Being a backpacker in Australia is one of the best experiences in the world. There are free public BBQs and showers everywhere, fantastic hostels and pubs, open spaces, beautiful beaches, amazing wildlife, and being surrounded by other backpackers having the experience of a lifetime.
However, there are a few things that you need to sort out before you can live and work in this beautiful country.
Fortunately, there are a few services designed to assist backpackers with many of these things.
Choose some of these options wisely and you can make your experience in Australia even better.
A Working Holiday Company helps you to get on your feet before and after you arrive in Australia. They help you to organize all the important paperwork and get you set up with everything you would need to get your Working Holiday Visa fast-tracked and make everything extremely simple for you when you arrive in Australia.
The types of assistance a holiday club usually provides are assistance on:
There is a range of different assistance that they provide, let explore the benefits a Working Holiday Company can provide and see if it is the right fit for you.
Organization | Visa Assistance | Arrival Packages | Training | Job Placement Services | Bank Account and TFN Assistance | Social Activities and Tours | Travel Arrangements Support | Accommodation Services |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Global Work & Travel | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
BUNAC | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Visa First | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
OzIntro | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Base Backpackers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Travellers at Work (TAW) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Dealing with the bureaucracy to get your Australian work visa can be a tedious process and certainly one that you do not want to get wrong as this may risk or delay your approval.
To help with this there are many immigration companies in Australia but only a handful that are specifically geared to the Working Holiday Visa. If you do require more complex immigration assistance Migration Institute of Australia has a list of Migration Agents that is searchable by specific criteria like language spoken, type of visa, and location. We have a page dedicated to the most common types of visas for backpackers. This page enables you to get your visa yourself or we recommend Visa First to assist working holidaymakers specifically with their 417 visa.
In more recent years the Australian Government has increased the working holiday visa timeframe to allow all visa holders on a 417 and 462 subclass the opportunity to extend their visa for a third year if they complete their eligible visa days. They have also increased the maximum age to 35 for some countries which is great news if this applies to your situation.
We created a guide on how to extend your visa for a second and third year with lots of tips and information so you can easily do this yourself. Alternatively, you can watch this short yet informative video on how to get your second-year working holiday visa.
A handful of companies offer packages designed to take care of everything for travelers who are planning to stay and work for a year or two. These packages help you to quickly set up everything you need to work in Australia. By stepping through all the forms and processes necessary, you can save a lot of time and frustration. Therefore instead of spending a few days walking around town dealing with banks and government organisations you can start having a great Aussie experience.
When overseas travelers arrive in a city there are usually a few must-dos. For instance, in Sydney, a tour of the harbor is guaranteed to help get your bearings and make you realize why Sydney Harbor is the envy of the world. What could be better than doing it with other travelers who have just arrived? These Packages get you involved in events such as BBQs, Pub Crawls, and Tours so you instantly meet like-minded people.
The packages are designed to make everything simple for you, so they set you up with the following:
Everything you need to work in Australia
Plus a whole lot of fun of
Unfortunately, not all cities have companies that run these packages, so a good research of different companies is great way to start your awesome adventure.
Many jobs in Australia require training by law. Australians have to do this training as well. For backpackers, if you are working in hospitality or construction – training is one of the first things you will want to do. It makes you much more employable if you have this essential training. Holiday clubs assist you in getting adequate training programs to get you ready to find work immediately when you arrive in Australia.
Training Certificates are required if you want to work in the following industries.
Hospitality
Construction
A handful of backpacker companies offer memberships. Travellers at Work – TAW offers a basic service for free which includes the following benefits:
Or a premium membership for $99 for twelve months that provides the following benefits that are very useful as a backpacker.
Another assistance company for traveling to Australia is Dingoo’s. This company mainly targets Spanish-speaking audiences but is very useful in helping you set up in Australia.