. India Standard Time is "based on UTC with a +5:30-hour offset", per the Press Information Bureau. Sydney is on UTC+10 (AEST) or UTC+11 (AEDT), and the 2026 daylight saving period started on Sunday 4 October 2026 and ends on Sunday 4 April 2027, per the NSW Government. By our arithmetic, Sydney is ahead of India by 4 hours 30 minutes on AEST and 5 hours 30 minutes on AEDT. An Australian afternoon therefore overlaps an Indian morning, which gives an overlapping working day for questions and review calls. It is not a promise about turnaround, which depends on the file.
Rules an Australian firm must follow when work goes offshore#
We are not Australian lawyers, and your own adviser should confirm how these apply to your firm.
Tax Practitioners Board. TPB(GS) 31/2018, "Outsourcing and offshoring of tax services - Code of Professional Conduct considerations", was issued on 27 February 2018 and last modified on 30 April 2026. It was previously TPB(PN) 2/2018. It says tax practitioners should "not imply or state that all their work is completed in Australia, if that is not the case", and it puts the onus on the practitioner to exercise appropriate due diligence when outsourcing work and sending information offshore. It treats an overseas entity, a subsidiary and an unrelated subcontractor as third parties, so client permission is needed before disclosing to them. Permission can be given by a signed engagement letter or consent. The TPB recommends telling the client to whom and where. For unregistered offshore staff, the practitioner stays responsible and must supervise and control. The guidance is non-binding, but the Code of Professional Conduct is binding.
Confidentiality in the Tax Agent Services Act. Section 30-10(6) of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (compilation date 1 October 2026) says: "Unless you have a legal duty to do so, you must not disclose any information relating to a client's affairs to a third party without your client's permission."
APES 305. The APESB's APES 305 Terms of Engagement, revised in September 2024, applies to engagements commencing on or after 1 January 2025. Paragraph 3.6 says that where a member uses Outsourced Services for a client, "the Member shall document and communicate the details of the Outsourced Service Provider, the geographical location" and "the nature and extent" of the service. The standard's definition of an Outsourced Service Provider covers one that may not be located in the same country as the member or the client, so an offshore provider is in scope.
APES GN 30. APES GN 30 Outsourced Services was revised in September 2023 and is still the current version on the APESB page. It is a guidance note, not a standard. It says a member "should" evaluate the provider's controls before sharing confidential information.
Privacy. Under Australian Privacy Principle 8.1, as set out by the OAIC, before disclosing personal information to an overseas recipient an entity "must take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure" the recipient does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles (other than APP 1).
Our side. ICAI's Code of Ethics treats disclosure of a client's information without the client's consent, or otherwise than as required by law, as professional misconduct for a practising Chartered Accountant (Second Schedule, Part I, Clause 1, as quoted in ICAI-hosted ethics material).
Who does the work at our firm#
CA Alok Kumar Acharya, ACA (ICAI, India), founded the firm and has 11+ years of professional experience. His earlier work was at PwC and Grant Thornton, in accounting, taxation, audit and financial reporting. He later worked with the William J. Clinton Foundation (India), the Indian affiliate of the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). Work done in a client's file is reviewed by a Chartered Accountant before it is returned.
How to start#
- Send one client file. We review it and send an estimate within 48 hours, with a capped number of hours.
- Limited access. Access is limited to the files needed for the work. We sign an NDA first if your firm wants one.
- Work, review and handover. The work is done inside the client's QuickBooks Online file, reviewed by a Chartered Accountant and returned with a summary of adjustments.
Our guide to sending a client file to an offshore bookkeeping team lists what to prepare. More on our work for accounting firms is on the CPA firms page.
Frequently asked questions#
Is there a shortage of accountants and bookkeepers in Australia? Only in two occupations. JSA's 2025 list rates Taxation Accountant and External Auditor as in shortage. Accountant (General), Management Accountant, Internal Auditor, Accounts Clerk, Bookkeeper and Payroll Clerk are rated No Shortage.
When does Payday Super start? On 1 July 2026, under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025. The usual period for a contribution ends on the seventh business day after the QE day. It is an employer obligation.
Does ICAI's agreement with CA ANZ or CPA Australia let Indian Chartered Accountants practise in Australia? No. ICAI's agreements with both bodies apply to members only. ICAI's FAQ (updated 20 May 2026) says audit and practising rights are not included, and the route needs limited exams.
What must an Australian firm do before sending client work to India? Get client permission before disclosure to a third party (Tax Agent Services Act s 30-10(6)), document and communicate the provider, location and extent (APES 305 para 3.6), and take reasonable steps under APP 8.1. Confirm the details with your own adviser.
Sources#
- Jobs and Skills Australia, 2025 Occupation Shortage List - 6 digit ANZSCO and OSCA (spreadsheet), published 15 October 2025: link
- Jobs and Skills Australia, "Shortages ease, gaps persist" (2025 Occupation Shortage List), 15 October 2025: link
- Jobs and Skills Australia, Occupation and Industry Profiles, 2211 Accountants (last modified 2 April 2026): link
- Jobs and Skills Australia, Occupation and Industry Profiles, 5512 Bookkeepers (last modified 2 April 2026): link
- Migration (Specification of Occupations and Relevant Assessing Authorities - Subclass 186 Visa) Instrument 2024 (LIN 24/093), Compilation No. 4, 28 March 2026: link
- Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025 (Act No. 57, 2025): link
- Tax Practitioners Board, TPB(GS) 31/2018 Outsourcing and offshoring of tax services, last modified 30 April 2026: link
- Tax Agent Services Act 2009, Compilation No. 27, 1 October 2026: link
- APESB, APES 305 Terms of Engagement, September 2024: link
- APESB, APES GN 30 Outsourced Services, September 2023: link
- OAIC, Read the Australian Privacy Principles: link
- ICAI, 77th Annual Report and Accounts for 2025-26 (Gazette of India notification dated 31 July 2026): link
- ICAI, FAQs on New Scheme of Education and Training, October 2024: link
- IFRS Foundation, IFRS Standards: Application around the world, Jurisdictional Profile: India: link
- ICAI, FAQs on MOUs/MRAs, updated 20 May 2026: link
- CPA Australia, "ICAI renews MRA with CPA": link
- Reserve Bank of India, Survey on Computer Software and ITES Exports: 2024-25, press release, 4 November 2025: link
- Press Information Bureau, draft Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules: link
- NSW Government, Daylight saving: link
- ICAI-hosted lecture material, "Overview of the Code of Ethics" (Second Schedule, Part I, Clause 1): link
