Working in Australia

• General info
• Second Year Visa
• Tax
• Courses

General Info

Have your CV or resume made out before you leave home. Have them saved onto a disc, or send a copy to your email address in an attachment along with a sample cover letter. You can make a general one where you have all your experience on, then cut and paste to tailor it to the job you're looking for. Remember to update it as soon as you've had a job in Australia as they look more favourably on an Australian reference than a foreign one.

When arriving in Australia you will be competing with thousands of other backpackers as well as locals for work. The best job/qualifications to have are a trade (although in some cases you will need your own tools and transport), nursing, and accountancy. These jobs are not only great for contract/casual work but also if you are looking for sponsorship. Don't worry though, there are plenty of other jobs around that don't need qualifications.

The most effective way to find a job are to register with lots of agencies, get online ie seek.com.au, the papers ie Sydney morning Herald on wednesdays and Saturdays, and old fashioned pounding the pavement. A combination of all of the above is recommended

Travellers contact point in the Dymock Building on George Street in Sydney is kind of a one stop shop for travellers. There are jobs posted daily on the message board for members and non-members (it might be worthwile becoming a member as you will be told about more jobs than a non-member). There is also an orientation class for new arrivals, a job agency, a travel agency specialising in tours around Australia and much more. They also have branches in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Townsville, Alice Springs and Cairns

At the interview dress to impress. Just like at home, you will be expected to wear a suit or formal clothes to an interview. They aren't as laid back in the cities as they are in rural Australia unfortunately.

It is important to remember that the ime of year you arrive in a certain place will be a factor on whether you can find a job. December - January in Sydney for example would be a bad time as there would be a lot more competition as well as the fact that a lot of the decision makers in businesses might be on holidays.

Second Year Visa

Changes to the working holidays in the last couple of years means that you will now be able to work with the same company for six months rather than just three months like before. You can also stay on for an extra year if you complete three months of seasonal work such as fruitpicking or station work.

Seasonal work can be defined as harvesting and/or packing of fruit and vegetables, crops, pruning and trimming vines and trees, thinning and trimming flowers and bunches and general maintenance crop work. You don't have to do the three months in one go. You can do a few weeks here and there, it's cumalitive. Make sure to keep all your documentation. The most important things to hang onto are the name of the company or farm, the dates you worked here and the ABN (Australian Business Number) of that farm. You will need these when you are applying for your second year visa Applying online seems to be the only way to do this at the moment, so you will need a credit card, yours or someone you know. The visa is roughly $185, but you will have to have a chest x-ray and a general medical, whick should come to roughly the same price as the visa, so around a total of between $350 and $400. The x-ray and medical are a waste of time and a money making scheme (scam) for the government but unfortunately you have no choice. $400 for a second year in oz ain't too bad though. The whole thing should take around 10 days. Apply online at immi.gov.au.

Fruitpicking has long been a favourite of backpackers. You could work your way around Australia following the harvest trail if you wanted to. It's possible to make a lot of money in a short period of time. It's also possible to make very little money as well.

Try the following websites in your search for a fruitpicking job:

harvesthotlineaustralia.com.au, worktrainers.com.au, fruitpicking.com.au, turnbullorchards.com, goharvest.com, jobsearch.gov.au/harvesttrail.

Also check backpacker magazines such as TNT, Brirish Balls, the Word, Aussie Backpacker, etc.

You should consider starting your fruitpicking as soon as you can in your first year. It might not be as easy as you think to get work so you may need all the time you can get. Also if you get it out of the way you won't have to worry about it for the rest of your time in Australia. Try to get a job in one of the packing sheds or factories as this is more regular work and you will get paid hourly which is much better than piece work for the most part.

When you've got the job, the next thing is to prepare. Your workgear is all important when harvesting. Have strong workboots, a longsleeve shirt, a wide brimmed hat, a fly net for your head, shorts/light pants and 30+ sunscreen. Heat can reach 35 degrees celcius easily so it's important to drink lots of water. Carry at least 2-3 litres of water with you each day.

It may be worth considering buying a campervan or car as many seasonal jobs are in remote areas with no public transport. Having your own transport dramatically increases your chances and options.

Be aware that there may be days or even weeks of sitting around waiting for crops to ripen or due to rain. This days will still count for your visa but it's not much good if you're desperate for money like most backpackers.

Tax

If working in Australia you will need a TFN or Tax File Number, a unique number assigned to you by which you will be taxed. If you haven't already organised this with the agency you bought your ticket with that's no problem. You can easily apply for this online at ato.gov.au. You will need a valid passport or other relevant travel document. You must be in Australia at the time of applying. The system will give you a receipt number and the TFN will be automatically sent to the Australian address you provided in around 10 days. If you are moving around Travellers Contact Point provide a service for mail collection for around $50.

When you start work your employer will ask you to complete a TFN declaration. As a working holiday maker you will be required to pay 29% tax, considerably higher than the normal tax rate of 13%. However you can get some or all of this back at the end of the tax year which is the end of June. If for example you have earned under $6000 in that tax year you will be entitled to all of it back. If you earn over $6000 you will get back the difference of the 29% and the 13% back for everything you earned over $6000, and you should also get all the tax back on the first $6000. You should also be able to claim back work related expenses of up to $300 without receipts. As a visitor you aren't actually entitled to a penny back, the trick is to claim as a tax resident, which legally you are if you've been in Australia for 6 months. Even if you haven't most taxback companies are willing to chance their arm for you. None of this is certain, as the Australian tax system can be quite baffling to the ordinary person but it's roughly correct.

Another thing they are doing over there is something called stacking. The way this works is can purchase an item such as a laptop and the money comes out of your wages before you are taxed, meaning you will have less money to be taxed, saving you $$$$.

When you stop work you must get a group certificate or pay summary from your employer. This is a summary of everything you were paid and all the tax you paid. You will need this when you are reclaiming your tax at the end of the tax year or when you go home. The company you worked for don't have to give you your group certificate until the end of the tax year but they should be able to give you a pay summary. If not, make sure to leave an address with them for them to forward the summary onto. An email address would be even better as you will probably moving aroun. Take their phine number just in case there's any problems.

While you don't have to have or quote a TFN, you will be taxed at the highest marginal rate of 49% if you don't quote one.

You can also get what's called an ABN, or an Australian Business Number. This is for when you have our own business or you are working for yourself. If you are working in construction especially you will probably be asked to get one of these. Again this is easy to get, just go to abr.gov.au.
If you say you are an Australian resident you will get a number instantly on the screen, and a letter sent out to you as well. If not it may take a couple of weeks and it will be sent out to you. Hold onto any paperwork you get as employers may ask to see this. The way it works is your employer won't tax you. As a sole trader or whatever it's up to you to pay your own tax at the end of the tax year. Seeing as you're only in the country for a certain amount of time of course it's possible to go home without paying a penny. Your pay packet will be a lot bigger at the end of the week without 29% going to the tax man. Of course if you try to return to Australia to get sponsored or star a second year, etc, you might have a problem seeing as you owe tax.

Another important task is opening a bank account. Most employers will want to pay you by direct debit straight into your account. Just take your passport and address details into any of the major banks ie ANZ, Westpac, Commonwealth, etc and they should sort you out.

Your employer will be obliged to make contributions to a superannuation account on your behalf of 9% of your gross salary. You may have to earn a certain amount before they contribute but you should definitely get something. This money can be withdrawn when you leave the country (after 30$ contribution tax)but it's very important to keep the name, account number and contact number of the fund that you were paying into. You may also need proof that you left the country, ie your boarding pass or tickets from your flight home. Try and keep the same fund for every job you have. This will make things very easy when you go home. Every company you work for will probably have a different fund, but it's just a matter of filling out a form to change the one you want to use.

Courses

There are certain jobs that will require you to take and pass a registered course before you will be allowed to work. For barwork or to work anywhere that serves alcohol, you will have to attend an RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) course. There are also course for working anywhere that has pokies or gambling machines, which is a lot of places in Australia. The construction industry requires you take a health and safety course before you can work. In New South Wales this is called the Green Card, In Queensland it's called a blue card and so on. They are non-transferable, which means you need a different one for each state. This means taking the exact samoe pointless course again and again at $100 a go. There is talk of this changing however and hopefully you will be able to use the same card in every state, it may even have changed already. If you are caught working in any of these places by inspectors without these qualifications you will receive a hefty fine, as will your employer.

There are also course for barista work, which is the 'art' of making coffee. There are lots of barista jobs going in Australia as the whole 'drinking coffee in a fancy café' scene is quite popular down there. There is also lots of competition for jobs so employers will look favourably upon you if you have attended a course as will will appear interested.

Other courses include Traffic control and forklift license.