Being a backpacker in Australia could be a dream of true. But you probably have many questions going on in your mind before deciding to pack your bag and wandering around Down Under. I was in a similar situation, so I want to share a guide for Work and Holiday backpackers in Australia on how to find accommodation, a job and what the budget is like in Australia.
Note: This blog is best for Work and Holiday or Working Holiday makers based on my experience. However, I am not adventurous, so my vibe would focus on safety, comfort, and budget. So, if it’s what you are looking for on your trips to Australia, let’s get started!
How to find accommodation
Most backpackers would prefer to stay at the hostel briefly before settling. However, I found that some hostel also allows long stay, especially in a big city where it’s expensive and hard to find a rental.
I always have weird experiences when staying at the hostel. One was a guy in a dorm who told me he was travelling around to eliminate black energy in the world as he is a Jesus. Another time, waking up to the floor full of blood from a mate who was stoned and injured from doing joints.
So, I gave up on staying at the hostel. But if you have bad luck like me, don’t worry. There are other options for you.
- Work for accommodation: This is like staying at the hostel. However, it is an excellent way to start, mainly if you just got here and have a tight budget. You might have to reach out for a couple of places till you get a good place to stay and exchange with work around their property.
- Couchsurfing: If you are looking for a short stay, like a few days or a week, this could be a choice too. I did this when I was in Europe and Melbourne, and I am still friends with hosts now. It’s a great experience as you stay with locals, and they can guide you where to visit or look for jobs. Though finding a host for Couchsurfing would be tricky in regional areas, who knows, you might be lucky.
- Accommodation and farm work: In this option, you have to deal with the agency, and a few conditions depend on the agency you sign up with. I heard from some of my friends that they paid for the agency fee and the first few weeks of the dorm room in the hostel. Then the agent found them a farm work nearby. It’s not a bad choice, but I also heard some got a terrible room and the pay rate was very low. So, do your research before signing up for anything.
- Simple hotel or Airbnb: Yeah, the traditional way to go. Suppose you can organise your budget and want to stay in one of those hotels or Airbnb temporarily until you find where you want to be or get a job. Then you can move on to another accommodation. I wish I could have done this, but I was on a low budget then.
- Share house: Renting a room or bed in a house is very common in Australia. I wouldn’t have ever done this in Thailand as living and sharing a common area with strangers can be uncomfortable, even if they will become my friends later. But I did it in Australia. And it helped me save money and was more convenient than a hostel. So I used a few ways to search for a rental room.
- The Facebook group was the first thing I joined and looked for a rental. Try looking for a group in your area. Primarily people who stay in a house with a vacant room or even a landlord post it. There are pros and cons when renting directly to a landlord or sublease, I will discuss this in detail on another blog.
- Flatmate.com.au is a site where you can search for rentals in preference locations and also create the profile that you are looking to rent.
- Gayshare.com.au is similar to Flatmate but gay and lesbian friendly. Sometimes it’s better to live with open-minded people who understand and respect us.
- Gumtree.com.au is another choice to look at. However, it can be unofficial when it comes to contact agreements. You may rent directly with the landlord or sublease without signing a paper and paying cash. It’s a risk for you to take.
- Rent a whole unit/house: This is a bit complicated for foreigners, particularly short visitors like us. Because to rent an entire unit or place in Australia mostly, you have to submit your interest application to the property management agent. In addition, they will require all the identity, work, and financial documents to accept and approve your application. However, you can try it too. I usually use the main sites to search for rentals, inspect the room, and submit applications.
Where to look for jobs
There are so many ways to get a job, especially in hospitality. For me, I tried to walk and drop my resume and apply online. But you can plan and do better, here are my suggestions.
- Dropping resume: This wouldn’t hurt if you print out your resume at the library or Officeworks, walk around town, and drop it at any shops you like to work for. Then, of course, you might get a reaction like ‘We are not hiring at the moment’ or ‘We will contact you’. But thank you next! Keep trying. I got my first job after dropping more than twenty resumes around town.
- Connection: It’s good to make friends from the hostel because they might work somewhere and know if they are hiring.
- Hostel job board: While staying at the hostel, keep an eye on their job board as local businesses could be looking for casual positions to fill up on their rushing season.
- Online: In Australia, people usually use a few platforms for job searching.
- Seek.com.au is a job listing site. It has a good filter option, but you might have to spend some time creating your profile if you want it to look good. You can also make a quick application and send your resume through.
- Indeed.com.au is similar to Seek, but it’s just a bit clunky user experience.
- Facebook groups are good to look at. It’s usually the employees or employers in the area who are posting.
- Gumtree.com.au is another way to search for a job. Even though it’s not a site for job searching, sometimes you can find posts from employers and leave their contact numbers for you to contact directly.
- Backpackerjobboard.com.au is a site for any temporary jobs available for backpackers in hospitality and covers farms and other fields as well.
- the88thday.com is the application I just found while writing this blog. It’s free and lets you access details for farms that are open to hiring people. You can create your profile. Additionally, it has a cool feature that helps you calculate workdays to qualify for applying for the second Work and Holiday visa.
- Recruitment agency: I picked up some shifts from Hays when I had time between my two part-time jobs, which was easy and good money. It doesn’t cost anything. All you have to do is get an interview and fill up some forms. They will contact you when they have available shifts, and you can manage your schedule too. I suggest checking a few around, like Hays, Signature Staff, Pinnacle People, and Staffing Solution.
- Accommodation and farm work: I haven’t done this, but some of my friends did. How it works is that you have to pay upfront for accommodation and their commission fee for them to hook you up with a farm in a remote area. I think it’s a bit risky if it turns out they are nasty, and you have to suck it in until you did a certain day to get your money back. It’s a situation that I never wanted to be in. So be careful if you have to do this. Reach out to someone and ask them for advice before signing up.
Note: It’s all about licence in Australia. You will benefit from obtaining relevant licences in whatever field you like to work. For example, if you are interested in a hospitality job and the venue serves alcohol. Then you will be required to have a Responsible Service of Alcohol certificate (RSA) or a Responsible Service of Gambling (RSG) if you want to work in a gaming venue. Obtaining both certificates online is easy and cheap, especially for Queensland. I paid AUD26 for a bundle package. Unfortunately, each state has different requirements for RSA training. So if you move to New Sales Wales, you might need to get RSA for NSW state, which also differs in cost. I did my RSA for Queensland with Clear to work, but you can also do it with other providers.
How much would you earn?
Based on the Fair Work website, the minimum wage now in Australia is AUD21.38 per hour, and you will get double or triple on weekends or public holidays plus a penalty on overtime or unusual hours as well. In addition, it also depends on what kind of contact too. For example, if you are a casual employee, you get a higher hourly rate but no guaranteed hours or holiday pay. However, there are different payment arrangements like piece rates and commission for farm work and salary for office work. You can check more information on the Fair Work website.
Sort out financial stuff
It would be better to sort this out before getting paid or starting our journey in Australia.
- Bank account: I opened my first bank account remotely from Thailand with Commonwealth Bank and picked up my Mastercard when I arrived. Other banks are pretty good too, and you can easily open an account with them online. For example, Westpac, HSBC and NAB.
- Tax File Number (TFN): It will be your personal reference number in the tax and superannuation systems. You can apply for this number for free on the government website. However, you will need an Australian residential address for them to send the information through. I reckon you can sort it out when arriving here because you will not need it until you get a job.
- Superannuation: They call it Super here. It’s money that the employer will have to pay you on your superannuation account aside from the normal wage for you to live on your retirement. But you can withdraw it later if you do not intend to live in Australia anymore. There are plenty of superannuation funds you can go with. I use Hostplus. It’s easy to sign up and hasn’t caused any issues.
- Unique Student Identifier (USI): This is optional. It’s a unique number that records your education in Australia for life. If you plan to study here, this would be worth having.
- Insurance: It sounds not appeal to you, but the medical cost in Australia can rip you off in pieces. I think it’s good to have a backup plan and ensure you can access the health care system when needed without worrying about compensation. I have been with Allianz. But recently, I switched to Bupa and am paying AUD53 monthly for only hospital coverage. You can check and compare plans that suit you the most.
Note: Ensure the employee pays you the tax once you get a job. Otherwise, you might have a problem with tax debt at the end of the financial year if your employer hasn’t paid your tax correctly.
Note: you might have to ensure that your employee pays you superannuation, as it’s your right to get this money.
Budget in average
Australia is one of the most expensive countries in the world. Particularly the major cost of living like rent and bills. I have been here for a couple of years, and it could be tricky if you spend without budgeting. This number reference from Backpackerjobboard.com gives you an idea of how much it would cost daily.
- Rent and Accommodation
| Hostel dorm | AUD25-35 |
| Hostel dorm per week | AUD110-250 |
| Room in a share house in Sydney | AUD360/Week |
| Bed 2 beds room in Sydney | AUD190/Week |
| Room in a share house in Melbourne | AUD310/Week |
| Room in a share house in Cairns | AUD130/Week |
| Room in a share house in Adelaide | AUD250/Week |
- Grocery
| Bread | AUD2-4 |
| Milk | AUD2-3 |
| Supermarket ready meal | AUD7-10 |
| Meat per kg | AUD20-50 |
- Food and drink
| Take away | AUD10-20 |
| Restaurant meal | AUD15-25 |
| A glass of wine | AUD9-13 |
| A pint of beer | AUD11-13 |
| Bottle of beer | AUD7-10 |
| Cocktail | AUD18 |
| Carton (x24) of beer/cider | AUD50-85 |
- Bill and entertainment
| Phone and internet bill | AUD40-60/month |
| Movie ticket | AUD14-20 |
| Concert ticket | AUD30-100 |
| Single day tour | AUD50-300 |
| Skydiving | AUD500 |
| Snow skiing day pass | AUD200-250 |
- Public transport
| Metro bus/rail | AUD5-6 |
| Uber ride (4km) | AUD16 |
| Flight from Adelaide to Melbourne | AUD80-120 |
| Flight from Melbourne to Sydney | AUD16 |
| Economy rental car | AUD45-60/Day |
Although this is a lot of information, it will help you save time on sorting this by yourself. Especially financial stuff that would cause headaches if not set up properly initially. Other than that, I hope you will be prepared and ready for the excitement and new experience in Australia.
Check eligibility and visa processes on my blog here if you plan to get a Work and Holiday visa.
Xoxo, have a gorgeous day 🌈❤️💛