From gapyear.com: Guide to Working in Australia Introduction Australia is the number one backpacker’s destination in the world. Millions of tourists make the trip each year. However, it’s a destination not just for tourism but for work. Thousands of people go out to Australia to earn good money. The Australian economy is booming at the moment, much stronger than most other countries, and the minimum wage in Australia is one of the best in the world. These factors meant that Australia beat the recession and the economy continues to grow annually. Australia is a beautiful place to visit, but the fact that you can earn fantastic money whilst you’re out there makes the attraction a lot stronger. Daniel Lucas, the general manager of the TCP Group, a recruitment consultancy, had this to say: “We estimate that there are around 200,000 jobs for travellers available in Australia right now. The jobs market for working holiday makers is going strong in Australia with plenty of opportunities for 18-30 year olds in most industries. “There is still huge demand for workers in regional parts of the country allowing travellers to earn good money, save most of what they receive and apply for a second year visa afterwards. Any Brits with a sales background, farming background, au-pair or nanny experience, horse-riding skills or nursing, care experience need to buy a ticket and get over here ASAP” Working Holiday Visa (WHA) How much does it cost? Can I get more than one visa? The UK and Australia have reciprocal agreements so any British citizen aged 18 to 30 can get a working holiday visa (WHV). They cost AU$235 (£146) and allow you to work for 12 months from the date you arrive. Anyone over the age of 30 will be denied a working holiday visa. You can extend the visa and obtain a second working holiday visa if you can provide evidence that you undertook 88 days of agricultural work (for example, fruit picking) in Australia during your first year. However, you can’t work for the same employer for more than six months. Australian authorities check every one in four visa applications, so don’t be tempted to claim you’ve worked when you haven’t. To be issued a working holiday visa you need proof that you can support yourself - AU$5,000 (£3,115) is advised. You can apply online for a working holiday visa and it only takes a couple of hours to complete. You can leave and re-enter Australia using this visa as many times as you like during your year. However, if you permanently leave Australia without staying for the full 12 months you cannot go back, say, a year later and use the remaining months of your visa. Once your visa has been approved you will be told what you need to do. Basically, your passport will be stamped when you arrive and you'll have a year before you have to leave. Simple really. Everything is tagged electronically so there’s little paper-work to worry about. Harvest Work What do I need to pick fruit? What is the work like? To work in Australia you'll need a: Australian Tax File Number (TFN) – apply for once you’re in Australia Australian bank account (e.g – ANZ, Commonwealth, Westpac) – apply for once you’re in Australia A working holiday visa – apply online A good sense of humour From grape harvesting in Berri, through mango picking in Darwin, to banana humping in Tully – there are hundreds of places you can fruit pick in Australia. Each year thousands of travellers become fruit pickers to bring in the fruit and vegetable harvests, and there are jobs all year round. Ninety per cent of travellers get their second-year working holiday visa by fruit-picking. You need to clock-up 88 days, all signed off by a farmer, to apply for a second-year working visa. It’s hard, physical work, but there can be a great sense of community: you’ll be working with other backpackers and locals. And you’ve all got one thing in common - you need the money. The hours are long and hard, often working in the baking sun. An average week can be anything up to 10 hours a day, seven days a week. Harvest factory work. This is another popular choice for backpackers - it’s not hard to find short-term, casual work on a production line or in a packing room. The work itself won’t be very stimulating, but you don’t need any experience or qualifications, and if you’re working with a good bunch of people it can be a laugh. You’ll find work through agencies, local newspapers or backpacker notice boards. Accommodation It’s really easy finding accommodation in Australia. A fair few places have working hostels, which are hostels that will find you fruit picking work. For example, there are a number of working hostels in Berri, Bundaberg, Bowen and Tully, just to name a few. Bundaberg has one of the biggest fruit picking communities in Australia, and everyone stays in working hostels. The hostel will arrange work for you through their contacts with the farmers. They usually arrange transport to and from the farm to, so all you need to do is show up. Oh, and work too… Other types of work I don’t want to pick fruit. What else can I do? Ranch work - This is a little bit niche and not all that easy to sort out for yourself. There is a demand for ‘jackeroos and jillaroos’ as they’re known, but it’s skilled work and not for the absolute beginner. Companies such as Changing Worlds do offer supported work placements if you’re not completely confident of finding a position by yourself. Otherwise, lots of cattle stations have diversified and offer backpackers the opportunity to get a taste of the real ‘Outback’ experience. Bar work or waiting - From hip bars in Sydney to tiny pubs in the Outback, there’s plenty of jobs available for bar and waiting staff across Australia. Most will require you to have some experience – why not get a job in a UK pub before you go to learn the tricks of the trade? You’ll be much more employable if you know a Castlemaine from a Cosmopolitan. You’ll also need a Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) certificate, which you can only get once you’ve arrived in Oz. This involves taking a one-day course (four hours), which will teach you not to serve alcohol to toddlers or unconscious people, and then sitting a written exam about it. The course will set you back AU$70 (£44). You can’t get a job in a bar without the RSA (legally), so man-up , cough-up, and take the test. No one ever fails. Office temping - Your best bet for finding work in larger towns/cities might be to sign-up to a temping agency. Businesses approach these agencies looking for temporary staff to work in call centres or offices for cold calling, data entry positions and administration. The agency then picks the most relevant people from its books and offers them the work. Make sure you ring your agency or pop in regularly – if you’re fresh in their minds and seem keen then you’re more likely to get work. You’ll know whether work like this suits you or not: the pay isn’t bad, and the hours are generally sociable (Monday to Friday, 9 to 5:30), but you might feel that you didn’t go travelling to sit behind a desk. For more information, including minimum wages, tax bands and options for work and accommodation, go to www.gapyear.com.

From gapyear.com: Guide to Working in Australia

Introduction
Australia is the number one backpacker’s destination in the world. Millions of tourists make the trip each year. However, it’s a destination not just for tourism but for work.

Thousands of people go out to Australia to earn good money. The Australian economy is booming at the moment, much stronger than most other countries, and the minimum wage in Australia is one of the best in the world. These factors meant that Australia beat the recession and the economy continues to grow annually.

Australia is a beautiful place to visit, but the fact that you can earn fantastic money whilst you’re out there makes the attraction a lot stronger.

Daniel Lucas, the general manager of the TCP Group, a recruitment consultancy, had this to say: “We estimate that there are around 200,000 jobs for travellers available in Australia right now. The jobs market for working holiday makers is going strong in Australia with plenty of opportunities for 18-30 year olds in most industries.

“There is still huge demand for workers in regional parts of the country allowing travellers to earn good money, save most of what they receive and apply for a second year visa afterwards. Any Brits with a sales background, farming background, au-pair or nanny experience, horse-riding skills or nursing, care experience need to buy a ticket and get over here ASAP”

Working Holiday Visa (WHA)

How much does it cost? Can I get more than one visa?
The UK and Australia have reciprocal agreements so any British citizen aged 18 to 30 can get a working holiday visa (WHV). They cost AU$235 (£146) and allow you to work for 12 months from the date you arrive. Anyone over the age of 30 will be denied a working holiday visa.

You can extend the visa and obtain a second working holiday visa if you can provide evidence that you undertook 88 days of agricultural work (for example, fruit picking) in Australia during your first year. However, you can’t work for the same employer for more than six months. Australian authorities check every one in four visa applications, so don’t be tempted to claim you’ve worked when you haven’t.

To be issued a working holiday visa you need proof that you can support yourself - AU$5,000 (£3,115) is advised. You can apply online for a working holiday visa and it only takes a couple of hours to complete.

You can leave and re-enter Australia using this visa as many times as you like during your year. However, if you permanently leave Australia without staying for the full 12 months you cannot go back, say, a year later and use the remaining months of your visa.

Once your visa has been approved you will be told what you need to do. Basically, your passport will be stamped when you arrive and you'll have a year before you have to leave. Simple really. Everything is tagged electronically so there’s little paper-work to worry about.

Harvest Work

What do I need to pick fruit? What is the work like?

To work in Australia you'll need a:

Australian Tax File Number (TFN) – apply for once you’re in Australia Australian bank account (e.g – ANZ, Commonwealth, Westpac) – apply for once you’re in Australia

A working holiday visa – apply online

A good sense of humour

From grape harvesting in Berri, through mango picking in Darwin, to banana humping in Tully – there are hundreds of places you can fruit pick in Australia. Each year thousands of travellers become fruit pickers to bring in the fruit and vegetable harvests, and there are jobs all year round.

Ninety per cent of travellers get their second-year working holiday visa by fruit-picking. You need to clock-up 88 days, all signed off by a farmer, to apply for a second-year working visa. It’s hard, physical work, but there can be a great sense of community: you’ll be working with other backpackers and locals. And you’ve all got one thing in common - you need the money.

The hours are long and hard, often working in the baking sun. An average week can be anything up to 10 hours a day, seven days a week.

Harvest factory work. This is another popular choice for backpackers - it’s not hard to find short-term, casual work on a production line or in a packing room. The work itself won’t be very stimulating, but you don’t need any experience or qualifications, and if you’re working with a good bunch of people it can be a laugh. You’ll find work through agencies, local newspapers or backpacker notice boards.

Accommodation

It’s really easy finding accommodation in Australia. A fair few places have working hostels, which are hostels that will find you fruit picking work. For example, there are a number of working hostels in Berri, Bundaberg, Bowen and Tully, just to name a few. Bundaberg has one of the biggest fruit picking communities in Australia, and everyone stays in working hostels.

The hostel will arrange work for you through their contacts with the farmers. They usually arrange transport to and from the farm to, so all you need to do is show up. Oh, and work too…

Other types of work

I don’t want to pick fruit. What else can I do?
Ranch work - This is a little bit niche and not all that easy to sort out for yourself. There is a demand for ‘jackeroos and jillaroos’ as they’re known, but it’s skilled work and not for the absolute beginner. Companies such as Changing Worlds do offer supported work placements if you’re not completely confident of finding a position by yourself. Otherwise, lots of cattle stations have diversified and offer backpackers the opportunity to get a taste of the real ‘Outback’ experience.

Bar work or waiting - From hip bars in Sydney to tiny pubs in the Outback, there’s plenty of jobs available for bar and waiting staff across Australia. Most will require you to have some experience – why not get a job in a UK pub before you go to learn the tricks of the trade? You’ll be much more employable if you know a Castlemaine from a Cosmopolitan.

You’ll also need a Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) certificate, which you can only get once you’ve arrived in Oz. This involves taking a one-day course (four hours), which will teach you not to serve alcohol to toddlers or unconscious people, and then sitting a written exam about it. The course will set you back AU$70 (£44). You can’t get a job in a bar without the RSA (legally), so man-up , cough-up, and take the test. No one ever fails.

Office temping - Your best bet for finding work in larger towns/cities might be to sign-up to a temping agency. Businesses approach these agencies looking for temporary staff to work in call centres or offices for cold calling, data entry positions and administration. The agency then picks the most relevant people from its books and offers them the work.

Make sure you ring your agency or pop in regularly – if you’re fresh in their minds and seem keen then you’re more likely to get work. You’ll know whether work like this suits you or not: the pay isn’t bad, and the hours are generally sociable (Monday to Friday, 9 to 5:30), but you might feel that you didn’t go travelling to sit behind a desk.

For more information, including minimum wages, tax bands and options for work and accommodation, go to www.gapyear.com.