If you’re new here, I’m Brett, and I lived in Outback Australia, working a tourism job for 4 months from March to July 2023. While I had a very mixed experience, I would still recommend working in remote parts of Australia, particularly if you need to get your 88 days for your visa or want to save money. This guide will cover everything you need to know about finding and securing season work in remote parts of Australia. I also have a full guide about my experience and the reality of remote work, which you can read here.
Type of work
Most people assume that if you are working in the Outback in Australia, your job is in either farming or agriculture. While there is certainly a lot of farm work, there are also many other professions needed in remote parts of Australia. Farm work is definitely the easiest kind of remote work to find, particularly if you’re a backpacker needing to get your 88 days of rural work for your visa. If you don’t fancy farm work or fruit picking, the other alternatives are working in tourism-related jobs or working in a mining town. These may include jobs such as receptionist, retail worker, chef, tour guide, housekeeper, bartender, waiter, porter, maintenance staff and driver. If you work in a mining town, there are also lots of jobs in the actual mines, which can be incredibly lucrative.
Benefits of Seasonal Work in Australia
- Money! This is one of the major attractions for workers to move remotely for a season. I managed to save $ 1,000 a week working a full-time job in Outback Australia in 2023.
- Seeing a different side of Australia that travellers don’t usually get to experience.
- Variety of work available. If you have to work rurally in Australia for your visa but don’t want to do farmwork, you can do many other types of work in remote parts of Australia, such as hospitality, admin, retail, housekeeping and maintenance.
- No need to search for accommodation. One of the benefits of working remotely is usually accommodation is usually included with the job offer as you live on-site. This is such a money and time win not having to search for a rental.
- Sense of community. Working and living remotely forges such a sense of community among coworkers- I mean, you’re all stuck in this together. You will spend all your time with the same group of people and form some really strong friendships (or you just end up hating everyone and feeling super lonely)
Downsides of seasonal work in Australia
- Lack of access to services. Everything becomes difficult when you live remotely. Hurt yourself or get sick? The nearest hospital is hours away. Run out of face wash? That’ll take two weeks to be delivered by road train.
- Boredom. You will get bored sometimes. You’re stuck in the middle of nowhere doing the same things every day and seeing the same people.
- Internet access. Many remote areas have limited access to reliable wifi or phone service. While you will be able to use your phone some of the time, streaming is difficult, and sometimes the internet just drops out.
- Mental Health. Living and working remotely is a challenge for most people, even if you feel like you have excellent mental health and are resilient.
- Poor Management and working conditions. Remote areas do not attract good managers, so working conditions and work culture does inevitably suffer. For specific examples, check out my post on the reality of working in the outback here.
Tip #1- Know your regions and seasons
A lot of remote work is around tourism and is seasonal work. Your best chance to get a job is to apply before the start of their tourism season when they are actively hiring for many different jobs. You can, of course, get jobs mid-season, but these will only come up if someone leaves part-way through the season (which happens a lot!) and will usually only be advertised for one person at a time. A lot of employers will list jobs on Seek or Indeed job listing websites, but you need to search for the specific region or hotel.
Here are common regions that hire for remote tourism jobs in Outback Australia and when to apply:
| Region | Season | When to start applying | Specific Employers to apply to |
| Central Australia (Uluru, Kings Canyon, Hermnsberg etc) | April-October | January/February | – Ayers Rock Resort (this company owns all tourism services around Uluru) – Discovery Kings Canyon – Kings Creek Station – Discovery Glen Helen – Erldunda Roadhouse |
| Kimberley Region (Kununurra, Derby etc) | April-October | January/February | – El Questro – Berkeley River Lodge – Discovery Lake Argyle – Discovery Lake Kununurra – Bungle Bungle Savannah Lodge – Hotel Kununurra |
There are so many more places that offer live-in seasonal tourism work around Australia, but Central Australia and the Kimberley region are two of the biggest with the most jobs. You can also find live-in jobs in places in Australia like Fitzroy Island, Lord Howe Island, Rottnest Island, Outback Queensland and Tropical North Queensland. However, there are fewer positions available, and they are even more competitive than the Outback.
Tip #2- Know where to apply
You can find remote work listings on popular job listing websites Seek and Indeed. If you apply on these websites, your application will go straight to the person in charge of hiring in HR. You can also apply directly to the hotel/resort by finding their email address online. Honestly, this can be hit-and-miss. Your email will most likely go to the reception on-site (HR is usually located at the head office in a bigger city). The person on reception may or may not forward your application to HR.
The one thing I would not do is show up on-site and try to get a job in person. The chances of them having a position and hiring you if you just arrive at the hotel as a guest are super slim. The person in charge of hiring is often not based on site, so the person you need to make the best impression on won’t even be there. Also, the cost and inconvenience of getting to the remote area will be wasted if you are unsuccessful in getting a job.
Tip #3- Stand out in the crowd
Remote seasonal jobs in tourism are incredibly competitive, especially if you’re a backpacker on a Working Holiday Visa. Before you even start applying, make sure you have a strong and up-to-date resume (CV) with a cover letter specific to the job and company you want. Applying for a job that you already have experience in will definitely help your application (e.g. if you worked as a bartender in the UK, applying for a bartender job will increase your chances). Also, if you have previous experience working in a remote area, this is looked upon favourably. The process of getting a job will usually involve a video interview and sometimes even a phone interview before you are offered a position.
Tip #4- Stay longer than 88 days
One of the biggest issues employers have hiring backpackers for remote/ rural areas is that they have to re-hire and retrain every 88 days when the existing backpacker staff leave. If you make it very clear up front that you want to stay longer (around 6 months), you will be a better candidate than someone who only wants to work for 3 months for their visa. This may not be for everyone, but trying to stay as long as possible will also give you extra savings. I initially signed on for 6 months but only lasted 4 due to poor working conditions. Bit of an unethical tip, but even if you don’t think you can last 6+ months, tell them you will stay longer when you apply to improve your chances.
Tip #5- Consider the exact position and the benefits
The more remote you are and the smaller the employer is will present unique challenges if you were to be successful in getting a position. In some roles, you need to have your own vehicle to get to and from work. In other jobs, you may be working in a very small team and working very remotely without the chance of meeting anyone else, which can be socially isolating.
The other thing to consider is exactly what you are getting in return. Any decent remote seasonal job should include accommodation and food for a small price if you can’t source this yourself. Make sure you know exactly what you are applying for and that it actually benefits you! Accepting any position without reading the fine print may mean you end up working in the Outback and not being paid enough or having poor living conditions.
Did you find this blog post helpful? Want to see more travel tips and recommendations? Join me on Tik Tok and Instagram for daily travel content!
This blog is a free and independent source of information for all things travel and backpacking. If you benefitted from the information on this blog, please consider using the affiliate links to book hostels/activities etc. This will be at no extra cost to you but helps subsidise the cost of running a free travel blog.
