Stunning beaches, red desert stretches, significant cities with private personalities, world-renowned reefs, heritage-listed rainforests and bushland that can just be referred to as ‘Aussie’. With contrasting landscapes and unbelievable diversity, Australia is really a nation like no other, and for many overseas travellers, the supreme destination for travel and expedition.
It’s likewise one of the top choices for internationals chasing after a working vacation experience. For many, in order to secure a visa, you will need to find farm work.
How to find farm operating in Australia
The inevitable battle to discover farm work and protect the second year in Aus can be overwhelming and stressful for some backpackers. Am I really going to work on a ‘farm’? Things initially, farm work does not necessarily constitute work on a normal “farm”.
Don’t underestimate the power of word of mouth for discovering farm work either! Numerous of them will currently have actually gone through the very same process of farm work to secure a 2nd-year visa and might be able to point you in the instructions of a farm or company looking for employees.
The Seasonal Workers Program and Pacific Labour Scheme
These new initiatives are designed to help farmers find workers which means you might be able to find work as a backpacker through these schemes. The Seasonal Workers Program is perfect for those who want to work during the duration of their stay.
Companies like IComply or The Seasonal Farmer, are labour-hire companies that specialise in helping farms find labour. IComply is particularly good as they specialise in both SWP and PLS initiatives meaning you have the opportunity to work for either.
How much do you earn?
There is a difference between piece-rate work and per hour paid tasks. For a typical picker, you make around $24 per hour. Nevertheless, in some cases, you can even make more cash with piece-rate work and in general, individuals like piece-rate work (FYI piece-rate work refers to the rate you make money for the quantity picked, loaded, pruned or made). But, you need to remember that knowing and mastering a new technique can take time, and it may be a while before you begin earning great cash.
10 tips to find farm work
Research. As discussed previously, the Australian Federal Government Department of House Affairs is an excellent location to start investigating for your farm work. It includes all the relevant info on farm work types, eligibility and visa applications.
Start looking for work early. With plenty of time to complete your 88 days prior to your current visa runs out. Farm work can be unforeseeable, particularly when it includes seasonal work, and that will sometimes interfere with your ability to finish all your farm work on the very same farm.
Offer yourself additional time. Get ready for the possibility that it can take more than 3 months to get your visa days finished. Farms can be at the mercy of Australian weather condition, so you might not have the ability to work every day that you prepare to. It’s also impractical to plan to work each and every single consecutive day. Offer yourself some leeway around the 88 days and allow for closer to 4 months to complete your farm work if you can.
Location. If you end up working in a location that you do not want to be, trust your instincts and move on. There is no point losing your limited time in Australia sensation miserable, and if you have actually enabled yourself additional time, you’ll be able to discover somewhere else to finish your work.
Seasons for gathering work. The harvest path is a good location to start if you desire to do farm work and have no idea about the seasons. They have a devoted query line that you can contact for info about open positions and ongoing/upcoming seasons. They likewise have a PDF version of the Harvest Guide that offers the newbie backpackers informative information into the seasons.
Other websites to take a look at. After you have actually explored avenues through Harvest, head to Backpacker Task Board or Gumtree to broaden your search. Many little farms discover their workers through Gumtree but be warned – due to the fact that anyone can publish through this avenue, there can be a lot of rip-offs. Apply a suitable level of care to the advertisements you do some research study and discover into the farm where you can, paying extra attention to bad evaluations.
Facebook. Social networks’ substantial abilities to connect people and develop chances grows each year, and for backpackers, this is another location to try to find farm work. In a number of Facebook groups (i.e. vacation jobs and backpacker task board) people often post fruit selecting tasks and other relevant open farm positions.
A vehicle. Having your own automobile and transportation can be useful to discovering farm work, increasing the scope and number of prospective farms you can access. It will also offer you included flexibility while completing your farm work.
Search beyond the popular hotspots. Finding farm work can be competitive, especially if you have been working and living on the east coast or near to a significant capital city. Ideally, everybody wants to discover something close and convenient to where they’ve been living. However, your best opportunity of discovering farm work is to look where nobody else is. The remoter places might turn out to be a few of the most interesting travels you have in Australia too. Another idea is to stay ahead of the seasonal work. If you know the harvest season is can be found in a particular part of Australia, get there early so you are prepared to work as quickly as the season starts.
Keep the seasons in mind. Throughout the summer duration, it is best in the south of Australia and during the winter season in the north of Australia.
Eligible fields
Eligible fields for farm work can be more varied and broad than you think! Work can differ from state to state, season to season and be extremely various depending upon the area you are searching in. Here’s the fundamental breakdown:
Work that can be counted toward your 2nd year visa should be in the following fields:
- plant and animal cultivation
- fishing and pearling
- tree farming and felling
- mining
- construction
Keep in mind: It is insufficient that you are utilized in some of these fields, but the work you do must be a particular type of work to be counted towards your visa.
Examples of work that counts towards your visa days consist of:
- gathering and/or packing of fruit and vegetable crops
- pruning and cutting vines and trees
- general maintenance crop work
- cultivating or propagating plants, fungis or their items or parts
- feeding and rounding up livestock on a farm
- horse breeding and stud farming
- preserving animals for the function of selling them or their bodily produce, including natural increase
- instant processing of animal items including shearing, packaging, tanning and butchery
- landscaping the grounds of construction/house website
- painting the interior/exterior of brand-new buildings
- preservation and environmental reforestation work
- zoo work including plant or animal growing
- erecting fences on a construction site
- scaffolding
Examples of work that is not eligible include:
- working as a nanny on a farm
- working at a cellar door supplying red wine tastings
- general garden upkeep
- keeping animals for tourism or leisure functions
- cooking/catering on a mine website
- town planning or architecture
- cleaning up the interior of mine complexes or buildings
- supporting work such as book-keeping
- Other sources to discover farm work
The search for farm work can be confusing and tiring, particularly for foreigners unfamiliar with the enormity and variety of Australia as a nation. You’ll likely invest a lot of time on google, browsing farms and sending out bulk emails. Sometimes, the farms don’t return to you due to the fact that the site is non-existent, or it’s a rip-off (regrettable, but real). For this reason, it is essential to also think about some other sources of info during your farm work search. Some towns may know centres and these places can often include news about local farms or seasonal work nearby (especially if there are a great deal of farms around). Moreover, working hostels could be an excellent source of info as you are bound to satisfy a plethora of international visitors with a lot of info to share, and some local hostels even run to help discover tourists farm work.
Did you know you can now make an application for a 3rd year visa?
From July 2019, visitors who are on their second year working holiday visa can now make an application for a third year! The long and brief of this is that if you have actually completed your 88 days of farm work within your first year and secured a 2nd year working vacation visa, you can now do 6 months of defined operate in a specified local area for 6 months to get a third year visa. Essentially, if you don’t think you’ll be ready to leave after your second year, get organised early and do another 6 months of farm work within that second year and remain for a 3rd. Go through all the fine print and requirements here.
Feeling overwhelmed?
Don’t be! Farm work may take a little bit of effort and organisation, however it can end up being one of the most fulfilling and distinct experiences you’ll have while living and travelling in Australia. Numerous backpackers leave the farms with a chest of unforgettable stories and experiences, not to mention you may see more of Australia then lots of Aussie’s ever do! And don’t forget, it should not be all work and no play. We have plenty of suggestions for holidays, journeys, adventures and trips to take as soon as you have that second year visa secured! Check them out here.
