Farm Worker jobs

Farm jobs in Western Australia: what the work looks like

Farm jobs in Western Australia range from seeding and harvest on Wheatbelt grain and sheep farms to horticulture around Carnarvon and livestock work on pastoral properties. Pay and conditions come from the Horticulture Award or the Pastoral Award, depending on the 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.

Create your candidate profile Upload your CV

By CrossNation Editorial Team. Sources checked 6 October 2026.

1,200+

Successful Placements

92%

Placement Success Rate

10+

Years of Recruitment Experience

80+

Employer Partners

Live jobs

Open farm worker roles in Western Australia right now: 0

No matching roles are open in Western Australia right now. Create a candidate profile and upload your CV, and a recruiter reviews profiles against roles as employers brief us. A listing is not a job offer.

What to know

What to know before you apply in Western Australia

What farm work is there in Western Australia?

The Western Australian Government describes the state as a producer of seafood, dairy, fruit, vegetables, meat, livestock, grains, pulses, oilseeds, honey, truffles and wine. For a job seeker that means three broad kinds of farm work. Broadacre work covers sowing, spraying, harvesting and carting grain. Livestock work covers sheep and cattle, from mustering and drafting to feeding and fencing. Horticulture covers picking, pruning, packing and irrigation on vegetable, fruit and nut farms. Roles are advertised in many ways, and many ask for a driver's licence and some machinery experience, so put both at the top of your CV.

What is the Wheatbelt like as a place to work?

The Bureau of Meteorology says the Wheatbelt covers around 13.3 million hectares, 58 percent of it under agricultural production, with broadacre cropping making up almost three quarters of the region's farm output and livestock next. The ABS data agrees with the picture of a farm-based economy: in the ABS Wheat Belt area, 5.5% of employed people worked in grain-sheep or grain-beef cattle farming and 3.8% in other grain growing, against 0.3% for each across Western Australia. 20.7% were managers and 9.2% were machinery operators and drivers. Seeding and harvest can mean long days, driving between paddocks and working a long way from a city.

How do Carnarvon and the north change the picture?

Carnarvon on the Gascoyne River is a horticulture area, and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development says periodic flooding of the lower Gascoyne floodplain is a natural event, with a risk period generally from November to May. The department lists flood damage to the horticultural area in 1960, 1961, 1974, 1980, 1995, 2000, 2009, 2010 to 2011 and 2021. For a job seeker, the lesson is practical: ask when the season starts, what the farm does after a flood, and how long the work is likely to last. Horticulture seasons are shorter than broadacre or livestock work, and a role can end when a crop does.

Which award sets the pay, and what is keep?

Livestock and broadacre work on farms is generally covered by the Pastoral Award, and the award says it does not cover employees covered by the Horticulture Award. The Pastoral Award prints $978.10 a week and $25.74 an hour for a farm and livestock hand level 1 from 1 July 2026, with higher levels for experience. Where an employer provides keep, meaning living accommodation and rations, the award lets the employer deduct $165.86 a week from total weekly wages. Keep is a term of the employment, not a favour, so get it in writing. Fair Work award MA000035, read 6 October 2026. Check Fair Work for the latest rates.

How do you apply, and what does CrossNation do?

A clear list of the machinery you have operated, the livestock you have worked with, your licence class and any tickets helps an employer read your CV quickly. CrossNation is a recruitment agency: it recruits staff who become the employer's own employees, and it does not supply seasonal crews. There may be no matching role open when you look. Register, upload your CV and say which regions and start dates suit you, and a recruiter can look at your profile when an employer briefs us.

What you could apply for in Western Australia

Role types

Seeding, spraying and harvest machinery operator on a Wheatbelt grain and sheep farm
Station hand or livestock hand on a pastoral property, working under the Pastoral Award
Picker, packer or irrigation hand on a horticulture farm, working under the Horticulture Award
General farm hand on a mixed cropping and livestock farm
Farm supervisor or team leader who coordinates a crew and records

Areas covered: Wheatbelt, Northam, Merredin, Narrogin, Geraldton and Mid West, Carnarvon and Gascoyne, Great Southern, South West, Manjimup, Perth hills.

Official data

Key facts from official sources

Western Australia: farm products

The Western Australian Government describes the state as producing seafood, dairy, fruit, vegetables, meat, livestock, grains, pulses, oilseeds, honey, truffles and wine.

Source: Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (WA): Businesses, food and beverage (retrieved 6 October 2026)

Wheatbelt: land and output

The Wheatbelt region covers around 13.3 million hectares, of which 58% is under agricultural production. Broadacre cropping makes up almost three quarters of the region's agricultural output, followed by livestock, with nurseries, horticulture and eggs as other industries.

Source: Bureau of Meteorology: Wheatbelt (WA) Regional Weather and Climate Guide (retrieved 6 October 2026)

ABS Wheat Belt: who lives and works there

137,175 residents, a median age of 46 against 38 across Australia. 5.5% of employed people worked in grain-sheep or grain-beef cattle farming and 3.8% in other grain growing, against 0.3% for each across Western Australia.

Source: ABS 2021 Census QuickStats: Western Australia - Wheat Belt (retrieved 6 October 2026)

ABS Wheat Belt: occupations

20.7% of employed people were managers (12.3% across Western Australia), 13.7% labourers and 9.2% machinery operators and drivers (7.7% across the state).

Source: ABS 2021 Census QuickStats: Western Australia - Wheat Belt (retrieved 6 October 2026)

Carnarvon: flood risk period

Flooding of the lower Gascoyne River floodplain at Carnarvon is a natural event, with a risk period generally from November to May. The horticultural area was damaged by floods in 1960, 1961, 1974, 1980, 1995, 2000, 2009, 2010 to 2011 and 2021.

Source: Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (WA): Summary of the Carnarvon Floodplain Management Working Group report (retrieved 6 October 2026)

Pastoral Award: coverage and keep

The award covers employers throughout Australia in the pastoral industry, including livestock and broadacre crops, and does not cover employees covered by the Horticulture Award. With keep, an employer may deduct $165.86 a week from total weekly wages (clause 32.3, from 1 July 2026).

Source: Fair Work Ombudsman: Pastoral Award 2020 [MA000035] (retrieved 6 October 2026)

Western Australia: labourers at the 2021 Census

9.4% of employed people in Western Australia were labourers, against 9.0% across Australia. The group covers every labouring job, not only farm work.

Source: ABS 2021 Census QuickStats: Western Australia (retrieved 6 October 2026)

Create a profile and upload your CV

A recruiter reviews profiles against roles as employers brief us. Listings are not job offers.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What are the main kinds of farm work in Western Australia?

Broadacre cropping in the Wheatbelt, sheep and cattle work, pastoral station work, and horticulture around places such as Carnarvon and the south west. Each has its own season, machinery and award.

Do I need farm experience to get a farm job in WA?

Not always for picking and packing, where the Horticulture Award allows a new employee to start at Level 1. Machinery, spraying and livestock roles usually ask for experience, so list what you have done.

Is accommodation provided on Western Australian farms?

Sometimes. Where an employer offers keep under the Pastoral Award, it includes living accommodation and rations and the award limits what can be deducted. Ask for the terms in writing before you accept.

Can a working holiday maker do farm work in Western Australia?

Working Holiday visa holders can do farm work, and plant and animal cultivation in regional Australia can count as specified work toward a second visa. Rules depend on your visa and the postcode. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.

What does a Wheatbelt farm job ask for?

Employers often list a driver's licence, machinery experience, comfort with long hours at seeding and harvest, and the ability to work in a remote town. Say in your CV which machines you have operated.

Are farm jobs in Western Australia listed with CrossNation today?

Matching roles in the state appear in the live roles section above. If none is open, register and upload your CV with your machinery, licence and region details, and a recruiter can open your profile when a Western Australian employer sends a brief. A listing is not a job offer.