AI Is Cutting Office Jobs: How Indonesian Workers Can Pick a Stronger Path to Australia

News · 2026-09-02 · 4 min read

Most news about artificial intelligence and jobs talks about big companies in Silicon Valley. But a quieter change is also happening closer to home. It matters for anyone thinking about their career, their visa pathway, or a move to Australia.

Big Job Losses in American Companies

Recent company data from the US shows a big change. S&P 500 companies together cut around 400,000 white-collar roles in 2025. It was the first yearly fall of this kind in ten years. Amazon, Meta, Oracle, Microsoft and UPS were among the leaders. Several of them kept reducing staff into 2026, as AI tools took over work that junior analysts, support staff and administrative teams used to do.

Customer support has been hit hard. In the past three years, roughly 16.4% of customer support and call centre jobs in the US have gone, about 123,700 positions. AI systems now handle many routine questions. In Australia, this type of work employs roughly 210,000 people. That shows how large the local impact could be if the trend continues.

Early Signs in Australia

Clinton Free is a professor at the University of Sydney Business School. He does not describe this as a sudden collapse. He calls it a slow "erosion". He now sees early signs of the same pattern in Australian employment data. Demand is slowing in admin, finance, basic analysis and customer support jobs. Australia is a step or two behind the US, but the direction looks similar.

Not Everything You Hear Is True

Professor Free's own warning is worth noting. Some big tech companies make dramatic claims that "AI will replace millions of jobs". In his words, these claims are over-hyped and should be taken with a grain of salt. The real change is slower and uneven. Some job types are cooling bit by bit. It is not a sudden crash across every industry.

Smart Choices for Your Move

If you are a skilled worker or professional looking at jobs in Australia for Indonesians, there is no need to be scared. But you do need a plan. Here are some practical points:

Routine and entry-level jobs face the most risk. AI tools are very good at basic admin, first-line customer support and repetitive analysis work. If your migration plan depends on one of these roles, prepare a backup pathway or a plan to build new skills.
Jobs that need judgement and people skills are holding up better. Work that needs regulatory knowledge, complex problem-solving, being physically present, or managing relationships is harder to automate. These jobs often match well with Australia's skilled occupation lists.
Being adaptable matters more than perfect timing. According to Professor Free, Australia is "earlier in the curve" than the US. This gives skilled migrants a window to move into sectors that resist this trend, such as healthcare, engineering, trades and specialised technical fields, before hiring changes more sharply.
Visas are rewarding skills that are truly scarce. Employer-sponsored and points-tested visas increasingly favour these skills. As AI reduces demand for general office workers, niche expertise that is hard to automate is likely to become more valuable in Australia's migration system, not less.

While you plan, prepare the basics too. Keep an English-language CV ready. If your visa or employer needs it, take an English test such as IELTS or PTE.

The Key Lesson

When you deal with Australia's migration system, do not panic about AI. Instead, choose a pathway and an occupation that will last. An experienced migration adviser can help here. Good advice can be the difference between chasing a group of jobs that is getting smaller and preparing yourself for jobs that are really growing. If you want to work in Australia from Indonesia, focus on skills that people and businesses will keep needing.

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