Everything you're thinking about.

Per-hour pricing punishes you twice. You pay for meter-watching, and you never know what a job will actually cost. Our Flex package is monthly so you can plan. Our Hire placement is one-off so there's no ongoing fee. We compete on value and quality, not on hourly races to the bottom.

Roughly $22.50/hr AUD for vetted, managed, replaced-if-needed offshore talent. A casual Australian admin is $40-50/hr. An Upwork VA is $10-20/hr but you handle vetting, management, and replacement yourself. We sit in the middle with the quality of the high end.

Two options: top up with another 10 hours for $199 + GST, or graduate to Hatch Hire.

Here's the honest math. Flex at $449/month gives you 20 hours. Hatch Hire at $4,500 one-off plus direct salary (around $750/month for part-time, $1,500 for full-time) gets you 80 to 160 hours of dedicated support every month. If you're consistently maxing your 20 hours, going Hire is cheaper long-term and you get 4× the capacity.

Flex exists for when you're not ready to commit to a dedicated person. If you're using it heavily, you're ready.

Stripe subscription for Hatch Flex monthly. Stripe or bank transfer for Hatch Hire placement fees. For Compliance EOR, one monthly invoice covering salary plus the partner cost.

For Hatch Hire placements: 5-7 business days to shortlist, then 1-2 weeks of interviews, then onboarding. Full process is usually 3-4 weeks end to end. For Hatch Flex: your primary VA is matched within 48 hours and you can start submitting tasks immediately.

Yes. On every Hatch Hire placement, Brad sits in each interview alongside you and the candidate. We vet hard before you see them, then we're there to help read the room live.

We replace them. Hatch Hire placements come with a 6-month replacement guarantee. Hatch Flex runs on a shared pool so swaps are instant.

48 hours standard for most tasks. Same-day available for urgent work at a small premium. Your VA works Philippines business hours which overlap your Australian business day.

Five categories: Business Operations, Revenue & Growth, Finance & Accounting, Creative Studio, and Technology & Development. 22 specialist roles in total. See the full list and salary ranges →

For every role we place, we screen 30-50 applicants and shortlist the top 5%. We check English proficiency, technical skills, workstation setup (mic, camera, internet), and cultural fit for Australian business style. Our talent pool also includes referrals from Brad's six years of Philippines ops contacts.

Yes by default. Philippines is 2-3 hours behind AEST, so a VA working 7am-3pm PH time covers 9am-5pm AEST. For tradies or businesses with offshore overnight needs, we can also schedule for "overnight magic" delivery.

Yes on Hatch Hire — standard process is 3 candidate interviews before you pick. On Hatch Flex, you can start with a $149 Trial for 10 hours in month one and roll onto the full plan if it fits.

Yes, 100%. There's no law against hiring offshore workers. The question is whether you engage them properly. Hatch Flex is structured to stay compliant by design — shared, task-based, async, and doesn't look or feel like employment. For Hatch Hire, you can run the engagement as a contractor (with proper structure) or add our optional Hatch Compliance EOR cover at $300/month per team member for full legal protection.

The Pascua ruling and similar Fair Work decisions target the Australian employer — not the placement agent. The liability sits with how the client engages the worker, not with the placement structure.

The Fair Work Commission uses a 5-question test to determine employee vs contractor status: fixed hours, use of client systems, KPIs/reporting structure, hourly/salary pay, and ability to subcontract. Yes to 3+ indicates employment. Our Flex model fails that test on most axes by design.

For Hire placements where you want full legal cover, add Hatch Compliance ($300/mo passed through at partner cost).

The opposite. Because we don't bury margins in salaries, our Philippines talent gets paid above local market rate. Transparent salary at cost means candidates negotiate directly with you, see exactly what they earn, and aren't having the agency skim their pay. It's the ethical model.

No. If sales calls aren't your thing, send us a brief instead. We reply within 24 hours with shortlist previews, pricing, and next steps. Or if you prefer to just start: Stripe links for Hatch Flex and Hatch Flex Trial are available on the pricing page.

Honest answer: Hatch Flex if you're under 20 hours/month of work, unsure about commitment, or want to test offshore before diving in. Hatch Hire if you've got 30+ hours of consistent weekly work and want a dedicated person.

If you're torn, start with the $149 Flex Trial. Ten hours in month one, no commitment.

Yep. Flex clients graduate to Hire all the time once their volume proves out. We'll flag it when we see usage consistently hitting the 20-hour cap for 3 months running. You can also convert direct to a placement via the $4,500 buyout anytime.