Best Customer Service Outsourcing Companies for Australian Businesses

Telstra made a decision in 2022 that cost roughly what a small suburb’s worth of mortgages would total. Every consumer and small business call, she announced, would be answered in Australia by the end of June. Two thousand new hires. All onshore. The pandemic had made the company’s offshore model look fragile in ways the spreadsheets never predicted.

In 2025, a risk manager at Westpac was moving nearly 200 roles in the opposite direction, sending mortgage processing and institutional banking work to Manila. This happened less than a year after they’d sent their previous batch of risk department functions offshore. The CFO had run the numbers, and the savings were impossible to ignore.

These aren’t contradictory stories. They’re the same story told from different angles. Australian companies have stopped asking whether to go offshore and started asking which work belongs where. The old binary choice, onshore or offshore, has turned into something more nuanced and harder to get right.

That’s what this guide is for.

TL;DR, Then the Shortlist

Australian companies are moving past the old onshore versus offshore debate. The leaders are using hybrid delivery, placing the right work in the right locations to balance cost, quality, resilience, and risk.

Ranked Shortlist, by AU Fit (Mid-Market)

Disclosure: Penbrothers is our recommended first choice based on AU relevance, delivery strength, and commercial flexibility. We are a Penbrothers-owned publication.

1. Penbrothers, best for AU-aligned mid-market teams needing scalable, high-quality offshore delivery in the Philippines, strong HR/ops support, and elastic staffing for voice and digital.
2. Probe CX, best for onshore and ANZ nearshore coverage with deep AU footprint for regulated and brand-critical voice.
3. TSA Group, best for premium onshore customer experience with sales-adjacent use cases.
4. Concentrix, best for multi-region CX programs that need breadth and enterprise tooling.
5. Foundever, best for mature global operations that prioritise playbooks and multilanguage support.
6. Teleperformance, best for scale and channel breadth across global markets.
7. Datacom, best for government-adjacent work and ANZ alignment.
8. TELUS International, best for digital CX programs with AI/automation depth.
9. Cognizant, best for tech-enabled support within broader transformation programs.
10. Wipro, best for IT-heavy environments needing integrated support and service desk.
11. Sutherland, best for process-driven CX and knowledge-heavy back-office.
12. Cloudstaff, best for SMB/mid-market teams seeking dedicated offshore talent in PH with strong cost control.
13. SupportNinja, best for fast-ramping ecommerce/SaaS programs and structured QA.
14. TaskUs, best for digital-first scale-ups with complex non-voice and community support.
15. HGS (Hinduja Global Solutions), best for flexible, multi-region coverage.
16. Genpact, best for enterprise-grade support tied to analytics and process excellence.

Why Australian Buyers Are Re-writing the Playbook

Cost arbitrage alone doesn’t explain what’s happening anymore. Watch what Australian buyers are actually doing with their money and you’ll see something more interesting than simple offshoring. They’re building portfolios. High-stakes voice conversations stay onshore where accents matter and compliance is simpler. After-hours chat and email move to Manila or Cape Town where the economics make sense. The hybrid model wins because it matches work to location with precision most companies never attempted before.

Think of it as task-level optimization. Complex, regulated voice work, the kind where a customer is genuinely upset or genuinely vulnerable, stays with Australian teams. They have the accent. The cultural shorthand. The compliance infrastructure. 

Overflow queues, the ones that spike at 9 PM or over Christmas, those go offshore where you can scale without building a permanent cost structure. 

Time-zone diversification, the kind that keeps you operational when a cyclone hits Brisbane, that’s where nearshore locations like New Zealand and Fiji start to look compelling. Not quite Australian rates, not quite offshore savings, but the risk mitigation has a price tag that’s starting to make sense to boards.

The companies doing this well aren’t making one big decision. They’re making dozens of small ones. Telstra onshored voice but kept digital channels offshore. Alinta Energy runs three Australian contact centers alongside a Philippine facility. The model works because it acknowledges something the old binary approach couldn’t: not all customer service work carries the same risk or requires the same treatment.

The Ranked Shortlist: Best Customer Service Outsourcing Companies for Australia (2025)

Each profile here is written for Australian mid-market decision-makers who need to make a choice in the next 90 days. We focus on delivery footprint, channels supported, Australian relevance, compliance readiness, and a clear recommendation for who should choose them.

1. Penbrothers

Penbrothers leads this list for Australian mid-market firms that need offshore scale and quality in the Philippines without the traditional BPO headaches. We run a Talent-as-a-Service model, which is consultant-speak for something simpler: we handle all the messy parts of employing people in the Philippines so you don’t have to. HR administration, payroll accuracy, benefits compliance, workforce management, it’s all baked into the service. What you get is dedicated staff who work for your company, not for a BPO that serves 40 other clients.

The model delivers in the Philippines across voice and digital channels, chat, email, social, with 24/7 coverage available. DesignCrowd, an Australian design-tech client expanded from creative roles into customer service, finance, and marketing with Penbrothers, eventually scaling to over 200 headcount. The tenure stayed strong. The cost savings were significant. The 24/7 operations worked. That’s the kind of proven outcome that matters more than slides. 

The structured HR compliance and operational oversight mean you’re not inheriting legal risk you didn’t price in. For Australian companies specifically, we have written extensively about why the Philippines works for firms looking to balance cost with capability, and we publish a detailed salary guide for CX roles that removes the pricing opacity most providers hide behind.

2. Probe CX

Australia’s largest homegrown customer experience provider carries weight precisely because it’s homegrown. Headquartered in Melbourne, Probe CX combines local accountability with global scale through a model they call “Designed in Australia, Delivered Globally.” That means deep expertise in Australian regulatory nuances, the kind of knowledge that matters when you’re handling government contracts, banking data, or healthcare information. The onshore presence is substantial. The offshore workforce in the Philippines comprises the majority of their 19,000+ professionals across five countries, which gives them the scale to handle almost anything a mid-market buyer could throw at them.

If you’re in a complex, regulated sector and you need a provider that understands Australian compliance as a native language rather than a foreign accent, Probe CX makes sense. The onshore delivery means you can visit the facility without international flights. The government-adjacent experience means they’ve already solved problems you’re about to encounter.

3. TSA Group

TSA Group positions itself as the specialist in connecting Australian brands with Australian consumers, which is a narrow positioning that happens to be exactly what some buyers need. Australian-owned, focused on the domestic market, strong in premium voice experiences where sales conversations matter as much as support ones. The company’s local market expertise runs deep enough that they can handle the cultural nuances most offshore providers miss.

The service portfolio covers customer care, sales, and back-office support, acting as an integrated execution partner rather than just a vendor who answers phones. Their partnership with Amazon Web Services to deliver a cloud-based CX platform shows serious technology credentials, and their prior certified carbon-neutral status (until late-2025) underscores a strong ESG commitment have moved from marketing copy to board-level accountability. If your use case involves sales-adjacent voice work where accent and cultural fluency matter more than cost savings, TSA Group belongs on the shortlist. They’re not competing on price. They’re competing on quality.

4. Concentrix

Concentrix brings tier-one global scale with a strong physical Australian presence, ranked third in the Everest Group BPS Top 50. That ranking isn’t purchased, it’s earned through demonstrated capability across hundreds of clients. The Australian footprint includes multiple delivery centers in Ballarat, Brisbane, and Melbourne. They provide a dedicated local contact number for AU/NZ clients, which matters more than it sounds. It means your account management happens in your time zone.

The service portfolio spans end-to-end capabilities from CX strategy and data analytics to fully managed digital operations and Contact Centre as a Service platforms. The AI and automation integration is substantial and pragmatic, focused on augmenting human performance rather than just eliminating headcount. For multi-region CX programs that need breadth, governance, and enterprise-grade tooling, Concentrix has the infrastructure most mid-sized providers can’t match.

5. Foundever

Foundever, formerly Sitel, maintains significant onshore Australian operations that date back to 2010. Ranked eighth in the Everest Group BPS Top 50, they’re a major global CX player with over 600 associates across two Australian locations. The client base exceeds 40 brands, with stated industry focus on banking, financial services, travel, and hospitality. The transition from the Sitel brand to Foundever, confirmed through official business registration, signals long-term commitment to the Australian market rather than a regional presence that might disappear when global strategy shifts.

The Australian operations provide mature playbooks for omnichannel service delivery, which is valuable if you’re not interested in being someone’s learning opportunity. Their multilingual capabilities matter for brands serving diverse customer bases, and the proven operational frameworks mean you’re getting systems that have been refined across thousands of customer interactions. For companies that prioritize stability and proven processes over cutting-edge innovation, Foundever offers exactly that.

6. Teleperformance

The world’s largest BPO and customer experience management provider, ranked second in the Everest Group BPS Top 50, brings unmatched global scale and deep industry expertise. For the Australian market, Teleperformance delivers a full spectrum of digital business services including customer care, technical support, and back-office functions across telecommunications, retail, BFSI, and e-commerce sectors. The solutions are omnichannel by design and heavily leverage AI and automation to drive efficiency.

The technology infrastructure and security standards, including PCI and GDPR compliance, meet the baseline requirements for handling sensitive customer data. The multilingual capabilities span over 300 languages and dialects globally, which matters if your customer base isn’t exclusively English-speaking. The scale means they can handle almost any volume requirement. The risk is that scale sometimes means standardization, and standardization doesn’t always match your specific needs. But for programs where proven, high-volume execution matters more than bespoke solutions, the scale becomes the advantage.

7. Datacom

Datacom is a major Australasian technology services powerhouse with formidable contact center and BPO capabilities. Annual revenues of $1.48 billion and over 5,300 professionals give them the scale to manage large, complex engagements. The company has secured significant contracts with government and enterprise clients across Australia, which validates their ability to meet stringent compliance and security requirements.

The service portfolio includes managed service desks, BPO, and experience technology implementation. A documented case study shows successful deployment of a Genesys Cloud contact center solution for Australian energy giant Alinta Energy, proving their ability to deliver transformative projects for major local brands. For government-adjacent work, which carries unique compliance burdens and procurement requirements, Datacom’s ANZ alignment and established government relationships matter. They speak the language of public sector procurement. They understand APRA requirements. They’ve already passed the security audits you’re about to require.

8. TELUS International

TELUS International is a global CX leader with recognized presence in the Everest Group BPS Top 50. The company maintains offices in Sydney and Melbourne, providing local account management for Australian clients across financial services, healthcare, government, and communications sectors. The service portfolio spans the full CX lifecycle from strategy and consulting to contact center operations and AI-enhanced services.

The technology emphasis is substantial, with mature capabilities in automation and knowledge management that go beyond simple chatbots. For digital CX programs where the interaction is increasingly happening through chat, email, and messaging rather than voice, TELUS International has built infrastructure specifically for those channels. The client success stories, while not exclusively Australian, demonstrate deep capability in leveraging technology and operational excellence to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction. If your program is digital-first and you need a provider with serious automation chops, the technology depth matters more than the physical Australian presence.

9. Cognizant

Cognizant brings major IT and BPS capabilities with Australian clients that include some of the country’s largest enterprises. The company’s strength lies in tech-enabled support embedded within broader transformation programs. If you’re not just outsourcing customer service but also modernizing your entire technology stack, having a provider that can handle both the CX operations and the underlying systems integration removes a coordination headache.

The service model works best for clients who need customer support as part of a larger technology initiative rather than as a standalone procurement. The compliance posture includes the standard certifications, ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA where relevant. For companies running complex technology environments where customer service needs to integrate tightly with backend systems, internal tools, and data platforms, Cognizant’s dual capability in both operations and technology becomes the differentiator.

10. Wipro

Wipro‘s strength for Australian buyers lies in IT-heavy environments that need integrated service desk and customer experience capabilities. As a major IT and BPS provider with documented Australian clients including Telstra, the company can handle support operations that span customer-facing interactions and internal IT service management. This integration matters when your customer service team needs to escalate to technical teams frequently, or when the line between customer support and IT helpdesk blurs.

The service delivery combines traditional BPO capabilities with deep technical expertise, which works well for technology companies, financial services firms with complex systems, and any organization where customer support requires significant technical knowledge. The compliance framework meets enterprise requirements. For buyers who need a provider that can speak both the language of customer experience and the language of IT operations without translation errors, that dual fluency has value.

11. Sutherland

Sutherland positions itself in the process-driven CX and knowledge-heavy back-office space. The company’s strength lies in handling customer interactions that require significant process expertise rather than simple transactional responses. Think complex claims processing, detailed product support, or customer service that requires agents to navigate byzantine internal systems.

The global BPS capabilities include strong CX practice with demonstrated ability to handle operations that cross the boundary between front-office customer interaction and back-office process work. For companies where customer service isn’t just answering questions but actually processing complex transactions or navigating detailed workflows, Sutherland’s process emphasis becomes relevant. They’re not optimizing for speed. They’re optimizing for accuracy in complicated environments.

12. Cloudstaff

Founded in Australia with primary delivery in the Philippines, Cloudstaff specializes in global remote staffing for SMB and mid-market teams. The company maintains Australian offices in Sydney and Brisbane, providing local account management that matters when you’re dealing with contracts, compliance, and escalations. The service portfolio explicitly includes customer service alongside professional services like accounting and IT support.

The business model focuses on staff augmentation, providing dedicated remote team members rather than shared agent pools. This means the person answering your customer calls isn’t also answering calls for three other companies during their shift. The Australian business accolades, including AFR Fast 100 and EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist recognition, provide external validation of execution capability. For SMB and mid-market teams that want offshore economics without traditional BPO overhead and complexity, the dedicated staffing model offers more control than most alternatives. The cost control is substantial. The Australian ownership means you’re dealing with someone who understands your market.

13. SupportNinja

SupportNinja specializes in high-growth technology companies with service portfolios designed specifically for SaaS, FinTech, and e-commerce sectors. The company’s offerings include technical support, customer experience, and content moderation, which aligns well with Australia’s burgeoning tech sector. Primary delivery centers operate in the Philippines and Colombia, providing geographic diversity that matters for business continuity.

The security and compliance emphasis is notable, with PCI-DSS Level 1, SOC 2 Type 2, and HIPAA compliance demonstrating mature security posture essential for handling sensitive customer data. For fast-ramping ecommerce and SaaS support programs that need structured quality assurance and can’t afford the learning curve of traditional BPO, SupportNinja’s specialized focus on tech companies means they’ve already solved problems you’re about to encounter. The compliance depth matters more than it appears initially. PCI-DSS Level 1 is not trivial to achieve or maintain.

14. TaskUs

TaskUs specializes in serving disruptive, fast-growing technology companies, earning recognition in the Everest Group BPS Top 50. The industry focus on social media, e-commerce, gaming, and FinTech aligns precisely with Australia’s digital economy. While primary delivery locations are offshore, TaskUs demonstrates clear operational focus on Australia through job postings for roles requiring expertise in Australian labor law spanning global teams.

The company’s specialized services in content moderation and trust and safety operations are particularly valuable for online platforms and marketplaces. For digital-first scale-ups dealing with complex non-voice support, community operations, or user-generated content that needs moderation, TaskUs has built infrastructure specifically for those challenges. The technology company focus means they understand the pace and chaos of scaling digital businesses. They’re not set up for stable, predictable volume. They’re set up for the chaos of hypergrowth.

15. HGS (Hinduja Global Solutions)

HGS provides flexible, multi-region coverage with significant global scale. The company maintains presence across multiple geographies, providing channel breadth that spans voice, digital, and back-office operations. For Australian buyers who need coverage across several regions or who have customer bases that span Asia-Pacific and require multilingual support, HGS offers the footprint to handle that complexity.

The operational flexibility extends to commercial models and service delivery approaches. The company can support multiple delivery locations and channels within a single program, which matters for complex, multi-market operations. The compliance framework meets enterprise standards. For buyers who need geographic and linguistic diversity rather than deep specialization in a single market, that flexibility becomes the core value proposition.

16. Genpact

Genpact brings enterprise-grade support tied to analytics and process excellence. The company’s heritage in process optimization, born from GE’s internal shared services organization, means they approach CX operations with a bias toward measurable improvement and data-driven decision making. The Australian presence includes dedicated leadership teams and established client relationships.

For organizations where customer support needs to integrate with broader business process optimization, analytics capabilities, and operational transformation initiatives, Genpact’s combined BPS and analytics capabilities remove the need to coordinate multiple vendors. The service delivery emphasizes process maturity and continuous improvement rather than just cost reduction. If your organization runs on Six Sigma, has a chief process officer, or measures everything in basis points, Genpact speaks that language fluently.

Location Strategy Before Vendor Selection

Onshore delivery in Australia represents the highest cost and highest control option. Fully-loaded hourly rates of $48 to $70 make this the premium choice. The value proposition centers on unparalleled cultural and linguistic alignment, ensuring agents have intrinsic understanding of local nuances, humor, and customer expectations. Compliance with Australian regulations, particularly around data sovereignty and privacy, becomes dramatically simpler. Proximity facilitates easier management, site visits, and collaboration. Onshore delivery makes sense for high-value, complex, or sensitive customer interactions where the cost of negative customer experience is extremely high. Government contracts, financial services handling regulated data, and premium brands whose identity ties closely to local service experience all benefit from onshore delivery.

Nearshore options provide middle ground between onshore control and offshore economics. New Zealand offers quality-first positioning with strong cultural and linguistic alignment, high accent familiarity beneficial for complex conversations and complaint handling, and minimal time difference simplifying real-time collaboration. The stable, predictable regulatory environment and approximately 20% cost savings versus Australia make it attractive for businesses seeking balance. The talent pool is smaller than major offshore hubs, limiting suitability for massive-scale operations. New Zealand works well for diversifying risk away from single offshore locations or extending service hours to cover the entire Australian business day.

Fiji combines significant cost advantages with geographic proximity and strong service-oriented culture. Fully-loaded hourly rates of approximately $12 to $15 make it price-competitive with the Philippines. The Fijian government actively supports the BPO industry, which now employs around 8,000 people underpinned by excellent telecommunications infrastructure including access to the high-speed Southern Cross Cable. The workforce benefits from natural customer service affinity, a legacy of the country’s strong tourism industry. The overall talent pool is significantly smaller than the Philippines or India, limiting suitability for clients requiring thousands of agents. Fiji presents a compelling alternative to the Philippines for cost-effective customer service, collections, and back-office functions. The nearshore location reduces travel time and complexity for management oversight. Growing numbers of prominent Australian brands including ANZ Bank, iSelect, Spotlight Retail Group, and The Oodie have established operations in Fiji, validating viability.

Offshore locations offer the most significant cost savings and access to vast talent pools, though they introduce greater complexity regarding distance, time zones, and cultural differences. The Philippines dominates as the most mature offshore market for Australian businesses, renowned for large, cost-effective, highly skilled English-proficient workforce. Typical hourly rates between $8 and $18 provide the deepest cost savings. The country boasts a large pool of university-educated talent with strong cultural affinity for Western norms and service-oriented mindset. The time zone difference of 2-3 hours behind AEST/AEDT requires management. Over-reliance on a single offshore country introduces business continuity risks, as demonstrated during the pandemic. For some Australian customer segments, negative perception exists around offshore call centers. The Philippines remains the primary choice for large-scale, cost-driven outsourcing across all channels including voice, digital support, and wide range of back-office processes.

South Africa’s key differentiator is high-quality, neutral English accent making it premium destination for voice-based services. The workforce is known for clear, easily understood English and strong cultural synergies with Australia. The industry benefits from motivated talent pool with low attrition rates. Cost savings of 30-40% compared to Australia with hourly rates typically between $15 and $25 come with marginally higher cost than the Philippines. The significant time zone difference of 7-9 hours behind AEST/AEDT challenges real-time collaboration but advantages 24/7 follow-the-sun support models. South Africa excels in voice-centric customer service, sales, and technical support where accent clarity is top priority, proven by major Australian brands like iiNet, ANZ, and Foxtel.

India functions as global powerhouse in BPO, particularly for deep pool of technical and IT talent. The country offers access to immense, highly educated workforce with strong capabilities in IT, software development, and complex back-office functions like finance and accounting. The mature market and time zone difference facilitate seamless 24/7 operations. For general customer service, Australian consumers sometimes perceive significant accent and cultural gap, leading some major brands to move voice services away from India. India proves ideal for technical support helpdesks, IT service management, software development, and complex, non-voice back-office processes requiring deep analytical or technical expertise.

The hybrid model in practice means matching specific customer interactions to appropriate locations based on risk, complexity, and cost tolerance. High-empathy, brand-critical voice stays onshore. Overflow, after-hours, and routine transactions move offshore. Time-zone coverage and risk diversification happen through nearshore options. The companies getting this right aren’t making one location choice. They’re building portfolios.

Who Should Choose What: Scenario-Based Matches

Complex, regulated voice work and brand-critical CX belongs with onshore Australian leaders demonstrating strong PCI and ISO compliance posture. When customer interactions carry high stakes, whether financial, medical, or reputational, the premium for local delivery pays for itself in reduced risk. The accent matches. The compliance is native. The oversight is direct.

24/7 digital support, after-hours coverage, and seasonal peaks benefit from blended Australian plus Philippines or South Africa delivery. The hybrid model lets you keep premium interactions onshore while moving volume-driven work offshore where the economics make sense. The time zone differences become advantages rather than problems when you’re trying to provide round-the-clock coverage without triple-shift onshore labor costs.

Tech scale-ups needing speed and elasticity should look at the Philippines specialists with SOC and PCI scope, plus strong quality assurance frameworks. Companies scaling rapidly can’t afford the lead time of traditional BPO procurement. They need providers who can ramp in weeks rather than quarters and who understand the chaos of hypergrowth. The offshore economics let you experiment and scale without making permanent cost commitments you can’t reverse.

Government-adjacent work requires ANZ providers with documented Australian case evidence and deep understanding of public sector procurement requirements. The compliance burden for government contracts exceeds commercial work. The reference requirements are stricter. The security audits are more thorough. Providers who specialize in government work have already solved these problems and maintain the certifications government buyers require. If your requirements fall somewhere between these scenarios, or if you’re still mapping which work belongs where, talk to someone who’s built teams for companies facing similar choices. The right model depends on variables only you can see.

Frequently Asked Questions for Australian Decision-Makers