Farm jobs in Australia include farm hand, station hand, dairy hand, picker and packhouse roles. There is no national licence, and pay comes from the Horticulture Award for growing and picking or the Pastoral Award for livestock, dairy and broadacre work, unless an agreement applies. Register with CrossNation and upload your CV with your machinery experience and availability, and a recruiter reviews it as employers brief us. Listings are not job offers.
There are no open farm worker roles listed with CrossNation right now. New roles are added as employers brief us, so create a profile to be matched when one opens.
A farm worker does the hands-on work of a farm under the direction of an owner, manager or supervisor. On a cropping farm that means preparing paddocks, sowing, spraying, harvesting and carting. On a livestock property it means mustering, feeding and watering stock, handling animals in yards and repairing fences. On a dairy it means milking, checking stock and keeping the shed clean, and in horticulture it means picking, pruning, thinning, sorting, packing and irrigation. Many jobs mix several of these across a season, which is why advertisements list the machinery and stock you must be comfortable with.
Employers advertise the same work under different titles: farm hand, farm worker, general hand, station hand, stock hand, dairy hand, picker, orchard hand, packhouse hand, machinery operator and farm labourer. The two awards use their own words. The Horticulture Award describes picking, thinning and pruning fruit or vegetables at Level 1, and the Pastoral Award describes station hands, cattle farm workers, dairy operators and feedlot employees by experience and task. Search for several titles rather than one, and read what the advertisement asks for.
The Horticulture Award covers sowing, planting, cultivating, harvesting, picking, washing, packing, storing and grading horticultural crops, and it does not cover the wine industry, sugar, cotton or plant nurseries. The Pastoral Award covers managing, breeding, rearing or grazing livestock or poultry, shearing, dairying, hatchery work and broadacre field crops, and it does not cover employees under the Horticulture Award. In horticulture a new employee starts at Level 1 and progresses to Level 2 after no more than three months of industry experience. In the Pastoral Award a farm and livestock hand level 1 is, for example, a station hand with less than six months in the industry. Our farm worker pay guide prints the rates.
Full-time employees under both awards work an average of 38 ordinary hours a week. A casual employee receives a 25 percent loading on the ordinary hourly rate and is paid for a minimum engagement: two consecutive hours under the Horticulture Award and three hours under the Pastoral Award. Overtime is paid at a higher rate, and the Horticulture Award gives a meal break of at least 30 minutes and a paid 10 minute rest break. Piece rates are allowed in horticulture, but the award sets a minimum wage guarantee for each day worked. Always ask for the hours, the rate and the award or agreement in writing before you start.
There is no general farm work licence. The Horticulture Award's level descriptions mention driving motor lorries, mechanical harvesters and forklifts and operating tractors over 70 kW at Level 3, and licensed operation of materials handling equipment at Level 4. A forklift needs a high risk work licence, which is recognised in every state and territory. Employers may also ask for a car or truck licence, first aid, a working at heights ticket or chemical application training. List what you hold with expiry dates and keep copies ready.
The Fair Work Ombudsman warns job seekers about offers that require upfront fees or include free accommodation, ads with little business information, and offers of a quick visa. Ask for the business name and ABN and check them on the Australian Business Register. 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 matching role open today, so register, upload your CV and say which regions and start dates suit you.
Registration: No national licence or registration. Some tasks need a ticket, such as a high risk work licence for a forklift, and employers set their own requirements. Farm workers are not registered with a national regulator. A high risk work licence is needed for forklifts and some other equipment, and employers list any other licence or ticket in the advertisement.
Pay and conditions: usually the Horticulture Award 2020 (the Pastoral Award 2020 covers livestock, dairy and broadacre work) [MA000028] or an enterprise agreement. Check current minimum rates with the Fair Work Pay Calculator.
Award rates: Farm worker salary in Australia: what the award sets.
Employers throughout Australia in the horticulture industry: sowing, planting, raising, cultivating, harvesting, picking, washing, packing, storing, grading and treating horticultural crops. It does not cover the wine industry, silviculture, sugar, cotton or plant nurseries.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman: Horticulture Award 2020 [MA000028]
Employers throughout Australia in the pastoral industry: livestock and poultry, shearing and crutching, dairying, hatchery work, broadacre field crops and clearing, fencing and dam sinking on farms. It does not cover employees under the Horticulture Award.
A Horticulture Award Level 1 employee is new, works under direct supervision and progresses to Level 2 after no more than 3 months' industry experience. Indicative Level 1 duties include fruit or vegetable picking, thinning or pruning.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman: Horticulture Award 2020 [MA000028]
A casual employee under the Horticulture Award receives a 25% loading and is paid for at least 2 consecutive hours each time. Under the Pastoral Award the loading is 25% and the minimum engagement is 3 hours.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman: Horticulture Award 2020 [MA000028]
A high risk work licence is required to operate forklifts, and it is recognised in all states and territories.
Source: Government of Western Australia: High risk work licensing
The Fair Work Ombudsman lists upfront fees, free accommodation offers, ads with little business information and offers of a quick visa or sponsored employment as warning signs when looking for harvest work.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman Horticulture Showcase: Working the Harvest Trail
Not always. The Horticulture Award allows a new employee to start at Level 1 for picking, thinning and pruning. Machinery, spraying, livestock and supervisor roles usually ask for experience.
The Horticulture Award for growing, picking and packing horticultural crops, and the Pastoral Award for livestock, dairy and broadacre crops, unless an enterprise agreement applies. Ask your employer which one covers you, and use the Fair Work Pay Calculator.
Under the Horticulture Award, yes, with rules. The piece rate has to let a competent worker earn at least 15 percent more than the hourly rate, you must get a written piecework record first, and you are protected by a daily minimum wage guarantee.
The Horticulture Award says travelling time required by the employer counts as time worked. Check the award or your agreement for travel and accommodation terms.
Yes, Working Holiday visa holders can work in farm jobs, generally 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.
Roles that match show in the live roles section above when an employer has briefed us. When none is open you can still register and upload a CV so a recruiter can find you when a brief arrives. Listings are not job offers.
