Farm work in Australia covers year-round roles on cropping, livestock and dairy farms as well as seasonal picking, pruning and packing. If you are already in Australia, your visa conditions decide whether you can take a farm job, for how long and for whom, so check them on Home Affairs before you accept. Pay follows the Horticulture Award or the Pastoral Award unless an agreement applies. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.
By CrossNation Editorial Team. Sources checked 6 October 2026.
Some visas limit how many hours someone can work, such as for international students, or what job they can do, such as for a seasonal worker. Visa holders can check their details with Home Affairs' Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO). Only Home Affairs can grant, refuse or cancel visas.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman Horticulture Showcase: Migrant workers (retrieved 6 October 2026)
Working Holiday Makers can work in any occupation or industry, generally for up to 6 months with one employer under visa condition 8547, and can ask for permission to work longer.
Source: Home Affairs: Working Holiday Maker work conditions (conditions 8547 and 8548) (retrieved 6 October 2026)
Plant and animal cultivation in regional Australia is approved specified work for the Working Holiday visa (subclass 417), including picking fruit on an orchard. General garden maintenance and secondary processing such as winemaking are not eligible.
Source: Home Affairs: Specified work for Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) (retrieved 6 October 2026)
A first Working Holiday visa holder needs 3 months of specified work to be eligible for a second visa, and a second visa holder needs 6 months to be eligible for a third.
Source: Home Affairs: Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) (retrieved 6 October 2026)
A Student visa (subclass 500) lets the holder work up to 48 hours a fortnight when the course of study or training is in session.
Source: Home Affairs: Student visa (subclass 500) (retrieved 6 October 2026)
$978.10 a week and $25.74 an hour from 1 July 2026 for a new employee under direct supervision, with casual employees paid a further 25% loading.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman: Horticulture Award 2020 [MA000028] (retrieved 6 October 2026)
An employer can deduct accommodation or transport costs only with the employee's written agreement where it is principally for the employee's benefit, or where an award, agreement or law allows it.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman Horticulture Showcase: Deductions for accommodation, transport and job finding (retrieved 6 October 2026)
Farm work is any paid work on a farm or in its packing shed: sowing, spraying, harvesting, mustering, milking, feeding stock, fencing, irrigation, machinery operation, picking, pruning, sorting and packing. Seasonal work is farm work that starts and ends with a crop, such as a fruit harvest, so the weeks on offer depend on the season and the weather. Year-round roles, such as a dairy hand, a station hand or a machinery operator, usually ask for more experience and are paid on a weekly or fortnightly basis. Two awards cover most of the work: the Horticulture Award for growing and picking crops and the Pastoral Award for livestock, dairy and broadacre work.
It depends on the visa, and the answer sits in your visa conditions, not in the job advertisement. The Fair Work Ombudsman says some visas have rules about how many hours someone can work, such as for international students, or what job they can do, such as for a seasonal worker, and that visa holders can check their details and conditions using Home Affairs' Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO). It also says an employer cannot cancel a visa, even if the visa conditions have been breached: only Home Affairs can grant, refuse or cancel visas. Check your conditions before you accept any shifts. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.
Home Affairs says a Working Holiday Maker in Australia can work in any occupation or industry, generally for up to six months with one employer under visa condition 8547, and that permission to work longer with the same employer can be requested before the first six months lapse. Farm work can also count toward a further visa: Home Affairs lists plant and animal cultivation in regional Australia among the approved industries for specified work, with examples such as picking fruit on an orchard, and says general garden maintenance and secondary processing such as winemaking do not count. A first visa holder needs three months of specified work to be eligible for a second visa and a second visa holder needs six months to be eligible for a third. All specified work must be paid in line with Australian law and awards, and the postcode of the work must be eligible, so check the Home Affairs page. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.
Home Affairs says a Student visa (subclass 500) lets you work up to 48 hours a fortnight when your course of study or training is in session. Farm work is paid work, so the hours count toward that limit, and a seasonal job that offers more hours than your condition allows is not one you can take while your course is in session. If you are unsure whether a shift is allowed, ask Home Affairs or a registered migration agent before you work it. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.
Visa holders and migrant workers have the same entitlements under the Fair Work Act as other employees. The Horticulture Award prints $978.10 a week and $25.74 an hour for a Level 1 employee, the entry level for picking, thinning and pruning, from 1 July 2026, and casuals receive a further 25 percent loading. If you are paid a piece rate, the rate must allow a competent worker to earn at least 15 percent more than the hourly rate, you must get a written piecework record before you start, and a daily minimum wage guarantee applies. Our farm worker pay guide sets out both awards. Check Fair Work for the latest rates and use the Pay Calculator for a specific shift.
The Fair Work Ombudsman lists warning signs when looking for harvest work: offers that require upfront fees or include free accommodation, ads that give little business information, picking the wrong seasonal crop, and offers of a quick visa or sponsored employment. Ask who you are working for, get the business name and ABN, and check them on the Australian Business Register. It is illegal for an employer to ask you for money to receive a job offer or to keep a job. Be careful with offers made by people who meet you at regional airports or bus depots with promises of work.
You have the right to choose where you live, including a share house, motel, caravan park or hostel, and you may be asked for a deposit or bond, so be wary of paying upfront before you have a job. An employer cannot pay you in goods or services, such as board or transport, and can deduct accommodation or transport costs only if you agree in writing and it is principally for your benefit, or if an award, agreement or law allows it. A verbal agreement is not enough. Get the rent, the room, the transport arrangements and the start date in writing.
The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme and the Vietnam Labour Mobility Arrangement let approved Australian businesses hire workers from participating countries when local workers are not available. They are employer-led, so they are not a route that a job seeker already in Australia can start with a job search. CrossNation is a recruitment agency: it recruits staff who become the employer's own employees, it does not supply seasonal crews and it does not charge job seekers. There may be no open farm role when you look, so register, upload your CV and tell us which regions, start dates and visa conditions apply to you. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.
Read from the Home Affairs pages on 6 October 2026. Conditions change, so confirm your own in VEVO before you work. Other visas, including bridging and visitor visas, are not covered here.
| Visa | What Home Affairs says about work | Farm work angle |
|---|---|---|
| Working Holiday visa (subclass 417), first visa | Work in any occupation or industry, generally up to 6 months with one employer; 3 months of specified work makes you eligible for a second visa | Regional plant and animal cultivation can count as specified work |
| Working Holiday visa (subclass 417), second visa | Any kind of work, with the same 6 month limit per employer; 6 months of specified work makes you eligible for a third visa | Specified work must be in an approved industry and eligible area and paid under Australian law and awards |
| Student visa (subclass 500) | Work up to 48 hours a fortnight when your course of study or training is in session | Farm hours count toward the limit |
| Any other visa | Check the conditions on your visa in VEVO | A seasonal worker visa may limit the type of job, and an employer cannot cancel a visa |
A recruiter reviews profiles against roles as employers brief us. Listings are not job offers.
Yes, Working Holiday visa holders can work in any occupation, generally for up to six months with one employer, and regional plant and animal cultivation can count as specified work toward a second or third visa. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.
Home Affairs says a first visa holder needs 3 months of specified work, and a second visa holder needs 6 months for a third. The work must be in an approved industry and eligible area and paid under Australian law. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.
A Student visa lets you work up to 48 hours a fortnight when your course is in session. Farm hours count toward that limit. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.
Either or both. Under the Horticulture Award an employer can pay an hourly rate, a piece rate or both, but piecework needs a written record first, the 15 percent test and a daily minimum wage guarantee.
Only in limited cases. You must agree in writing and the deduction must be principally for your benefit, or an award, agreement or law must allow it. A verbal agreement is not enough.
Ask for the business name and ABN and check the Australian Business Register. Be wary of upfront fees, free accommodation offers, ads with little information and promises of a quick visa. It is illegal to pay for a job offer.
No. CrossNation recruits staff who become the employer's own employees and does not supply seasonal crews. Register your CV and we can look at it when an employer briefs us. Listings are not job offers.
