Not all workers are satisfied with working from home, with a growing number of Aussies planning to take advantage of flexible work arrangements by working overseas.
Finder's Consumer Sentiment Tracker (CST), a monthly survey of around 1,000 adults, reveals 14% of Australians plan to work remotely overseas this year, up from 7% last year. That's the equivalent of 2.9 million people.
This means a large number of Aussies will be utilising travel money cards or money transfer services to pay for living expenses.
Quick summary
29% of Australian adults worked remotely in 2022.
Over a quarter (26%) worked remotely domestically.
7% worked overseas in 2022 and 14% plan to work overseas in 2023.
Gen Y is driving the remote working trend with 44% saying they worked remotely in 2022 either domestically or overseas.
However, gen Z is most likely to work remotely overseas (13%), followed by gen Y (10%).
The most popular countries for Aussie remote workers are New Zealand (19%), Thailand (16%), Indonesia (13%), the Philippines (10%) and the UK (9%).
Did you work remotely in 2022?
Did you work remotely in 2022?
Response
Yes, domestically
Yes, overseas
Yes, both domestically and overseas
Remote working
23
4
3
How many Aussie adults worked remotely in 2022?
29% of Australian adults worked remotely in 2022.
Over a quarter (26%) worked remotely domestically while 7% worked overseas.
In 2022, Aussies who worked remotely from another country did so for an average of 6.5 weeks.
Men were slightly more likely than women to work remotely (31% vs 28%) and were also more likely to work overseas (8% vs 5%).
Gen Y is driving the remote working trend with 44% saying they worked remotely in 2022. This is followed by over a third of gen Z (36%), over a quarter of gen X (27%) and just 7% of baby boomers.
However, gen Z is most likely to work remotely overseas (13%), followed by gen Y (10%) and just 3% of gen X and 1% of baby boomers.
The most popular countries for Aussie remote workers are New Zealand (19%), Thailand (16%), Indonesia (13%), the Philippines (10%), the UK (9%), Japan (7%), the US (7%), Canada (7%) and Germany (6%).
Remote working in 2022 by generation
Remote working in 2022 by generation
Generation
Overseas
Domestically
Baby Boomers
1
6
Gen X
3
25
Gen Y
10
40
Gen Z
13
33
Remote working abroad to jump in 2023
14% of Australians, the equivalent of 2.9 million people, plan to work remotely overseas this year, up from 7% last year.
On average, they also plan to work overseas for longer – just over 7 weeks, up from 6.5 in 2022.
16% of men plan to work abroad this year compared to 13% of women.
Over a fifth of gen Z (22%) and gen Y (21%) plan to work remotely overseas compared to 10% of gen X and just 3% of baby boomers.
New Zealand is the top destination for overseas workers in 2023 (20%), followed by the US (14%), Thailand (10%), Japan (9%), the UK (8%), the Philippines (7%), Italy, Indonesia and Canada (5% each).
Percentage planning to work remotely overseas in 2023
Percentage planning to work remotely overseas in 2023
Total population
14%
Baby Boomers
3
Gen X
10
Gen Y
21
Gen Z
22
Top 20 countries for remote workers 2022 vs 2023
Rank
2022
2023
1
New Zealand
New Zealand
2
Thailand
USA
3
Indonesia
Thailand
4
The Philippines
Japan
5
The UK
The UK
6
Japan
The Philippines
7
USA
Italy
8
Canada
Indonesia
9
Germany
Canada
10
India
South Africa
11
France
India
12
South Africa
Portugal
13
Malaysia
Singapore
14
South Korea
Germany
15
Sri Lanka
Spain
16
Singapore
Hong Kong
17
Hong Kong
Vietnam
18
China
France
19
Vietnam
China
20
Spain
Malaysia
Remote working policies
Nearly 1 in 5 (17%) said their place of employment allows them to work remotely but only within Australia. Nearly 1 in 10 (9%) said they can work remotely domestically or overseas.
On average, employees who are aware of their company's policy said they are able to work remotely for up to 8 weeks a year.
However, over a third of respondents (35%) said their workplace does not have a remote working policy.
Does your company have a remote working policy?
Does your company have a remote working policy?
Response
%
Yes, we can work remotely but only within Australia
17
Yes, we can work remotely domestically and overseas
9
Unsure
8
No
35
What to consider when planning to work abroad
Review your employer's remote working policy to make sure you can work overseas before you make non-refundable purchases.
Susannah Binsted is the head of the Finder Awards program. Previously she was the head of public relations for the international division at Finder. Susannah has a Bachelor of Communication and a Bachelor of International Studies from the University of Technology Sydney.
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