Who wrote this: LeadGenie sells AI employees, so we’re not neutral. The VA prices below are published rates, checked on 09/10/2026 and linked. They change, so get a written quote before you decide.
A virtual assistant (VA) is a person working remotely, usually paid by the hour. An AI employee is software that answers enquiries, books jobs and follows up at any hour, but only does the jobs it has been set up for. Here’s what each costs in Australia, what each does well, and when to use both.
What a virtual assistant costs in Australia
You can use an Australian-based VA, freelance or through an agency, a dedicated VA in the Philippines through an agency that manages them, or your own part-time admin employee. These are published rates, not quotes.
A$39.90 to A$50 an hour plus GST at The Virtual Assistant, whose VAs all live and work in Australia. Prepaid blocks run from 5 hours for A$250 to 50 hours for A$1,995, and the hours last 12 months. The Virtual Assistant pricing
A$14 to A$50 an hour as of March 2026, according to Bark, with an average of A$32 across more than 1,000 requests on its Australian site. It lists Sydney VAs at A$30 to A$50. Bark: virtual assistant costs
A$29.45 an hour minimum for a Level 2 (year 1) clerk under the Clerks Private Sector Award from 1 July 2026, or A$36.81 casual. Level 1 starts at A$26.97. Super, leave and the pay guide’s higher weekend rates come on top. Fair Work Ombudsman pay guides
A$12 to A$17 an hour ex GST for an admin VA at DotVA, from 10 hours a week, with an A$500 deposit credited to your first invoice. Virtual Coworker lists VAs from A$8 an hour for 20 to 40 hours a week, and VirtualStaff365 estimates A$12 to A$15 ex GST on a 40-hour week. DotVA pricing · Virtual Coworker pricing · VirtualStaff365 costs
A$199 a month ex GST on Starter, plus a one-time A$999 set-up, for typed enquiries: web chat, Facebook, Instagram and email, with no phone line. Growth is A$499 a month plus a one-time A$1,999 set-up and adds your phone, with calls at A$0.03 a minute and texts at A$0.11 sent and A$0.02 received. Pro is from A$799 a month. Prices are locked in for your first 12 months, and plans are month to month with 30 days’ notice to cancel. AI plan pricing
A 20-hour week, worked out
Worked examples at 4.33 weeks a month, before GST:
- Australian-based agency VA at A$39.90 an hour: about A$3,455 a month.
- Your own admin employee at the Level 2 award minimum: A$589 a week, or about A$2,550 a month, before super, leave and payroll costs.
- Managed VA in the Philippines at A$12 to A$17 an hour: A$1,040 to A$1,470 a month, the range DotVA publishes.
- LeadGenie Starter: A$199 a month after a one-time A$999 set-up. Growth: A$499 a month plus calls and texts (most businesses spend about A$30 to A$70 a month on those, an estimate), after a one-time A$1,999 set-up.
Those hours usually fall in business hours. Evening and weekend cover means more hours, or penalty rates for an employee.
What an AI employee does instead
An AI employee is software that does the answering and booking a person would otherwise do. LeadGenie’s does five jobs, in the channels your customers already use:
- Answers every web chat, Facebook and Instagram message and email in seconds, and from Growth, every phone call on the first ring.
- Asks about the job: what it is, where it is and how soon.
- Books real times from your calendar, at your real job lengths, inside the conversation.
- Follows up when a customer goes quiet, up to three times, then stops.
- Asks for reviews when you mark a job done: by email from Starter, and by text from Growth.
It says it’s AI in its first message, every time. When a customer asks for a person, it takes a message and requests a call-back from you; on the phone, it doesn’t put the call through. Everything it says lands on the customer’s record. How the AI employee works
Hours, set-up and the work each one suits
VA: the hours you pay for. Some offshore agencies offer Australian business hours or overnight work.
AI employee: around the clock, weekends included.
VA: choosing a provider, then teaching them your systems and handing over logins.
AI employee: an onboarding call, then we load your services, prices and booking rules, and write, train and test it with you. Live in 3 to 14 business days depending on the plan; Growth takes 10 to 14 from the onboarding call.
VA: judgement calls, admin across your systems and unusual requests.
AI employee: answering the same questions fast at any hour, and sending every follow-up.
VA: replying within seconds at 9pm, unless you pay for 9pm.
AI employee: anything outside its rules. It takes a message and passes it to you.
Jobs that still need a person
An AI employee follows your rules and hands over the rest. Keep these with a person, whether that’s you, staff or a VA:
- Complaints and upset customers, where tone matters more than speed.
- Quotes for unusual or large jobs that need a site visit or a judgement call.
- Taking payments. Payments are only on LeadGenie’s Pro plan, with conditions.
- Bookkeeping. LeadGenie doesn’t keep your books, and connecting Xero or QuickBooks is a custom workflow on Pro only, so the books still need a person.
- Supplier calls, ordering and the admin that sits behind each job.
What neither should do
- Take card numbers by chat, text or email. Use your payment provider’s secure link.
- Handle an emergency alone. Gas, electrical and flooding calls need a qualified person straight away.
- Quote a price you haven’t approved. Give both a written price list, and a rule for when a job needs a look first.
- Pretend to be you. A VA should reply as themselves for your business, and an AI should say it’s AI.
- Send marketing texts or emails without consent. The Spam Act 2003 applies whoever presses send. Spam Act basics for texting customers
Using both
Plenty of businesses use both. The AI employee takes the first reply, the booking and the follow-up, day and night. A VA, or you, picks up the rest in business hours: the messages it passes on, the admin behind each job and anything that needs judgement. To split the work:
- Look at last month’s enquiries: which channel, what time of day, and what people asked.
- Give the AI the questions that repeat: prices, service area, availability and bookings.
- Give the VA the work behind the enquiry: odd quotes, supplier calls, invoices and the messages the AI passes on.
- Read the customer records weekly, and tighten the AI’s rules where it passed on something it could have answered.
Example: a trade business on Growth at A$499 a month ex GST adds a managed VA for 10 hours a week at A$12 to A$17 an hour, about A$520 to A$736 a month. Every enquiry is answered at any hour, and a person does two hours of admin a day.
If most of your enquiries need judgement on the spot, a person is still the answer, and we’ll say so on the free demo. Want the first reply handled at any hour? See what the AI employee does, from Starter at A$199 a month ex GST. Weighing a full-time hire instead? Read hire a receptionist or use an AI receptionist.
Questions about virtual assistants and AI employees
How much does a virtual assistant cost in Australia?
Published rates we checked on 09/10/2026 run from about A$8 an hour for a managed VA in the Philippines to A$50 an hour plus GST for an Australian-based agency VA. Bark puts the average for Australian VAs at A$32 an hour. Employ an admin assistant yourself and the award minimum for a Level 2 clerk is A$29.45 an hour, before super and leave. Check minimum hours and GST before you compare.
Can an AI employee replace a virtual assistant?
Not entirely. An AI employee takes over the parts of the job that repeat: answering enquiries, booking, following up and asking for reviews, at any hour. It doesn’t make judgement calls, take payments below Pro, keep your books or do admin in your other systems. Many businesses use an AI employee for the front desk, and a VA or the owner for the rest. What the AI employee does
Is an offshore virtual assistant cheaper than an AI employee?
Not at 20 hours a week. A managed VA in the Philippines at A$12 to A$17 an hour costs about A$1,040 to A$1,470 a month for 20 hours a week, using DotVA’s published rates. LeadGenie’s Starter plan is A$199 a month ex GST after a one-time A$999 set-up, and Growth, which adds phone answering, is A$499 a month after a one-time A$1,999 set-up. They do different jobs, so compare the work too.
Will customers know they're talking to an AI?
Yes, with LeadGenie. The AI employee says it’s AI in its first message or sentence, every time, and that can’t be switched off. When someone asks for a person, it takes a message and requests a call-back from you; it doesn’t put calls through. A VA is a person, so ask yours to reply as themselves on behalf of your business. How we use AI