Jobs for Full Time Travellers in Australia

Last updated on 9 December, 2022

There are many types of jobs for full time travellers in Australia. A lifestyle of travelling and working in how many people can continuously travel. It is also a fantastic and affordable way to see this country.

It is not hard to find work while travelling full time in a caravan around Australia. Many regional or remote areas have more positions available for workers than they can fill and with housing shortages, these areas are often willing to accommodate travellers in caravans.

The need to replenish our travel savings is why travellers find work. We also do it to experience new places, use and develop new skills and knowledge, plus lead a life less ordinary.

What are the ways to make money while travelling to Australia? What are the types of jobs for full time travellers in Australia? Below is an extensive guide with tips and ideas on how to travel and work in Australia.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you use these to make a purchase, I may earn a commission. Any commission is greatly appreciated as it helps to keep Our Wayfaring Life online.

Jobs for Full Time Travellers in Australia

Accommodation Host or Caretaker

Caravan parks, campgrounds, hostels and the like are regularly looking for travellers (often travelling couples) to take on the role of host or caretaker. These roles can require hosts or caretakers to live on site, which can be a bonus in expensive tourist areas. 

Other jobs in caravan parks and campgrounds include taking and managing bookings, cleaning facilities and cabins and gardening. Positions can be full time, part time, casual, temporary or done on a contract, as paid, voluntary or in exchange for site fees. 

TIP: Register for an ABN before travelling. Many temporary employment opportunities require you to have one.

Drivers

There seems to be an endless amount of farms and businesses across Australia looking for workers with licences ( MR, HR, HC or MC ) for driving trucks, buses and farm machinery as well as forklift licences. The work available is almost always paid and can be from a few weeks to ongoing.

TIP: Consider upgrading your licence before travelling.

Events

Carnivals, festivals, shows and events are regularly held in communities all over Australia. The need for temporary, casual staff often means travellers are employed.

The jobs available vary from setting up, ticket sales, merchandise sales, cleaning, food and drink service, selling products, demonstrations and so much more. Usually, you will need to say what skills you have or the positions that interest you.

Some jobs pay money. However, exchanges are popular such as free tickets or entry (Birdsville Bash is an example) and others pay commission.

Farm and Station Work

Farm and station work is an incredibly varied and diverse way to make money while travelling in a caravan. The hours, pay and conditions can vary greatly depending on the experience and skills needed to do the job.

Jobs for travellers on farms and stations are often caring for animals, livestock or crops, manual labour such as fixing fences and farm buildings, mustering, bore running, taking care of the farmhouse and garden or a thousand other possible jobs. It is a great way to experience Australia’s regional centres and the outback.

Governess

Children in remote and outback areas of Australia have little to no access to daycare or schools. So instead, families will employ a governess (male or female) for their children to help them with their distance education, provide supervision, meal preparation and housework. Often accommodation and meals are provided due to the remoteness of the properties of the families.

Generally, families will ask for a commitment of six months or more as they ideally want consistency for their children. A background in education or prior experience with children can be an advantage but isn’t necessarily essential. Being a governess may be a great way to see and experience authentically family life in the outback.

TIP: If you are interested in working with children, get the relevant working with children checks. 

Government Temporary or Contract Positions

In remote and outback regions, government departments, including child protection, corrections and justice, education and health, are often begging and pleading for qualified staff. Working in these areas can add a new dimension to your work experience and may give you opportunities for progressing your career.

The wheels of government departments can move very slowly. Try to make inquiries and applications for any positions well in advance if this is a way you would like to earn money travelling around Australia.

TIP: Keep your resume CV up to date and easily accessible on your laptop to make applying for jobs online quicker and easier.

Harvest Trail and Fruit Picking

The harvest trail and fruit picking are popular ways to earn money on a road trip. Work on the harvest trail includes picking crops, pruning, packaging and other tasks. Some seasons are for a few weeks and others for months.

Payment for work will be either by the hour or a piece rate, meaning you are paid depending on how much you pick.

Unfortunately, some employers in this industry are unscrupulous in their practices. Not all, but some. Be cautious of any that require you to live on site, pay rent or pay for transport.

Further, be wary of any that then won’t guarantee a minimum number of hours per week. Unfortunately, there are incidents of travellers unable to leave some farms because they are just earning enough money to pay for their accommodation and transport costs.

Otherwise, the harvest trail can be a great way to make money while travelling if you are prepared to do physical labour, often outside in all kinds of weather.

Hospitality

Hospitality is an industry that employs many working travellers. Working around Australia in hospitality can mean working in pubs, roadhouses, island resorts, cafes and restaurants and anywhere else there is service. 

W have heard of travellers saving significant amounts of money working at remote roadhouses because the pay is good, lots of work hours, meals are provided and nowhere to spend money. 

TIP: A Senior First Aid certificate may be a requirement for some jobs. Consider getting yours.

Jobs You Never Knew Were Jobs

Kid you not, one of the jobs advertised on the Grey Nomads Jobs website at the time of writing this article was for Parrot Scaring Technicians (see picture above). Sometimes, how to make money while you travel in Australia means doing things you never consider doing. Why not give some ago and maybe even have some fun?

TIP: Be flexible and open to the types of work you will do. Travel is about experiences. Make your working life on the road about the same.

Online | Blogging, Vlogging, Freelance Writing, Editing and More

In this era of improving internet accessibility, some full time traveller earn money working online. Working online can be very flexible, meaning you can work when convenient. 

Try learning how to get paid to write or website development, logo design, editing, blogging, photography, online tutoring, online sales, marketing and data entry. There are far too many online jobs to be listed here, but this hopefully gives you something to think about.

Tour Operator or Guide

Australia has many tour companies, museums and experiences that need staff to operate. Some like the Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum specifically look for couples travelling around Australia to run the museum in exchange for a powered campsite and a small wage.

Qualified Trades

Rural and remote communities around Australia have a desperate need for qualified trades. Honestly, if you have any trade, you will have no difficulty finding work. We joke that full time travelling tradies only manage to leave some towns if they sneak away in the middle of the night while no one is looking.

From time to time, travellers advertise their trade with signage on their vehicles and carry the tools they need.

How To Find Work As A Traveller

Some jobs while travelling Australia require prior knowledge and experience; it is not true of all. For others, it is about timing and being in the right place at the right time. Regardless being able to work and travel Australia requires a regular commitment to looking through job advertisements online, speaking to locals and checking local notice boards.

Websites

• Acorn Recruitment (Perth and Kalgoorlie)
• Agri Labour Australia
• Backpacker Job Board
• Belgravia Pro
• Black Betty Hospitality Group (Sydney)
• Blaze Aid
• Caretakers Australia
• Farm Army
• Governess Australia
• Grey Nomads Jobs
• Gumtree under the jobs category
• HelpX
• JobActive Harvest Trail
• MILKA Hospitality
• No Boundaries
• Ringer From The Top End (Cattle Station Jobs)
• Rural Enterprise
• Skill Hire
• Travellers at Work
• WWOOF Australia
• Workabout Australia

Government Job Websites

• ACT
• Health
• New South Wales
• Northern Territory
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Victoria
• Western Australia

Facebook Pages and Groups

• Caretakers Australia – Relief and Permanent Management
• Caretakers & Helpers for Rural & Remote areas of Australia
• Farm Jobs in Australia
• Farm Sitting Australia
• Jobbers Australia by Shane
• Outback Australia Jobs
• Working As We Travel

Questions Answered About Caravanners Working

Say You’re a Traveller?

Absolutely. And be honest about the time you can stick around to do the work available. Many employers who hire travellers will say what the minimum employment period is. Some are more flexible than others but consider this when applying for any particular job.

Do You Need a Resume and References?

A resume is good to have, although we haven’t needed ours yet. In fact, we haven’t even had to do an interview. Many rural and remote employers are willing to give you a go even without the relevant experience, so it is more about showing initiative, commitment and an ability to learn.

Have references handy, although (again) we have never needed ours.

Claiming Your Trip as a Tax Deduction?

It is possible to travel and work around Australia and claim work related expenses. It is thanks to shearers and their nomadic working lifestyles that these tax rules exist and may apply to you too. For these tax rules to apply to you, you need to meet an eligibility criteria and have the ability to keep good records.

For a more competent information about tax deductions while living the nomadic lifestyle click here. We also strongly suggest speaking to your accountant to find if these tax rules can be applied to your specific situation.

Parking the Caravan While Working?

Really it’s not a problem and we do it with a dog. We have done a mix of camping on the job site particularly if it’s a farm, free camps nearby and exchange for our caravan park site. It is something to discuss with each employer because they will often have the best advice about what is available locally.

Possible to Get Work as a Couple?

Definitely! All jobs we have done so far except a few days Daryl did driving a forklift we have been able to do as a couple. Sometimes our hours can vary slightly to each other’s but mostly we have worked together.

What About Our Dog While We Work?

It is important to consider your dog when applying for work. The main consideration is supervision of your dog because it’s not like being at home where you can leave them in the house or back yard.

Some jobs will allow you to have your dog on site. On farms our dog Chika has been able run around (she never goes far) and other jobs we have had her tethered close to where we are working. Then there are jobs you can’t have your dog with you and for these we have had Chika sleep in our car. These jobs have been afternoon and evening work when she is likely to be resting anyway and weather is cool. We use our breaks to get her out for short walks and make sure she still has water.

Sometimes there are jobs that are not suitable when travelling with a dog. Again go with honesty is the best policy, speak to a potential employer about you having a dog and you be pleasantly surprised to find they offer up an option for your dog while you work.

Brief On The Jobs We Have Done

Gardening and Property Maintenance, Bryon Bay

In exchange for weeding the garden beds in the farm house yard and doing some basic repairs to a small deck we were able to stay in a one bedroom self contained unit in the Byron Bay hinterland on an old dairy property. The surroundings were stunning and it meant for us we were able to stay in Bryon Bay with our dog for two weeks without any accommodation costs.

Forklift Driver, Gemfields Qld

Daryl did this for a few days at a local supermarket. It just happened they needed someone for a very short time and we were in the area.

Orchard Farm, Jervis Bay Area

Our role here was to weed around establishing trees. We were able to work as a couple, to decide how many hours we worked and we parked our caravan on site. It was lovely being on the farm and we were able to enjoy the Jervis bay area.

Beach House Property Maintenance, Hyams Beach

Hyams Beach is famous for its incredible blue water and white sand. Holiday rentals in the seaside inlet are highly sort after and for prices we could never afford. Truly we were lucky to be able to stay in a beach house at Hyams Beach with Chika in exchange for a few small maintenance jobs around the house.

Deceased Estate, Hopetoun

It was an ad on Gumtree for 1-3 days of work in an area we were heading to on our travels. Taking a punt, we called the number and it turned out to be with a company that completely empties the homes of deceased persons on behalf of their families. We took the job offer and found a free camp. Chika chilled out in the yard while we worked.

Family Carnival, by the Sea

Of course, not every job we express an interest in do we hear back. At the last minute we got a call asking if we were still in the area and if we could work. Luck had it, we were, so for a month, we worked evenings selling ride tickets and helping to run sideshow alley games.

I liked this job because we had the days to do our own thing. Finding affordable seaside campsites during the Christmas school holidays that allowed dogs was impossible, so we stayed at campgrounds 25 and 45 minutes away and commuted.

Caravan Park Cleaning, Yorke Peninsula

For us, taking on this job was mostly about allowing us to gain experience working in a caravan park as this is something we are interested in doing as we travel around Australia. This position was an exchange and paid with us doing an agreed amount of hours for our site. The work we did was cleaning onsite cabins and the amenities (toilets and showers).

Tavern Bar and Kitchen, Yorke Peninsula

In the evenings, Daryl and I worked in a tavern near the caravan park we worked at during the day. I worked behind the bar and Daryl worked in the kitchen, helping with food prep and cleaning dishes. Unfortunately, covid 19 saw the Tavern reduce its trade to takeaway only and there just weren’t enough hours to keep us employed.

Campground 2IC, Far North Qld

It was a scrap bit of paper stuck up in reception and a series of events that saw staff change that meant we went quickly from six weeks to five months working and our roles changed. We learnt a lot about running a campground!

Cheese and Wine Cafe, South West SA

It was a job advertised for staff over the busy Christmas and New Year period that also included a spot next to the vineyard to park our caravan for free, which got us to stop and work in South West WA. The job was supposed to be for a month, but we did not stay that long as Daryl got a temporary position at the local golf club and the cafe did not have work for me.

Golf Club Management, South West SA

A conversation with a local golfer and a club unable to find a manager for months landed Daryl a temporary position managing a club for three months. Daryl has agreed to stay longer, so he is.

Caravan Park Cleaning and Reception, South West WA

After being told at the cheese and wine cafe they had no more work for me, it took me one day to find another job. I only asked at local pet friendly caravans because we needed somewhere to park up while Daryl worked at the golf club. I worked cleaning cabins and amenities and occasionally in reception.

Bakery Shop Assistant, South West WA

While Daryl is managing a golf club for what will end up being our longest working stint since we started travelling full time I am working full time at a local bakery.

There are jobs for full time travellers in Australia nearly everywhere you go. If you are willing to work, the work will probably find you.

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