Fruit picking jobs in Australia – What, where, how (and why!)

Pros

“Fruit picking” is more than just a job—it’s a quintessential Australian and backpacker experience. Sure, it’s tiring and you won’t make that much money, but many WHV holders have fond memories of their farm work experience because of the following pros:

Social status and previous career paths are irrelevant. Native-English speakers with post-secondary degrees are on equal footing with employees who don’t have lengthy CVs, educational qualifications or speak English. Everybody dresses the same, completes the same tasks and feels sore at the end of the day—what you did in your day-to-day life before you got to the farm won’t matter; all that matters now is how hard you work on the farm.

Fruit picking is an outdoor experience and a complete change of scenery for anyone used to an urban environment. You’ll get to enjoy the weather, feel the sun on your skin, handle food you usually only see packaged in supermarkets, and generally experience a side to Australia that you’d otherwise miss if you didn’t try fruit picking.

You can potentially make good money with a fruit-picking job if you’re efficient and work on a piece rate, or you get lucky with free/cheap accommodation. It’s also easy to save up if you get paid hourly and work in a fairly remote region, since you won’t have anything to go and spend your money on!

Fruit picking is a fairly social job, especially if you live on-site. If feels like being part of a community—you’re all in this together and workers tend to relax together after work, too. Expect long discussions, card games, movie nights, pub crawls, karaoke, snooker tournaments, etc.

Fruit picking is the perfect job for travellers—you can explore Australia and work along the way, as needed. You can pick up short shifts for a few weeks at a time; no need to commit to an area long-term, especially if you’re moving around following the harvest season.

You can use the work to extend your WHV! Many travellers who fall in love with Australia work as fruit pickers to earn enough days of specified work to apply for a Second or Third WHV after their first WHV comes to an end.

Cons

Heads up, fruit picking is tough! It’s worth stressing that farm work is hard work and it’s not for everyone:

Fruit picking is exhausting—the day starts very early and doesn’t necessarily end early.

You get dirty and sore. You may have to be on your feet all day, reaching up, kneeling or bending down repeatedly, depending on the specific crops you have to pick. The work itself is boring and repetitive.

You’re exposed to all kinds of weather and geographic conditions, some of which (heat, bushfires, tropical storms, floods, etc.) can be extreme and dangerous. You might also have your work interrupted and end up stranded without pay if the weather damages the crops and leads to a bad harvest season.

Some fruits may trigger an allergic reaction, so you may end up feeling unwell from your job as a fruit picker.

You can lose a lot of money. Fruit picking rarely pays well, especially given the amount of energy and sacrifice it requires. It is also common for scammers to target desperate backpackers, asking for deposits to “secure” the job or a bed that doesn’t actually exist, or deducting huge amounts from your pay cheque to “cover accommodation costs”. Watch out for scams.

Takeaway points

To close this chapter on a happier note and summarise the main positive points, it’s worth remembering that fruit picking is a job that pretty much all WHV holders will do. Regardless of your language abilities, experience and background, you should be able to find suitable fruit picking roles.

You’ll meet unique people from all over the world and all walks of life, plus you may consider the specified work for visa extension a small price to pay to enjoy Australia a bit longer.

Read on to learn more about the best ways to find jobs that match your physical abilities and the “easiest” fruits and vegetables to harvest!