Australia Work & study

Work

If you come to Australia on a tourist visa then you’re not allowed to work for pay – working for approved volunteer organisations in exchange for board is OK. If you’re caught breaching your visa conditions, you can be expelled from the country and placed on a banned list for up to three years.

Equipped with a WHM visa, you can begin to sniff out the possibilities for temporary employment. Casual work can often be found during peak season at the major tourist centres. Places like Alice Springs, Cairns and various resort towns along the Queensland coast, and the ski fields of Victoria and NSW are all good prospects when the country is in holiday mode.

Many travellers have found work cleaning or attending the reception desk at backpacker hostels, which usually means free accommodation. Most hostels, however, are now employing their own locally based staff.

Other prospects for casual employment include factory work, labouring, bar work, waiting tables, domestic chores at outback roadhouses, nanny work, working as a station hand (jackaroo/jillaroo) and collecting for charities. People with computer, secretarial, nursing and teaching skills can find work temp­ing in the major cities by registering with a relevant agency.