Yes, through an EOR or your own Indian entity.
The short answer is yes, and an increasing number of Australia companies already do it. The detail that matters is the model you choose, because it drives your compliance exposure, your cost per head, and how fast you can move.
If you have ten minutes before a hiring review, read only this.
The two legal paths.
You cannot put an Indian worker on your Australian payroll directly. Indian employment law requires a local employer, either an EOR or your own entity. Classifying a full-time worker as an independent contractor to avoid this carries real compliance risk and is not recommended.
EOR versus your own entity
An EOR is operational in days and needs no Indian entity. A GCC (your own captive subsidiary) takes four to six months to set up but gives full control and better economics at scale. The GCC vs EOR comparison covers the model decision in more detail.
Australian companies establishing Indian GCCs often choose Bengaluru or Hyderabad. Australian tech companies are among the most active APAC GCC builders in India.
What the EOR handles.
- Employment contracts compliant with Indian labour law
- Payroll: salary, statutory deductions (PF, ESI, TDS), and disbursement in INR
- Benefits administration: health insurance, leave policy, gratuity
- Tax compliance: TDS filing, PF and ESI registration and remittance
- Termination compliance: notice periods, severance, full and final settlement
The EOR charges a per-employee monthly fee on top of salary. At small scale this is cost-effective; past 25 to 30 people the per-head cost makes a GCC more efficient.
What you handle.
You manage the work: what the person builds, who they report to, and how they collaborate with your team. The EOR is the legal employer; you are the functional manager. This is no different from how most remote teams already operate.
First steps.
The India team build practice handles all of this end to end, from model selection through sourcing. For region-specific guidance, the Australian companies hiring in India page covers the process in depth.
An Australia company can hire in India legally, cost-effectively, and quickly. The EOR path gets you a first hire in weeks; the GCC path gives you full control at scale. The model choice follows your headcount plan, not the other way around.
Where a specialist partner changes the outcome.
The decisions that make or break an India team are made in the first ninety days. A partner who has built teams before prevents each mistake from being discovered the expensive way.
City strategy → Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad compared on depth, cost and attrition for your roles.
Leadership first → The India lead is hired through executive search before any pod.
Operating model → EOR, entity or both, sequenced to headcount. See India team build.
Notice and retention → Candidates are managed through 60 to 90 day notice periods, with counter-offers mapped early.
Discuss a mandate →Real mandates, real numbers.
A first India engineering centre with no entity and no local employer brand. Pune was the city recommendation, and leadership was hired before any pod.
A first technology team in Mumbai with no prior operating footprint and sourcing restrictions that ruled out several obvious talent pools.
Planning your India team?
If you are hiring your first India employees, choosing a city or moving from an EOR to your own entity, we can map the right sequence for your stage before any commercial conversation.
A senior team member responds within one business day. No pitch deck, no obligation.