13 Things I wish everyone knew about a Working Holiday in Australia
I made a lot of mistakes. Here's what I wish I knew about WHV outside of moving to Sydney, Melbourne or Perth and working in a Bar.
I came to Australia on a massive whim. I’d spent 4 years working seasonally across Europe, Canada and the United States, then came home to try and do the good girl thing and finally settle down with a big girl teaching job.
Then I met a boy, who was moving to Australia in three weeks, and fell in love with him.
What followed was not at all like working seasons. No job sorted, building a life for not one but two people from scratch, and my relationship, my pride and possibly my sanity was all riding on not messing this up exponentially.
I made a lot of bad choices, and a few good ones. Here’s everything that would have saved me a lot of money, tears and probably some blood.
1. Try not to stress about visa timings.
If you’re from a country with a strong passport and don’t have any red flags, it’s pretty much automatic. Mine took 2 minutes. My partner is ex-army, which triggers manual checks, so his took 2 months. Either way, if you’ve planned in advance it’s pretty fast. I just wouldn’t book your flights until it’s confirmed, just in case you’re in the latter camp.
2. You don’t need a job sorted for when you land. You need an address.
A uni friend living on the other side of the country, a Tinder flame living in Brisbane, or ideally, an employer’s office. You need an address to get on your feet in Aus or you’ll be stuck in a tangle of bureaucracy.
The landing on your feet starter pack requires four things: an Aussie number, a tax file number, a bank account, and Medicare (if you’re from a country that qualifies). Without these, 99% of employers won’t talk to you, landlords won’t take you, and if you do manage to get a job, you can’t get paid without an account or tax file number. Oh, and that medical insurance from the UK? Probably not valid without a Medicare card. So try not to get hit by a bus or eaten by a crocodile until then. It’s a real cycle of fuckery that feels impossible to untangle until you land -unless you can get an address beforehand. So if you know anyone in Australia, text them and ask for their address.
3. Plan to spend 3 days in a major city sorting yourself out.
I’m not saying you can’t do it regionally, I’m just saying it’s a whole lot more convenient to be 5 minutes walk away from an office you need to go to if there’s a problem rather than a 5 hour drive.
Bank account: any will do, but you need an Aussie one. Not Monzo or Wise. I’d recommend Commonwealth — it’s the most widespread and there’s a branch in most areas in case you get stuck. Like if you set up a joint account with your boyfriend and only one of you gets a card sent, which kind of defeats the point of having a joint account when he can’t pay for anything without you. Brad. Anyway. I went into one in Perth, booked an appointment for the next day, it took five minutes (and my address), and I was issued my brand new bright yellow card.
Tax file number: think of it like a National Insurance number. Done through the government website, doesn’t take long. Getting a TFN before your first pay cheque is crucial — backpackers get taxed at 15%, but if you don’t have one, your employer may tax you at 30. It takes around two weeks to arrive, which lines up perfectly with Australian pay cycles.
Medicare: if you’re from the UK, get this sorted. You can do it online, it takes 2 mins and you just need your TFN. And address. Most insurances require it anyway, but it means you can access much cheaper healthcare. Read: I got evacuated by plane from a remote island, hospitalised for six days total, and paid nothing — and had my fuel reimbursed for getting home.
4. Get an eSIM that comes with an Australian number.
A lot of employers won’t even talk to you without an Aussie number. An eSIM means you can keep your UK number for WhatsApp —-staying in touch with people at home while also connecting to local data and phone towers from the moment you land. I used felix initially, they had a good welcome deal and also plant trees for you each month. But you could use any, shop around for the best deal.
5. Get on a Telstra-backed network if you’re leaving the city.
Read, Telstra backed, not Telstra itself. Save yourself $60 dollars a month. I use Belong - it’s around $40 a month and I have signal on my remote island. Telstra has the best regional coverage by a significant margin. You do not want to be stuck on the side of an outback road, bogged in sand as the light fades, with no signal. (Trust me).
6. Everyone will tell you to use Seek for jobs. They’re wrong.
My partner applied for 200 jobs on Seek and heard back from none. I applied for 30 on Facebook and got 20 offers.
7. Join Facebook groups — but not the massive ones.
“Backpacker Jobs in Australia” is too broad. Look for more specific groups - I had success with Hospitality Jobs WA, Caravan Park Industry Jobs, and smaller regional job boards. Facebook and community pages are massive in Australia, especially in regional Western Australia. You’ll find niche jobs that are more likely to give you a real experience, you’ll meet actual Australians, and you’ll get far better advice.
8. Wheels will open up the whole of Australia to you — especially a 4WD.
I don’t drive, but luckily my partner does. We put off buying a vehicle for ages, wanting to save up first. After a series of unforeseen events, we bought a van, and it’s the best thing we’ve done. If you’re driving out of cities though, seriously consider a 4WD - again, you don’t want to be bogged in the sand with no phone signal.
Having wheels means you can get to the more remote jobs, and it gives you an escape if things go sour - i.e. you get fired and want to swiftly leave on an unplanned road trip to escape the awkwardness. Plus there’s no MOT in Western Australia, which means you can do a full lap, rack up 70,000 miles, and as long as you can convince someone to buy it, you’ll get your money back when you leave.
9. Download WikiCamps - but don’t trust it blindly.
WikiCamps is brilliant for road trips. We found free showers, decent campsites, and planned our entire west coast trip with it. But if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Free camps are rarely in town sites. We got fined $200 for camping in Bremer Bay in a spot WikiCamps told us was free — and it was meant to be double that. The ranger took pity on us answering the dreaded knock bleary eyed and confused. Check the local council website before you pitch up anywhere near a town.
10. Consider doing a regional job even if you’re a UK citizen and don’t need the 88 days.
I’m currently working on a tropical island, getting paid the same as I would as a teacher in the UK, and paying $75 a week in rent. Remote and regional tourist jobs are great even if you’ve never done physical labour or housekeeping in your life — these places are willing to train you up, you get your steps in, spend time in the sun, and join a real community. The pay is higher, rent is usually included or heavily discounted, and most evenings you’re watching a sunset with a cold drink. It’s not a bad trade.
11. If you apply for regional jobs, mention that you don’t need the 88 days.
It works in your favour. Employers in regional areas are used to people treating their job as a box to tick on the way to a second visa. If you make it clear you’re there because you actually want to be - not because your visa depends on it - you immediately stand out. You seem like less of a flight risk, and more like someone who’ll actually show up properly.
12. Most backpacker jobs are casual — and that works both ways.
A lot of entry-level jobs will be casual contracts. You’re paid by the hour at an award rate (Australia’s version of minimum wage, but broken down by industry), your hourly rate is higher than permanent colleagues, and you get penalty rates (basically bonus pay) for evenings and weekends.
The catch dear reader is, casual work can be terminated immediately, with no notice. Since being in Australia I’ve been fired twice -no reason, no warning. It’s jarring. But it’s also taught me to save as I go and to not be more loyal to a place than it is to you. Also, we found a new job and accommodation within a week both times. So you’ll be okay. The flip side is you can leave without notice too. If a better opportunity comes up, take it.
13. File your tax return at the end of financial year. You’re owed money.
Australia’s financial year ends on 30 June. If you’ve been working on a backpacker tax rate, there’s a good chance you’re owed a refund - and a lot of people leave without claiming it. You can do it through myGov once you’re set up. It’s not complicated and it’s essentially free money. Don’t leave without checking.
I’ve learnt a lot in my time in Aus, and I truly believe in trying to get others to consider life outside of hospitality in the big cities. Sydney’s gorgeous, but this country has so much more to offer.
For more things to know before you go, cool opportunities that I find that you can apply for, as well as mishaps and musings along the way. If you don’t have Substack follow along on Insta @neve_roberts where I share my posts or subscribe below to get weekly emails sent straight to your inbox at no cost.
Taking notes because this is so helpful ✍️. I’m considering doing a WHV since I didn’t get enough of Australia the last time I went. Thank you for sharing!!!