Summer Jobs in Australia
Australia is the only place that is simultaneously considered a continent, a country and an island. The 'summer jobs' in Australia bear no relation to the UK summer (its obviously at the opposite time of year for a start and you can basically follow the sun around all year!) The winter ski season runs from June to October in Victoria and NSW - for easiness we are going to call a summer job anything that isn't a ski job.
Bar work and casual jobs
Most travellers arrive in Sydney, Melbourne or Perth which are good places to find casual work in the hospitality, catering and construction trades. These jobs are highly sought after so remember to treat application seriously and try hard to make a good impression. Notice boards in backpackers and hostels can help you find jobs with employers who are specifically looking for backpackers.
Childcare jobs in Australia
If you have childcare experience and good references you could get accommodation, food and a small wage by doing some au-pairing in Australia. You can either join a programme before ypou set off (there are hundreds of them) or apply for nanny jobs and aupair work when you get there. This is a fairly common option taken by British Backpackers to Australia if scrabbling about for bar work or grafting in the fields does not appeal.
Harvest and Farm work
Growers of citrus fruits, grapes, garlic etc often have difficulty finding sufficient workers at harvest time, harvest work provides variable seasonal work all over Australia. You can even do a harvest circuit and work your way right around Australia. Apart from harvestiung work, you can also find general maintenance jobs in the agricultural sector, keep checking locally for what's on offer. With most harvest jobs, the employer or local area will provide free / cheap accommodation in the form of Caravan Parks or Backpacker Hostels, or at least somewhere to park your camper!
Where and when to find harvest work:
February to April:
South Australia,
Tasmania,
Victoria,
New South Wales, Southern Queensland,
Far Northern Queensland.
April to June
Northern New South Wales, Southern Queensland, Northern Queensland, Far Northern Queensland
June to August
New South Wales, Southern Queensland,
Northern Queensland,
Far Northern Queensland.
September to November
Southern Queensland,
Northern Queensland,
Far Northern Queensland,
Northern Territory,
Northern Western Australia
December to January
Tasmania,
Southern Queensland,
Northern Queensland,
Far Northern Queensland,
Northern Western Australia,
Southern Western Australia, Northern New South Wales.
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