My first Fruit Picking experience in Australia !
Key points to remember
Fruit picking in Australia : paid 15-25 AUD/h on average, sometimes piece rate (per box). Allows you to validate the 88 days for the 2nd WHV. Physically demanding work, sometimes harsh conditions. Choose the farm carefully before signing.
Fruit Picking in Australia : it’s tough
I’m going to take advantage of some free time to tell you about my first Fruit Picking experience.
After 3 weeks in Australia (in Sydney) looking for work in Sydney, I signed up on a forum and found travel companions to go on an adventure to a town called “Young” to find work in Fruit Picking. Which means, fruit picking or fruit harvesting !
To be honest, going fruit picking was not really part of my original plan but I was lost and looking for a way to earn money !
Here we are on a Wednesday late morning meeting and discussing our different experiences in Australia, we decide to go do some cherry picking.
Did you know ?
Australia produces about 1.2 million tonnes of fruit each year (mangoes, strawberries, oranges, bananas, grapes). The sector employs about 90,000 seasonal workers, of which 60% are foreign WHV holders.
Here I am off to YOUNG, this town is called the cherry capital of Australia !
On the way to this new adventure, we stop at Billagong late afternoon. It’s a small town of 300 inhabitants 60km from Young ! In the evening to unwind, we go for a drink at the town bar, it’s the place where all the farmers and workers hang out ! This was truly my first real encounter with the australians from the Bush !
The atmosphere is very friendly and they even buy us a beer ! We talk about everything and anything (Australia, the town, beers, work and what they think of the French :D).
  ;The next day, we head to Young, upon arrival, we rush to every farm to ask if they were hiring pickers. No luck, but at the ninth farm, we see a farmer outside and ask if he’s looking for people, WOOT, he agrees to have us come tomorrow !
| Fruit | Region | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Table grapes | VIC, NSW | Jan-Mar |
| Apple/Pear | VIC, TAS | Feb-Apr |
| Banana | QLD | All year |
| Mango | NT, QLD | Oct-Jan |
| Strawberries | QLD, VIC | Sept-Mar |
We then go for a tour of the town ! Let’s be honest, there’s not much to do but lots of backpackers, so lots of stories to share all over a drink with alcohol ! It’s actually on this occasion that I tried “GOON” for the first time ! I’ll tell you more about it later !
  ;Fruit Picking work in Australia
My experience
My 1st day of fruit picking in Mildura: 9 hours under 38°C picking table grapes. 60 AUD paid at the end of the day, hands cut all over. I lasted 2 weeks, then I changed farms. The job is hard, but rewarding.
We left early in the morning to start work, hard to wake up at 5:30 am when you’re used to waking up at 10 am!
The result: 50 dollars after 6 hours for 6 hours of work! That’s very little for cherry picking because some people earn 200 dollars a day, I didn’t expect that much but I said tomorrow will be a better day!
The next day, a bit more motivated, I made 50 dollars for 5 hours!
To clarify all this, fruit picking is paid in 2 ways, by output or by the hour, in our case, it was 10 dollars per crate!
Advantages
- Validates the 88 days for 2nd year WHV
- Accommodation often provided (caravan)
- Strong backpacker community
- No experience needed
- Possibility to save money
Disadvantages
- Very physical work
- Harsh weather (heat or cold)
- Sometimes low piece-rate pay
- Sometimes shady hosts
- Isolation in some locations
After these 2 rather disappointing days because we wanted to earn at least 100 dollars a day! We gave up on this farm to look for another! Which we found after a few hours driving around the town!
  ;Same story, we made 10 dollars an hour for 4 hours of work.
Disappointed by this new bad experience, we gave up and returned to Sydney!
  ;What you need to know about Fruit Picking in Australia
What to take away from this experience and the reasons why this experience failed:
The classic trap to avoid
Always check that your employer is registered on the official Australian government “ABN check” list. Many farms pay under the table, then refuse to sign the paperwork validating the 88 days.
– The cherry season had already started, so there was already a first picking, we only picked the leftovers, you might say! You have to arrive at the right time!
– There is work everywhere but good farms are rare and once you are there, make sure it works!
– You don’t easily earn a lot of money, you need perseverance and to be fast!
If you are preparing to leave, take a look at our guide on my various adventures which complements the topic well. The feedback around my fruit picking wages also provides useful benchmarks to avoid unpleasant surprises. And for further inspiration, the article on fruit picking Australia is worth a detour.
  ;What this experience brought me:
– Stories to tell and even if it was a bad memory, learning from my mistakes.
– The atmosphere of fruit picking, with many backpackers like you. I knew that if I managed to find work, I would have fun.
If you are preparing to leave, take a look at our guide on my various adventures which complements the topic well. The feedback around fruit picking Australia also provides useful benchmarks to avoid unpleasant surprises. And for further inspiration, the article on my fruit picking wages is worth a detour.
What is the wage for fruit picking?
15-25 AUD/hour depending on the farm. Based on output, it can go up to 30 AUD/hour for the best pickers.
How to find a fruit picking job?
Sites: backpackerjobboard.com.au, Gumtree. WHV WhatsApp groups. Word of mouth in hostels.
How long does it take to validate the 88 days?
3 months working 5 days/week. Often spread over 4-5 months if you take breaks.
