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Employer feature · Elite plan

The paperwork for hiring offshore, already drafted.

The Contracts & Onboarding Docs Pack is nine editable documents — contractor agreements, policies, checklists and templates — written for Australian and New Zealand businesses engaging remote workers in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India and Malaysia. Pick the country, fill in the blanks, send.

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  • Independent contractor agreement for each of the five countries
  • Confidentiality, IP and data-handling clauses built in
  • Day 1, week 1, day 30 and day 90 onboarding checklists

Updated 26 August 2026 · VirtualWorkers.Asia

The pack at a glance

What it is
Nine editable documents: agreements, policies, checklists and templates for engaging an overseas contractor.
Written for
Australian and New Zealand businesses hiring direct on VirtualWorkers.Asia.
Countries
Philippines · Vietnam · Indonesia · India · Malaysia — one agreement each, shared policies and checklists.
Formats
Word and Google Docs for agreements and policies; spreadsheets for checklists, invoice and timesheet.
Where
Employer dashboard → Docs pack, on the Elite plan.
What it is not
Legal advice. Plain-English templates for the common case; have your adviser check anything unusual.

What’s in the pack

DocumentFormatWhat it covers
Independent contractor agreementWord / Google Docs · one per countryRole, monthly rate, hours and time zone, start date, notice period, invoicing, the contractor relationship, termination. Follows the norms of the worker’s country.
Confidentiality, IP & data-handling addendumWord / Google DocsYour client data, your systems, who owns the work product, what happens to access and files when the engagement ends.
Work-from-home & equipment policyWord / Google DocsHours and availability, communication expectations, the machine and connection the worker uses, backups, leave and public holidays.
Onboarding checklistSpreadsheetDay 1, week 1 and day 30: agreement signed, accounts and access, tracker installed, first real task, daily check-ins, expectations review.
30- and 90-day review templatesWord / Google DocsA short structured review at a month and a proper one at three: what’s working, what to change, whether to continue.
Monthly invoice templateSpreadsheetA clean invoice the worker sends you each month — rate, hours or days, any agreed extras — so paying is a two-minute job.
Timesheet & leave scheduleSpreadsheetHours per day and leave taken, for roles where you’re not using the free time tracker.
Offboarding & access-removal checklistSpreadsheetFinal invoice, handover, return of files, and every account and password to revoke — the part everyone forgets.
Public-holiday calendarSpreadsheetThe national holidays in all five countries, so you know in advance when your worker will be off.

Everything you’d otherwise cobble together from three websites and a mate’s old contract.

Why the agreement changes by country

An Australian employment contract was never meant for this. These were.

CountryTime zone vs AESTCustoms the agreement allows for
PhilippinesUTC+8 · 2 hours behind13th-month payment is customary and widely expected; invoicing in US dollars; Holy Week and the Christmas period are the big holidays.
VietnamUTC+7 · 3 hours behindTết (Lunar New Year) is a week or more away from work, usually late January or February; a Tết bonus is customary.
IndonesiaUTC+7 (Jakarta) · 3 hours behindTHR, a religious-holiday allowance paid before Eid al-Fitr, is customary; Ramadan hours may shift.
IndiaUTC+5:30 · 4½ hours behindDiwali is the main break and a Diwali bonus is customary; public holidays vary by state, so the calendar names the state.
MalaysiaUTC+8 · 2 hours behindHari Raya, Chinese New Year and Deepavali are all observed; a year-end bonus is customary rather than expected.

AEST is UTC+10; add an hour during daylight saving (AEDT). Customs are what workers commonly expect, not legal entitlements for a contractor — the agreement makes whichever you choose explicit.

The first 90 days, on one page

The checklists in the pack, in prose.

Day 1
Agreement signed and countersigned. Accounts and access created — email, the tools, the shared drive. Free time tracker installed if you’re using it. A 30-minute call: who’s who, how to ask questions, what the first week looks like.
Week 1
One real task, not a training video. A short daily check-in at the same time each day. Tools walkthrough on the job. Confirm the hours actually work in both time zones.
Day 30
Expectations review from the template: what’s going well, what’s unclear, anything to change in hours or scope. First invoice received and paid on time — it sets the tone for the next eleven.
Day 90
A proper review. Continue, adjust the role, or part ways cleanly with the offboarding checklist. Either way, nothing was left in your head.

From offer to onboarded in three steps

  1. Pick the country

    Each agreement follows the contractor norms of the worker’s country — the Philippines’ 13th-month custom, invoicing in US dollars, local public holidays — so you’re not adapting an Australian employment contract that was never meant for this.

    • Philippines
    • Vietnam
    • Indonesia
    • India
    • Malaysia
  2. Fill in the blanks

    Names, role, monthly rate, hours and time zone, start date, tools, notice period. Every document is editable, with the blanks marked and the clauses in plain English. Ten minutes, not an afternoon with a template site.

  3. Send it and onboard

    Send the agreement, then work the checklist: accounts and access on day 1, the first real task in week 1, expectations reviewed at day 30, a proper review at 90. Nothing forgotten, because nothing was in your head.

Templates, not legal advice.

The pack gets you to a sensible first draft in minutes. Have your own adviser check anything you’re unsure of — especially if the role is unusual, the worker will handle sensitive data, or you’re not sure the arrangement is genuinely contracting.

Contracts and onboarding questions

Which countries are covered?

The Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India and Malaysia — the five countries workers on VirtualWorkers.Asia come from. Each has its own contractor agreement; the policies, checklists and templates are shared.

Is this legal advice?

No. These are templates written in plain English for the common case: an Australian or New Zealand business engaging an independent contractor overseas. Have a lawyer or accountant look over anything you’re unsure of, especially for unusual roles or workers who will handle sensitive data.

What format are the documents in?

Editable Word documents and Google Docs for the agreements and policies, and spreadsheets for the checklists, invoice and timesheet. Fill in the marked blanks and you’re done.

Is a remote worker in the Philippines my employee or a contractor?

On VirtualWorkers.Asia you engage the worker directly as an independent contractor — they invoice you monthly and you pay them directly. The pack is written for that arrangement. Whether any particular relationship is genuinely contracting depends on how it operates in practice, which is a question for your own adviser.

Do I need this if I’m on Done-For-You?

No. On Done-For-You we engage, onboard and manage the worker for you, paperwork included.

Can I use my own contract instead?

Of course. The pack is there so you don’t have to start from a blank page. Plenty of employers use their own agreement and just take the checklists and invoice template.

What do I need to get started?

An Elite plan, and the basics of the role: title, monthly rate, hours, start date and the tools the worker will use. Dashboard → Docs pack, pick the country, fill in the blanks.

Get the paperwork out of the way.

Post a free job, then go Elite and send a proper agreement the day you say yes.

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