This paper presents the results of a consilience framework developed and tested to reconcile the varying definitions, methodologies and purposes of the data collected on independent contracting within Australia. The result is a multilayered profile of the self-employed contractor which draws together official labour market statistics, taxation office liabilities and marketing-based consumer data sources. The framework sees independent contractors emerge as a dynamic, entrepreneurial and complex group who defy many of the age, gender and industry stereotypes that law and policy makers confine them to. While these initial results are limited to Australia, the challenge independent contractors present to established systems of legal, social and government regulation are embedded within the wider contexts of self-employment and small business. These contexts are universal and the sooner these challenges are answered, the sooner the opportunities they also present can be realised.

Low and high-skilled contractors are often positioned in an analogous way within the literature drawing attention to the benefits of highly skilled contracting in contrast to the precarious nature of low-skilled contracting. Highly skilled contractors are largely identified within the free agent view; as self-directed professionals who add significant value to client organisations. However, very little research has focused specifically on how highly skilled contractors identify themselves through the process of positioning. We present the findings of a qualitative study of 34 highly skilled contractors. We found that participants positioned themselves in three specific ways: as expert, outsider and stranger and theorise about why highly skilled contractors construct simultaneous but diverse positions of themselves. In doing so, we argue that developing a more thorough understanding of how highly skilled contractors identify themselves provides valuable insights for those tasked with managing different groups of workers in the one workplace.