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A working holiday in Western Australia offers something for everyone - fantastic travel opportunities, adventure, an awesome natural environment and friendly people. It’s a land blessed with spectacular diversity and famous for its long days of sunshine, clear blue skies and brilliant beaches - a truly authentic
Australian experience.
I’m inviting you to come and explore our natural attractions, relaxed lifestyle and working opportunities for yourself.
Our thriving economy means there are plenty of employment opportunities. Tourism and hospitality workers can even follow the seasons in tourism and travel around Western Australia. Opportunities are available in the food and beverage, accommodation, tours and transport sectors.
So I urge you to discover the real Western Australia.
Enjoying sunset drinks at Cottesloe Beach, Perth - Western Australia
The capital Perth is Australia’s western gateway and a great place to start your working holiday. Perth offers an easy-going lifestyle – the beautiful Swan River and inner-city parks like Kings Park add to the relaxed, natural feel. The nearby port city of Fremantle is a lively multicultural hub with microbreweries and alfresco cafes.
From the city, head to the South West for towering forests and a coastline of sheltered bays, often lined with massive granite boulders, and white-sand surf beaches. Snorkel, dive, surf, swim with dolphins and watch humpback and blue whales. Go caving, hike the coastal walk track, taste world-class wines at the cellar door or just chill out and watch the sunset over the ocean.
The Golden Outback’s spectacular country and goldfields are the place for historic townships, brilliant starry night skies and wide open spaces with spinifex and red earth as far as the eye can see. In spring, wildflowers form a vivid carpet on the red earth. Here too are the surf beaches of the Southern Ocean. These seas are home to humpback whales and their calves.
Awesome marine life, endless white sand beaches and warm, turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean characterise the State’s north. Sunshine, cooling sea breezes and the outdoor activities of the Coral Coast make it a relaxing and friendly destination. Swim with manta rays and whale sharks, the world’s largest fish, marvel at the life on the coral reefs and enjoy a cold beer and a barbecue.
If it’s an Aussie frontier adventure you’re after, head further north to the North West. Here you’ll find rugged ancient landforms, remnant rainforest, deep red gorges, vast cattle stations and pioneering personalities, ancient Aboriginal culture and unique accommodation.
Hiking in the Purnululu National Park, East Kimberley - Western Australia
Then consider working in the tourism and hospitality industry. There are vacancies across the State in accommodation, food and beverage, transport and tour sectors.
Some job opportunities are advertised on the web using online job search engines, for example: • alljobs.com.au• gowestnow.com
• thewest.com.au/careers• Seasonal work can be found at jobsearch.gov.au/harvesttrail
Or when you arrive you can email a prospective employer. Here are a few of the larger employers:
Accor Hotels and Resorts: [email protected] Hospitality Group: [email protected] Hospitality Group: [email protected]
Burswood Entertainment Complex: [email protected] Perth Hotel: [email protected] Hotel Fremantle: [email protected] Regency Perth: [email protected]
Parmelia Hilton Perth: [email protected]
Rendezvous Observation City: [email protected]
Sheraton Perth Hotel: [email protected]
Frasers Restaurant, King’s Park: [email protected]
Saville Park Suites: [email protected]
Abbey Beach Resort: [email protected]
Forte Hospitality: [email protected]
Cable Beach Club Resort Broome: [email protected]
Karijini Eco Retreat: [email protected]
Using a recruitment agency
When you arrive in Perth, you can register with an agency. Here are a few:
• Go Workabout: goworkabout.com
• HospitalityBiz: hospitalitybiz.com.au
• Chefnet Hospitality Staffing: chefnet.com.au• The Job Shop: thejobshop.com.au
Working at Little Creatures was amemorable experience for Canadianbackpacker Andre Kassermelli. Hehad a great social life with the other“Creatures” (wait staff), lived in“awesome” Fremantle and earnedmoney for more travels.
I’ve been in Australia for six months. I got a Working Holiday Visa – it was really easy to get and came through the next day. I
met up with my friend in Darwin and worked there for a couple of months, then we took two weeks to drive down the west coast to Perth. Coral Bay was exceptional. We snorkelled on Ningaloo Reef and saw incredible coral and massive turtles.
I love Fremantle – it’s awesome. Little Creatures is an excellent place to work. The best things about the job are the people you work with and the conversations with customers.
I’d love to come back to WA and live here – I just felt an instant connection. Andre Kassermelli
Relaxing at Warren River, Pemberton - Western Australia
A tax file number (TFN) is a unique number issued by the Australian Taxation Office. All Working Holiday Visa applicants need to apply for a TFN before they can start work in Australia. For details visit the Australian Taxation Office website, ato.gov.au.
Apply to Department of Immigration and Citizenship Visitors and permanent migrants need authorisation from the
Department of Immigration and Citizenship to work in Australia. Applicants can register over the internet at immi.gov.au. If you live outside Australia, visit the Australian Taxation Office website, ato.gov.au.
Ensure you have spare money You should have enough money to live on until you receive your first pay.
Open a bank account If you’re planning to stay and work here for a while, it’s a good idea
to open a bank account within six weeks of your arrival. Advise your bank of your tax file number to avoid higher rates of taxation on interest earned.
Bring suitable work clothes Save money by packing suitable work attire before you leave home.
Make sure you have sufficient insurance and health cover Ensure you have the necessary insurance and health cover before any
travel to avoid any unexpected costs.
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Diving off the coast of Exmouth, Ningaloo Marine Park - Western Australia
I finished a three-year apprenticeship in Germany in April 2004 then worked in Austria during the busy ski season.
I’m travelling around Australia with a friend. We’ve got a campervan so we can explore and visit the National Parks. The west coast is so beautiful – I love the beaches.
One of the things that has impressed me most in Australia is the wonderful fresh ingredients especially the seafood. I’d never cooked kangaroo or crocodile before – that was a new experience!
I’m a Chef for the Esplanade Hotel’s ‘a la carte’ restaurant, Café Panache.
People are so friendly and open here – someone we met at the beach in Margaret River asked if we were enjoying Australia and invited us home for a barbecue. The lifestyle is great.
When I leave here I’ll go to the north of Western Australia, then I might work on a cruise ship or take up a traineeship in California.
There are many things I want to do! Michael Braun
Travelling in Western Australia gave 21-year-old German Chef Michael Braun a chance toexperience fresh local produce, surf in MargaretRiver and gain valuable career experience atthe Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle.
• Make sure you have a valid visa You will need a valid visa that allows employment if you are a non-
Australian resident. If you are unsure, check with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, immi.gov.au.
• Working holiday visa Under Australia’s Working Holiday Program, visitors can supplement their
travel funds through temporary employment. Citizens from the United Kingdom, Canada, Estonia, the Netherlands, Japan, Republic of Ireland, Republic of Korea, Malta, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Hong Kong, Finland, the Republic of Cyprus, France, Italy, Belgium and Taiwan aged between 18 and 30 and without children can participate in the Working Holiday Program. Working Holiday visas allow you to work in any one job for six months.
Working Holiday Makers who spend at least three months doing seasonal work in regional Australia are eligible to apply for a second Working Holiday visa and extend their stay by 12 months.
New Zealand residents of two years or more are free to work and live in Australia without applying for the Working Holiday Program.
For more information including updates visit immi.gov.au.
Australia’s Golden Outback
Australia’s North West
Australia’s South West
Australia’s Coral Coast
Experience Perth
To find out more
For everything you need to know about Western Australia visit the official travel and tourism website westernaustralia.com.
For independent travelers visit backpackwesternaustralia.com.
tourism.wa.gov.au/jobs.
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