Working in Australia. Australia

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Working in

Australia

Working in

Australia

_{The ultimate destination}

Australia

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GUIDE TO Working in Australia

The Basics

Know the Competition

To make the most of your Working Holiday/Work and Holiday Visa, there are a few things that you should know to give you a better understanding of how everything works in Aus and how to get ahead of the thousands of other backpackers, just like you, arriving every day looking for work. On top of this, you also have young Aussie school leavers to com-pete with along with an increasing number of Asian workers coming to Australia to work on farms and earn the high dollar and set themselves up back home… Put it this way, the

competition for work is massive; but the rewards are definitely worth it if you’re prepared

to work and get yourself organised.

“In the year to May 2013, there was a net increase of 126,900 in the number of persons employed in Australia. Over the same year, there was a net increase in the number of recently-arrived migrants of 168,700 aged 15 plus.

Of these, 108,200 were estimated by the LFS to be employed as of May 2013. This means that almost all of the recent net growth in employment is attribut-able to recently-arrived migrants.”1

What you have on the Aussie school leavers is life experience and the ability to put

your-self out there… You’ve already proven that you’re driven to experience new and exciting things; you’ve already made it to the other side of the world! In most cases this means that you’ve already been part of the work force back home and have done the hard yards to save up the money to get here in the first place, you’re away from home and ready to work hard and play hard! You may cross a few hurdles in some smaller towns where employers want to keep jobs for the locals but if you’re open to learning new skills, you will find work.

Competing with the rising Asian workforce can be a little trickier as the perception is that they are harder working than their European counterparts who are more partial to late night Goon parties and cigarette breaks. There are also rising issues of Asian workers accepting a wage lower than the legal requirements and therefore undercutting other

workers in the fight to get a place on a working farm. Generally these are the kind of farms

you should be avoiding anyway as employers that exploit their staff are not likely to bother

treating them with respect or enforce workplace safety… If it sounds dodgy, it probably is.

1 “Scarce Jobs: Migrants or Locals at the end of the Queue?” Bob Birrell Ernest Healy, Monash University

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Minimum Wage Entitlements

Australia has one of the highest national minimum hourly rates of pay in the world and is miles ahead of other similar economic countries1_{. This means that more and more people} are heading Down Under in search of adventure, sunshine, surfboards and more and more increasingly, looking to earn the globally strong Aussie dollar. So before you start ranting about how expensive everything is over here, have a little look at what you could

be earning… Sure, if you’re not working, Aussie can be a pretty expensive place to be but if you’re earning the Aussie dollar, you’re laughing!! Viva la Working Holiday!!

Table in USD:

Yes you’re a backpacker, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be getting paid the same as any Australian worker doing the same job. It’s the law and you are entitled to be paid

correctly regardless of the job you are doing.

“Currently the full-time minimum wage is $16.37 per hour or $622.20 per week.” 2

1 MONEY & MARKETS “Here’s How America’s Minimum Wage Stacks Up Against Countries Like India, Russia, Greece, And France” , Matthew Boesler, businessinsider.com.au

2 Fairwork.gov.au, page last updated: 28 August 2013

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In Australia the minimum wage is determined by the job you are doing not by the national

minimum. Every work sector has an “Award” which is used to calculate the correct rate of pay. This is all done by Fair Work Australia and detailed information on all rates of pay are available on their website.1

Example:

To use an example, a Café Attendant should be paid on the Fast Food Industry Award 2010. If the Café

Attendant is working in Queensland or Tasmania, they should be receiving the following pay:

1 http://awardfinder.fwo.gov.au

Description Rate per

hour Description Rate per hour

Public holiday All Employees Work on a public holiday.

Provided that by mutual agree-ment, the employee (other than a casual) may be compensated by either:

- an equivalent day or equivalent time off instead without loss of pay. The time off must be taken within four weeks, or it shall be paid out; or

- an additional day or equivalent time as annual leave

$38.91 All Employees Work on a public holiday.

Provided that by mutual agree-ment, the employee (other than a casual) may be compensated by either:

- an equivalent day or equivalent time off instead without loss of pay. The time off must be taken within four weeks, or it shall be paid out; or

- an additional day or equivalent time as annual leave

$39.11

Saturday Saturday work - all employees (excluding shiftwork)

A penalty is payable for ordinary hours of work within the span of hours on a Saturday, and for casu-al employees an additioncasu-al 25% on top of the casual rate.

$21.23 Saturday work - all employees (excluding shiftwork)

A penalty is payable for ordinary hours of work within the span of hours on a Saturday, and for casual employees an additional 25% on top of the casual rate.

$21.33

Sunday All employees A 50% loading

will apply for all hours of work on a Sunday for full time and part time employees., and 50% plus casual loading will apply to casual employees.

$24.76 All employees A 50% loading

will apply for all hours of work on a Sunday for full time and part time employees., and 50% plus casual loading will apply to casual employees. $24.89

Penalties

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Rates

Café Attendant Queensland Café Attendant Tasmania

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Currency Conversion whilst earning AUD

One thing that many new arrivals find very confusing is currency conversion.. The obvi -ous thing to do is to jump onto a currency conversion site and check out what $100AUD

is in Pounds/Euros etc.. This is how most people try and figure out what they are getting

paid per hour or how much something is costing them in their home currency… Looks pretty straight forward right? Wrong.

Currency conversion sites show the rates that the banks are trading at. Banks trade in millions and billions, not in hundreds or thousands. This means that when you look up the conversion rate, you are seeing a rate which is not suitable for you to try and convert your funds with. When you go to a currency exchange shop they will deal to you at a different

rate to what you will see online and the rate may vary depending on how much you’re

looking to exchange and in which currency. The same happens when you go to a shop and pay for an item in a foreign currency, you are purchasing Australian Dollars at a rate that is applicable to the amount you are spending.

The easiest thing to do when you’re in Australia is to try not to convert! It gets easier over time and will save you the world of confusion in the long run. If you’re earning and

spending Australian dollars, forget about how much you think it is in your home currency.

If you’ve just arrived and are still looking for work, the easiest thing to do it to open an

Australian Bank account as soon as possible so you can transfer lump sums into that ac-count and use that instead of paying conversion rates and oversees bank transfer fees.

If you can’t do that, just make sure that you’re paying the price that you’re happy to pay for something in your home currency. If you think it’s worth it, buy it. At the end of the day, you’ve saved the money to go travelling so make sure you do all the things you came all this way to do. If you spend your time trying to figure out the exchange rate of what you’re paying for a bottle of water, you’ll just end up confused and frustrated.

Tax

Everyone who works in Australia has to pay tax on their earnings. This is compulsory and

if you are caught not paying income tax you can be fined and deported. Good news is that you are able to get most of your tax back at the end of the financial year. To start with, you

will need to apply for your Tax File Number (TFN).

If you do not supply a TFN to your employer, they are required to deduct 46.5% of your

wage as tax contributions. Even if you are being paid cash instead of having money put into a bank account, your employer is required to deduct tax contributions and you are

required to declare all the money you have earned so that the tax office can do your tax assessment at the end of the financial year.

Unfortunately, there is no dodging it, you have to pay tax.

Work Shop members can receive free TFN set up assistance and can use

our postal address to have the information delivered. This usually takes up

to 4 weeks, Work Shop members are eligible for a free mail holding service so you can pop in and check if it’s arrived.

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Individual income tax rates taken from the Australian Tax Office information website

(http://australia.gov.au):

These rates apply to individuals who are Australian residents for tax purposes. The following rates for 2013-14 apply from 1 July 2013.

Taxable income Tax on this income

0 – $18,200 Nil

$18,201 – $37,000 19c for each $1 over $18,200

$37,001 – $80,000 $3,572 plus 32.5c for each $1 over $37,000 $80,001 – $180,000 $17,547 plus 37c for each $1 over $80,000 $180,001 and over $54,547 plus 45c for each $1 over $180,000

The above rates do not include the Medicare levy of 1.5% - See below for Medicare information.

Foreign Residents:

If you are a foreign resident for the full year, the following rates apply: The following rates for 2013-14 apply from 1 July 2013.

Taxable income Tax on this income

0 – $80,000 32.5c for each $1

$80,001 – $180,000 $26,000 plus 37c for each $1 over $80,000 $180,001 and over $63,000 plus 45c for each $1 over $180,000

Foreign residents are not required to pay the Medicare levy - See below for Medicare information.

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Medicare Health Services

Medicare is a public health service, which the Australian gov-ernment contributes to, to cover the cost of some treatments and appointments. Once you have your Medicare card you are able to take advantage of the Medicare agreement that is in place for your individual country.

Bulk Billing:

Some doctors use Bulk Billing while others will get you to pay for their service. Bulk Billing means that they will charge the

whole amount to Medicare and you won’t have to pay anything

for your appointment (there may be extras such as proscription medicines etc..). This is usually the preferred option for most travellers as there is no out of pocket expense. The other option is when a doctor will charge you for their service and you will receive a reimbursement for the cost from Medicare. Some-times the doctor will apply for this for you or you may have to apply for this yourself so double check before you leave.

Medicare usually covers:

Free or subsidised treatment by health professionals such as

doctors, specialists, optometrists and in specific circumstanc -es dentists and other allied health practitioners free treatment and accommodation as a public (Medicare) patient in a public hospital.

75% of the Medicare Schedule fee for services and procedures

if you are a private patient in a public or private hospital (does not include hospital accommodation and items such as theatre fees and medicines).

Eligible Countries

Residents from the following coun-tries are eligible for Medicare

ben-efits:

· New Zealand · The United Kingdom · The Republic of Ireland · Sweden · The Netherlands · Belgium · Finland · Italy · Malta · Norway · Slovenia

Superannuation

Superannuation “Super” is basically a forced retirement fund which your employer is obliged to pay a percentage of your wages into. The money that they pay into your Super account

doesn’t get taken from your hourly rate, it is on top of your wage. If you are told you’re get

-ting payed $20 per hour, you should be get-ting paid $20 per hour plus 9.25% of your hourly rate (in this example, $1.85) into your ‘Super’ fund. It is designed to force Australian workers

to save for their retirement to ease the pressure on the government when people retire.

As you are a backpacker and will not be retiring in Australia, you are entitled to get this money back when you have left. You cannot have access to these funds until you have

permanently left Australia but when you do, you can have it all back… HURRAY!

For more information on how to apply to get your Superannuation back, contact the WORK SHOP online or at one of our locations in Australia.

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Visas REQUIREMENTS

Ok, so there are lots of different Visas available for people travelling to Australia and they

all have slightly different restrictions and inclusions. It’s important to understand the dif

-ferences in each and to fully understand the VISA you are currently on or will be arriving

into Australia on.

Not all visas allow you to work and some working visas are more flexible than others. For information on Tourist Visas see the Appendix on page 40 of this guide.

Working Holiday Visas

There are two working holiday visas. Working Holiday Visa (subclass 417) and the Work and Holiday Visa (subclass 462). Both are temporary visas for young people who want to holiday and work in Australia for up to a year.

Both visas allow you to:

stay in Australia for up to 12 months

work in Australia for up to six months with each employer study for up to four months

leave and re-enter Australia any number of times while the visa is valid

Eligible Countries

To be eligible to apply for either Working Holiday Visa you must first ensure that you are

applying for the correct visa based on the country you are from. Additional Requirements are set out below the eligible countries listed below:

Working holiday visa (417) Work and holiday visa (462)

To apply for this visa, you must hold a valid pass-port from a country involved in the Working Holiday

Program with Australia.

You can apply for this visa if you hold a passport from: Belgium • Canada • Republic of Cyprus • Denmark • Estonia • Finland • France • Germany • Republic of Ireland • Italy • Japan • Republic of Korea • Malta • Netherlands • Norway • Sweden • Taiwan • United Kingdom • Argentina • Bangladesh • Chile • Indonesia • Malaysia • Thailand • Turkey

• United States of America • Uruguay

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (including

Brit-ish National Overseas passport holders)

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Visa Subclass See

Note Base Ap-plication Charge Non - internet Application Charge Additional Applicant Charge 18 and over Additional Applicant Charge under 18 Subse-quent Tempo-rary Ap-plication Charge Working Holiday Visa

(Subclass 417)

2b $420 $80 N/A* N/A* N/A

Work and Holiday Visa (Subclass 462)

2c $420 N/A N/A* N/A* $700

Visa Costs1

Applicant outside Australia

Visa Subclass See

Note Base Applica-tion Charge Non - internet Application Charge Additional Applicant Charge 18 and over Additional Applicant Charge under 18 Working Holiday Visa

(Subclass 417)

2a $420 $80 N/A* N/A*

Work and Holiday Visa (Subclass 462)

- $420 N/A N/A* N/A*

2aYou may be exempt from paying the non-internet application charge under certain circumstances.

Applicant in Australia

2bYou may be exempt from paying the non-internet application charge under certain circumstances.

2cThe subsequent temporary application charge may be payable if you are in Australia when making the visa application.

N/A*Means that additional applicants not eligible for this visa.

1 http://www.immi.gov.au/fees-charges/visa-pricing-table.htm

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Working Holiday visa (subclass 417)

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The Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) is a temporary visa for young people who want

to holiday and work in Australia for up to a year.

This visa allows you to:

· Stay in Australia for up to 12 months

· Work in Australia for up to six months with each employer

· Study for up to four months

· Leave and re-enter Australia any number of times while the visa is valid.

You might be able to get this visa if you:

· Have not previously entered Australia on a Work and Holiday (Temporary) visa (subclass 462) · Hold a valid passport from a country involved in the Working Holiday Program with Australia

· Have turned 18 years of age but have not yet turned 31

· Are a genuine visitor who wants to have a holiday in Australia

· Have enough money to support yourself on a working holiday (about AUD 5000) · Have enough money to buy a return or onward travel ticket at the end of your stay

· Will not be accompanied by dependent children at any time during your stay.

Health requirements

You must meet certain health requirements. The health examinations you need will de-pend on your personal circumstances, including your period of stay, country of

citizen-ship, time spent in another country during the last five years and your intended activities

in Australia. The results of your health examinations are generally valid for 12 months

Character requirements

You must meet certain character requirements. You must be prepared to provide a

police certificate from each country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after you turned 16 years of age. Do not arrange for police certificates

until we ask you to.

1 http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/417.aspx

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Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462)

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The Work and Holiday (Temporary) visa (subclass 462) is for young people who want

to holiday and work in Australia for up to a year. Note: Only USA passport holders can apply online.

This visa allows you to:

· Stay in Australia for up to 12 months

· Work in Australia for up to six months with each employer

· Study for up to four months

· Leave and re-enter Australia any number of times while the visa is valid.

You might be able to get this visa if you:

· Are at least 18 but have not turned 31 years of age at the time you lodge your application

· Will not be with a dependent child while you are in Australia

· Have enough money to support yourself on a working holiday (about AUD 5000) · Have enough money to buy a return or onward travel ticket at the end of your stay

· Have not previously entered Australia on a Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) · Meet the educational requirements

· Have functional English

· Have a letter of support from your government (except applicants from the USA)

· Meet character and health requirements

· Are a genuine visitor.

Character requirements

You must meet certain character requirements. You must be prepared to provide a

police certificate from each country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after you turned 16 years of age.

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Education

Depending on the passport you hold, the education requirements may be slightly differ-ent.

If you are from the United States of America, you must hold a secondary school (high school) qualification.

If you are from Argentina, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Turkey, Malaysia or Uruguay, you must hold a tertiary qualification or have satisfactorily completed at least two years of under -graduate university study.

If you are from Chile, you must hold a tertiary qualification or have satisfactorily complet -ed or have been approv-ed to do a third year of undergraduate university study.

If you are from Thailand, you must hold a diploma or degree qualification from the speci

-fied list of eligible qualifications included in form 1208 Application for a Work and Holiday

Visa.

Letter of government support

You must include a letter of support from your home government with your application. This letter does not guarantee you a place in the Work and Holiday visa program.

The following agencies issue letters of support:

· Argentina: Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs

· Bangladesh: Ministry of Home Affairs

· Chile: Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs

· Indonesia: Directorate General of Immigration · Malaysia: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

· Thailand: Office of Welfare Promotion, Protection and Empowerment of Vulnerable Groups in

Bangkok

· Turkey: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

· Uruguay: Uruguayan Ministry Of Foreign Affairs

If you are from the USA, you do not have to provide a letter of government support

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2nd Working Holiday Visa

First Working Holiday visa: You must be outside Australia when you apply for your first

Working Holiday visa and when the visa is decided.

Second Working Holiday visa: If you apply in Australia, you must be in Australia when the visa is granted. If you apply outside Australia, you must be outside Australia when the visa is granted. If you are already in Australia, and wish to remain onshore, you should apply for a second Working Holiday visa before your first Working Holiday visa expires.

Requirements of application and Conditions

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To apply for a second Working Holiday (Temporary) visa (subclass 417), you must:

· Have complied with all the conditions on your first Working Holiday visa · Have not previously held more than one Working Holiday visa

· Have completed three months (88 days in total) of specified work in regional Australia while on your first Working Holiday visa.

3 months Specified work:

• Approved industries for specified work include: (see next page for details)

plant and animal cultivation

fishing and pearling

tree farming and felling mining

construction

• Must be the primary role / function / activity performed during your employment.

• Work undertaken in the mining and construction sectors must appear in the Australian and New

Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) division for these sectors to meet the speci

-fied work requirement.

WORK SHOP members receive free Visa assistance for Second Year Visa

applications. Get in touch with your nearest desk or contact us online.

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Specified work is any type of work in the list below:

• Plant and animal cultivation:

– The harvesting and/or packing of fruit and vegetable crops – Pruning and trimming vines and trees

Note: This must be the primary employment task and directly associated with the cultivation and commercial sale of plant produce, such as fruit and nut crops (commercial horticultural activity). General garden maintenance is not eligible.

– General maintenance crop work

– Cultivating or propagating plants, fungi or their products or parts – Immediate processing of plant products

– Maintaining animals for the purpose of selling them or their bodily produce, including natural increase Note: Maintaining animals for tourism or recreational purposes is not eligible.

– Immediate processing of animal products including shearing, butchery in an abattoir, packing and tanning Note: Secondary processing of animal products, such as smallgoods processing and retail butchery is not eligible.

– Manufacturing dairy produce from raw material.

• Fishing and pearling:

– Conducting operations relating directly to taking or catching fish and other aquatic species – Conducting operations relating directly to taking or culturing pearls or pearl shell

• Tree farming and felling:

– Planting or tending trees in a plantation or forest that are intended to be felled – Felling trees in a plantation or forest

– Transporting trees or parts of trees that were felled in a plantation or forest to the place where they are first to be milled or processed or from which they are to be transported to the place where they are to be milled or processed.

• Mining: – Coal mining

– Oil and gas extraction – Metal ore mining

– Construction material mining

– Non-metallic mineral mining and quarrying – Exploration

– Mining support services

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• Construction:

– Residential building construction – Non-residential building construction – Heavy and civil engineering construction – Land development and site preparation services – Building structure services

– Building installation services – Building completion services – Other construction services

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You should note that:

· A full day of work is defined by the minimum number of standard hours for each industry.

· You cannot count a long work day as more than one day of

speci-fied work, regardless of how many hours you work.

· If you work full-time, you can include weekends but if you work part time or on a casual basis you can only count the days actual-ly worked.

· The Australian working week is usually 35 to 40 hours, with seven to eight hours worked each day.

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Applicable Regional Area post codes where Specific Work can be

under-taken

You can work for one or several employers to make up the three-month period of work.

The employers must be in regional areas, as defined below.

State/territory Postcode

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory is not classified as part of regional Australia. New South Wales 2311 to 2312

2328 to 2411 2420 to 2490 2536 to 2551 2575 to 2594 2618 to 2739 2787 to 2898

Note: Excludes Sydney, Newcastle, the Central Coast and Wollongong. Northern Territory All of Northern Territory is classified as part of regional Australia.

Queensland 4124 to 4125 4133 4211 4270 to 4272 4275 4280 4285 4287 4307 to 4499 4510 4512 4515 to 4519 4522 to 4899

Note: Excludes the Greater Brisbane area and the Gold Coast South Australia All of South Australia is classified as part of regional Australia. Tasmania All of Tasmania is classified as part of regional Australia.

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Victoria 3139 3211 to 3334 3340 to 3424 3430 to 3649 3658 to 3749 3753 3756 3758 3762 3764 3778 to 3781 3783 3797 3799 3810 to 3909 3921 to 3925 3945 to 3974 3979 3981 to 3996

Note: Excludes Melbourne metropolitan area. Western Australia 6041 to 6044

6083 to 6084 6121 to 6126 6200 to 6799

Note: Excludes Perth and surrounding areas.

WORK SHOP members receive free Visa assistance for Second Year Visa

applications. Get in touch with your nearest desk or contact us online.

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Popular Jobs

Hospitality

This is one of the easiest lines of work to get into as it many jobs don’t need specific train -ing as such to get into it. Also, a lot of people have worked in bars or restaurants before heading to Australia so already have at least the basic skills to be able to get to work

quickly without weeks of training – Employers love that! On the other hand if you are a qualified chef you can earn a great living whilst travelling as many employers in remote areas struggle to find qualified staff so actively seek out backpackers and travellers to

work for them.

This skill set is something you can take with you anywhere all over the country and

be-yond so if you’ve never pulled a pint, or taken an order of drinks, there is no better time

to start.

If you’re looking at getting into bar or restaurant front of house work where you‘ll be serving alco -hol you will need to do an Responsible Service

of Alcohol (RSA) course. Each State has it’s own

course and they vary slightly in price and content.

In some cases once you have done you initial

course and want to move onto another State or Territory as you travel, you can pay to do a bridg-ing course which works out cheaper than dobridg-ing a whole new RSA. There is work going on between the states to make this process easier but it is still at times an extra cost to move between states

without having to pay extra to keep your certifi -cate valid.

Please refer to the table on the next page for more information1

As well as being fairly easy to pick up quickly, bar work is also popular because of the fun “Hospo” lifestyle and the good wages. As many bars are open late, most employees are eligible for penalty rates for working into the early hours of the morning. Areas that are backpacker hotspots are the easiest places to get bar work as there tends to be more “party bars” where the drinks are easy to make and sold in volume in very busy bars. These areas are generally more likely to hire backpackers/travellers as they are used to people coming and going and accept this as the way of life in backpacker hubs. You can

find it more difficult in smaller towns or high end bars as they will require you to commit to

a longer period of time as they will need to invest more time in training you so generally

they prefer Aussie staff. This isn’t always the case though and if you have lots of experi -ence and can jump straight in there are plenty of opportunities.

If you can’t commit to several months of work, sometimes you can apply for a glass col -lecting job “glassy”

as this just requires you to run around clearing glasses from the bar so is less demanding

and doesn’t need much training to get you up to speed.

1 www.ret.gov.au/tourism/Documents/nltts/working.../RSAFactsheet.docx

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State / Terri-tory Is RSA required by employees? Are interstate RSA certificates (SITHFAB009A) recognised?

What are the additional requirements for interstate RSA certificate

holders?

ACT Yes Yes, with additional requirements.

Interstate RSA certification that was completed after 1 June 2010 will be recognised in the ACT until 1 June 2013. Such persons with interstate RSA certificates will be required to undertake a training refresher or full course with an ACT Government approved registered training organisation by 1 June 2013

to continue to work in the ACT.

A list of ACT Government approved registered training organisations is available

on the Office of Regulatory Services’ website.

SA No* Yes RSA certification is currently not required in South Australia. However, licensed

premises must be personally supervised and managed by a ‘responsible person’

at all times. A responsible person is approved by the South Australian licensing authority as having the necessary knowledge, skills and experience for that purpose.

* Changes to South Australian legislation will require all staff that are involved in the sale and supply of liquor on South Australian premises to undertake RSA training. These changes are expected to commence in October 2012. Visit the website listed opposite for further updates.

QLD Yes Yes, if issued within the last three years and with additional require-ments.

Must complete an online or face-to-face bridging module with a Queensland Government approved trainer.

VIC Yes Yes, if approved by the liquor licensing authority of the issuing jurisdiction; if less than three years old; if it allows work in any licensed premise; and if it was obtained from a face-to-face course. Additional requirements also apply.

Persons that meet all of the previous criteria must also complete a free Victori-an RSA online refresher course.

TAS Yes Yes No additional requirements.

NT Yes Yes No additional requirements.

WA Yes Yes, if RSA training has been undertaken by a registered training organisation.

No additional requirements.

NSW Yes No* Interstate RSA certification is currently not recognised in NSW.

* Interstate RSA certificates will be recognised following the introduction of an online bridging course. Interstate RSA certificate holders will need to complete

this bridging course in order to work in NSW. This is expected to be introduced by the NSW Government in the second half of 2012. Visit the website listed opposite for further updates.

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There are training courses you can do for catering and restaurant work but most of the

time, learning on the jobs is the best way to pick it up. If you are a fast learner and willing to jump in, you’ll be miles ahead of someone who has sat back and learnt the theory of

how to serve customers.

If you are more experienced and have heaps of previous waiting, bar tending or catering experience, you can sometimes find work through Hospitality specialist temping agencies

in the larger cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. These companies can work out really well for some people who want to stick around in the same place for

a while but they can be very picky. If you’re looking for work during major events like con -certs, sporting events and festivals these agencies can sometimes offer more short term work.

If you have previously worked as a chef or a cook back home good idea is to get yourself

a Food Health and Safety Certificate so you can show that you have the relevant knowl

-edge to work in Australia. There are two levels of this qualification which can both be done online starting from about $95 for one and each take about 4 hours. Some course pro -viders offer a slight discount when you buy both at the same time which is worth thinking

about if you want to get ahead. Definitely bring copies of any qualifications you have from

back home to interviews as employers will often regard these as just as good as

Austra-lian qualifications if your skills back them up.

Our own WORK SHOPS also have long standing contacts with most major

event operators so it’s worth checking in to see if there is an event coming

up that is hiring staff.

One thing that Australia is often known for is it’s love of coffee! If you have worked as a barista back home,

you also stand in good stead to get work in lots of loca-tions. Making coffee if one thing but making GREAT

coffee is quite another… And Aussies aren’t shy to let you know what they think so be warned!

There are some courses you can do to get your skills up to scratch from basic to expert and they range any-where from $100 for a 3 hour course up to $200 for

a Latte Arts Course.. It’s really up to you how far you

want to go and how much you want to invest in it.

A basic course will get you started and then when you have a job, most employers will be more than happy to help you grow your skills base and knowledge.

Coffee if not just coffee in Australia, it’s an institution...

Especially in hipster areas like Melbourne, Byron Bay and the Sunny Coast.

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Hospitality Average Wages

Bartender Average Wage:

National Average Yearly income: $40,202 – This does not take into account tips. National Average Hourly rate by city:

Melbourne, Victoria: AU$14.54 - AU$22.76 Sydney, New South Wales: AU$11.00 - AU$22.62 Brisbane, Queensland: AU$13.40 - AU$24.42 Perth, Western Australia: AU$12.36 - AU$23.49 Adelaide, South Australia: AU$15.00 - AU$24.49

Country: Australia | Currency: AUD | Updated: 18 Dec 2013 | Individuals Reporting: 188

Cook, Institution and Cafeteria Average Wage: National Average Yearly income: $40,680

National Average Hourly rate by city:

Melbourne, Victoria: AU$15.07 - AU$25.25

Sydney, New South Wales: NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION AVAILABLE Brisbane, Queensland: AU$17.19 - AU$20.74

Perth, Western Australia: AU$17.78 - AU$23.48 Adelaide, South Australia: AU$15.00 - AU$24.49

Waiter/Waitress Average Wage:

National Average Yearly income: $32,167 – This does not take into account tips. National Average Hourly rate by city:

Melbourne, Victoria: AU$10.29 - AU$20.11 Sydney, New South Wales: AU$10.31 - AU$19.52 Brisbane, Queensland: AU$10.05 - AU$20.32 Perth, Western Australia: AU$12.22 - AU$21.88 Adelaide, South Australia: AU$10.12 - AU$24.03 Gold Coast, Queensland: AU$10.02 - AU$20.56

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Sales and Retail

So you’ve got the gift of the gab and you’ve done a bit of shop work back home? Sales

jobs that target travellers and backpackers can either be an amazing opportunity to make

quick cash or a total waste of your time where you won’t earn a cent.

There are an amazing number of companies who are always looking for sales staff in the major cities. These jobs range from “Charity work” where you are out on the streets with a clip board signing people up for Green Peace or Save the Children right up to selling

insulation and heating, it’s mostly luck of the draw and down to your ability.

Some companies will pay a base rate plus commissions but most work on commission

only which means if you don’t sell, you don’t get paid. This isn’t technically legal, regard

-less of what you’re told, but lots of companies do operate in this way so make sure you’re aware of what you’re signing up for. The trick is to be honest to yourself about your selling skills. If you’re smashing out sales then keep at it, you’ll be raking it in! If you’re not mak

-ing money in the first couple of days, chances are, you’re probably not right for the job and

you should move on. These jobs are very attractive and will usually throw around offers of massive weekly earnings, the example below is typical of the kind of advertisements that these companies use.

Looks great right? Helping people save money whilst making thousands of dollars for

yourself! People either excel at these jobs or get stuck working for days with nothing to show for it, it’s really up to the individual and their skills.

The WORK SHOPS do not send out these kinds of jobs to our members because there are no guaranteed earnings for the time you put in which means that for some members,

who don’t speak the best English, it will be very difficult to actually make an income from

this kind of work.

We can provide you with:

• An opportunity to help Victorian home owners save thousands off their bills.

• An ongoing activity bonus and commissions all paid weekly - unlimited earning potential easily achievable! • Paid training and uniform.

• A fun culture in a new exciting campaign!

• Uncapped earning potential - $1500 - $2000 available for achieving your goals!! What you will need:

• A strong work ethic • Great attitude

• Fun and outgoing personality • Self-motivation

• Ability to work in a team environment • Passion for greener living

Although previous sales experience will benefit it is not essential as all successful applicants will receive paid train-ing!! 1 1 http://www.gumtree.com.au

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If you are interested in this type of work and think you have what it takes, you can usually find advertisements on hostel notice boards. These jobs are more common in the larger cities as there is a greater population to work with but you can find this kind of work from

time to time in smaller areas.

There are companies who offer these kind of cold sales jobs with a base hourly rate,

these are definitely the better option if you’ve never done think kind of work before. The WORK SHOP does send these jobs to members as there is a base hourly rate that is paid regardless of sales however, if you don’t sell, you won’t last long but at least it won’t be a

waste of time entirely.

Retail jobs are sometimes a little harder to get into as most shops tend to employ young

Aussies as they will be around for more than 6 months. What is becoming more and more

common is that Adventure Travel Agencies are hiring backpackers to work in their shops to share their own experiences with fellow travellers and advise them on the best activi-ties to do in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and around the world.

If you’ve just travelled all around Australia, who better to tell other travellers who have just arrived about all the amazing places they should go to?! Just having travelled won’t get

you the job though, you have to be very sales driven and be able to keep up with other

more experienced staff and their sales but it’s great work if you can get it.

NOMADS ADVENTURE CO. will almost always have backpackers working in their

re-ception and information desks to give in-house guests information that they want to know: The best boats to go on in the Whitsundays, the best places to party in Cairns and the best place to learn to surf… All the things that you have travelled over to experience,

they’ve just done it all so hit them up for their top tips!

If you do manage to get yourself a job in a travel agency, you will have an amazing time

working with likeminded individuals and have the opportunity to move around Australia and New Zealand doing an awesome job, as most travel agencies will have various

lo-cations all over the country. You can earn a great wage and if you’re good and stick at it, there are lots of perks along the way too… If you’ve travelled and know how to sell, this is definitely a jackpot dream job! The WORK SHOPS always keep an eye out for people that stand out so that we can try and find them work in one of the NOMADS hostels so hit us up for work if this sounds like something you’d be keen to get into.

Sales / Retail Average Wages:

Sales Associate Average Wage: National Average Yearly income: $45,765 National Average Hourly rate by city:

Melbourne, Victoria: AU$17.82 - AU$32.55

Sydney, New South Wales: NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION AVAILABLE Brisbane, Queensland: AU$17.14 - AU$26.45

Perth, Western Australia: AU$16.72 - AU$23.96

Adelaide, South Australia: NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION AVAILABLE

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Retail Assistant Average Wage:

National Average Yearly income: $48,441 National Average Hourly rate by city:

Melbourne, Victoria: AU$15.30 - AU$22.21 Sydney, New South Wales: AU$15.39 - AU$22.26 Brisbane, Queensland: AU$15.17 - AU$21.64 Perth, Western Australia: AU$15.59 - AU$22.46 Adelaide, South Australia: AU$15.54 - AU$21.87 Gold Coast, Queensland: AU$14.86 - AU$21.77

Country: Australia | Currency: AUD | Updated: 28 Dec 2013 | Individuals Reporting: 1,085

Childcare/Au Pair Work

This line of work is something usually more for the girls but guys have been known to be-come nannies (mannie) and live in Au Pairs or nannies so if you have a passion for kids and want to use this as a way to earn some money whilst saving on accommodation as

you travel, this could be for you!

Previous experience working with children is generally preferred but this doesn’t neces

-sarily have to be professional experience. If you come from a big family and are used to

looking after young children or worked as a baby sitter back home you could still qualify

if you’re studying in a Child care related subject. You will need to have a Certificate in FIRST AID and CPR, a drivers licence is usually good to have (if you have a clean record) and a police clearance certificate. If you have these organised you are off to a good start. If you have prior Childcare Training certificates from your home country make sure you

include these in your resume as well to set you ahead of the competition.

Most families will go through an agency to find a nanny to look after their children as

agencies will make sure that the nanny they send out has all of their paperwork in order

and the children are in good hands. You can find nanny positions advertised online or in newspapers, it just depends on what kind of work you are looking for. If you go through a

trusted agency you will have a more formal work environment whereas if you go for a job

you find yourself, you could be paid cash in hand on a more casual basis. There is noth -ing wrong with either (aside from be-ing paid cash in hand can lead to tax dodg-ing which

is very bad!). If you want to get paid cash for work, the right things to do is set yourself

up with an Australian Business Number (ABN), so you can give invoices for your work

and at the end of the financial year, declare your earnings and pay tax on them. This also

means that if you are unpaid or underpaid, you can take action whereas if you are working illegally and not paying tax, you are not in good position to argue for your payment.

WORK SHOP members can get assistance setting up an ABN if you decide

that this is the best way to manage your income. Applying for an ABN is free and can be done online really easily

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There are several Au Pair agencies in Australia who pare nannies/Au Pairs with Austra-lian families which makes it easier than looking through the jobs websites. These compa-nies will usually have procedures in place to make sure that there are no nasty surprises when you get to the placement such as written agreements with terms and conditions of

employment, what is expected, what you’re living conditions will consist of, how many

hours of work you will be expected to do, how many children you will be looking after etc..

This means that you know what you’re getting into before you commit and if you the family

start asking to you work more hours than agreed upon or hold back inclusions, you can refer to the agreement to settle any disputes or queried.

Below is a typical example of an advertisement for an Au Pair position detailing the living and working environment. Most placements will usually offer a daily income which can be negotiated depending on how many hours you are expected to work per week.

The benefits of working and living as an Au Pair are that in most cases when the family

go on holiday or there are school holidays you can usually take time off to go away on a trip somewhere in Australia or elsewhere. Sometimes the families will actually invite you along to family get togethers so you can experience real Aussie family culture – Maybe

even a real Aussie family Christmas?! It really does depend on the family but travelling as

an Au Pair is a really good way to have a real insight in to the Aussie way of life. As you

can only legally work for one employer for a maximum of 6 months, your employers will

be aware that you will not be there forever and will be geared up for you to leave after this time is up.

Position:Au-pair live-in

Location:Brisbane, we live in an inner suburb of a capital city (Brisbane). We are only 6km from the city centre however the suburb and surrounding area is very nice with plenty of trees and parkland, bike & running/walking paths, and the usual Australian suburban stuff such as shopping centres, schools, pubs, cinemas, entertainment etc.. Au pair Accommodation:Own bedroom with Queen size bed and built in wardrobes. Free wireless broadband internet. Own full size bathroom with separate shower and bath. Bedside tables. Television with all free to air digital channels.

About the Family:Busy family where mum and dad both work full-time jobs, and the whole family is also involved in sporting and recreational activities such as Triathlon (mum), Australian Rules football (Dad & both boys), we also love going to the beach, playing games in the backyard, swimming in the pool, getting out and about on the week-ends just doing stuff and having fun as a family. The whole family is healthy and active and we always encourage nice manners and good behaviour. Nash and Harry attend a local Primary School which is only a short walk from home and both are smart and keen students. They are normal little boys who love playing video games, chasing each other around and having a laugh, they are very good together and apart from the minor disagreement every now and again are great mates who play well together and with others.

Duty hours:35

Children to care: 6 & 8 yo boys Driving:Preferred but not essential.

Incentives:Free broadband internet access. We also would be happy to include Au Pair in a range of family activi-ties as appropriate. Will be opportuniactivi-ties for Au Pair to travel at times (paid leave) during school holiday periods as boys will be away visiting grandparents and at Xmas family may go on holiday. Happy to discuss/negotiate to provide opportunity for Au Pair to experience as much of Australia as possible.

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Nanny/Au Pair Average Wage:

An Au Pair’s pay is made up of living inclusions and a paid wage so there is no national average as such but you should be getting a minimum of about $150 per week in paid earnings. It is dependent on how many hours you are expected to work, what household

jobs you will be doing and how many children you will be working with. Most agencies will negotiate this on your behalf.

Nanny Average Wage:

National Average Yearly income: $41,825 National Average Hourly rate by city:

Melbourne, Victoria: AU$18.62 - AU$25.53 Sydney, New South Wales: AU$15.78 - AU$28.38 Brisbane, Queensland: AU$14.78 - AU$25.13 Perth, Western Australia: AU$14.74 - AU$23.96 Adelaide, South Australia: AU$14.76 - AU$25.40

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Regional Work/Farming

This area of work is one that has been booming in the past few years. It used to be that

travellers would do their 3 months farm work towards the end of their 1st_{Working Holiday}

visa just to extend their stay in Australia but now the trend is for people to arrive in the country looking for farm work as soon as they arrive to earn good money to go travelling with. With many of the global economies still not recovered from the Global Financial Cri-sis, many people are attracted by the opportunity to get a job where they can potentially earn great money without having any skills to start with.

There are some things to remember though and a couple of realities which people do not always plan for before they start looking for farm work.

1 Fruit picking is bloody hard work

– Be prepared to work long hours in the sun and rain.

2 All farming is seasonal

– Very few places have work all year round. It’s best to check with a couple of working hostels and farmers in the area you are looking at going to for work BEFORE you go. If one working hostel is saying that there is work and no one else is, they are probably just trying to fill their beds and there is not work

available in the near future.

3 Nearly no one will hire you over the phone and have work available for you to start on the day you arrive to your working hostel/farm

- Farmers need to meet you in person to asses if you’re up for the job and unless they are short staffed, they will need someone to finish working before you can start. Farming is a business, they don’t hire

people out of the kindness of their heart, they hire enough people to be able to make money. Usually if the season and weather conditions are good you can start working within 1-2 weeks of arriving, that is generally

the average wait time so just be prepared and don’t go looking for farm work when you are desperate have

no money left as you may have to wait for work and could be left short for money to pay for your rent. Do

not get yourself in this position, you will cause yourself nothing but trouble and no doubt find yourself with

nowhere to stay or in debt – Both are no fun.

4 Some people are just out to take advantage of backpackers looking for farm work

- Unfortunately this is a reality in some areas. With more and more travellers looking for harvest work, some “working hostels” are taking advantage of this and are attracting backpackers to stay with them by falsely advertising load of farm work available in the area or the promise of work when they get there and then not delivering when people arrive. These hostels usually charge fairly high rent for very basic living conditions and will string people along for weeks on end until people leave. The best way to avoid this is to look on Trip Advisor and ask people who have done their seasonal work in that area.

Check out nomadsworld.com/jobs

for an article all about the fruit-picking seasons in Australia!

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Ok, so doom and gloom over….

There are definitely ways of finding farm work where you can earn good money, do your

3 months regional work to extend your visa AND have a good time along the way. One of

the best ways is to ask around as you travel. You’re not the first person to do fruit picking and you probably won’t be the last so find out where other people did theirs and what they thought. You can come across some awesome contacts this way. You can find contacts online on sites such as Gumtree but a lot of the time if it’s advertised online, there’s a

catch. Good farms have people coming to them, they rarely have to advertise. A lot of the

time, advertisements are placed by working hostels trying to get people to fill their beds and promising work. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t, it’s the risk you take

by going form an online advertisement.

Harvest Trail is the Australian Government department that is set up to support people looking for regional work. These guys can offer heaps of advice and information to help you on your way, they also publish a guide book which can be helpful but can also

some-times be quite misleading as it is based on averages, and it’s seasonal information is not set in stone for obvious reasons because it’s seasonal and seasons change from year to year depending on the weather. It is a very good guideline to let you know roughly what happens in each region around the year but that’s about it. You can find this online or in

some visitor info centres. They do have a help line which you can call if you are looking for work and they will do all they can to assist you but as with the online advertisements, a lot of the time the farmers will only take the time to advertise when they have someone pull out last minute or they need a couple of extra people to get the crops in. When Harvest

Line have jobs available, they go fast so make sure you’re calling every day, sometimes twice a day. If they have a job and put you in contact with a farmer, you will need to be ready to go quickly and be there as soon as possible. Farmers don’t advertise unless they are short staffed, if you can’t get there, you’ll miss out.

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Generally what seems to be the case is that farms along the East Coast (Melbourne area to Cairns) are higher in demand and are where people have problems with working

hos-tels and poor pay and working conditions. If you are happy to go further inland or to the

Northern Territory, Tasmania, Western Australia or more remote areas of South Australia

you will often find better working conditions and happier workers. This does mean that

you may have to spend money getting there so make sure that you have read up about

it and you feel comfortable with the area you’re going to. If you get away from the trouble spots where everyone heads, you are more likely to find farmers who genuinely need staff

as they are off the beaten track and not as many people look at going there to do their regional work.

The work in the more remote areas can be anything from working on cattle/sheep stations on massive acreage where you are days away from civilisation to living and working on a family farm where you help look after the animals and maintenance of the facilities. These positions are harder to get to but can often be much more rewarding than slogging it out in

a packing house or strawberry field getting paid by the punnet. The work on animal farms isn’t for everyone though, it’s not fluffy sheep and moo cows, animals are produce and

it is a harsh reality that unless you are on a dairy farm that they will be put to slaughter.

Farmers won’t have much time for squeamish people who can’t do the tasks at hand but

if you have what it takes and want to experience the great Aussie Outback, this is a once in a lifetime experience.

We have contacts in most major areas along the coast where there are NOMADS

HOS-TELS as well as in the Atherton Tablelands, west of Cairns. The farms that we send

peo-ple to are checked by WORK SHOP staff to make sure that they look after their staff and

pay the correctly for their work. If we wouldn’t want our staff to work there, we won’t send you there, it’s that simple. The last thing that we want is for people to go to work on farms

or stay in working hostels where they will be taken advantage of and then hate their time

in that region. Harvest work isn’t glamorous but it can be a great experience where you can meet some amazing people and gain some awesome life experiences. You’ll learn a lot about yourself when you’re out in a field for 3 months working harder than you have ever worked before!

If you are looking at staying on the East Coast to do your regional work the WORK SHOP can offer free assistance to members looking for harvest

Working in Australia. Australia

Working in

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Working in

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The ultimate destination

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Contents

The Basics

Know the Competition

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