outback information

Please note:  The information on this page has been supplied to assist customers who have purchased my books, cards and photographs.  When time permits specific advice regarding rural employment can be sent to customers who have purchased online, and sent me an email via 'contact & comments', after reading the following information.  Unfortunately I do not have the administrative resources to respond to any employment advice enquiries from the general public.

Working in the bush

Unfortunately I've heard many young people in the bush say their parents and friends told them they were mad to head north to work on a station, and tried hard to discourage them. If you really want to work on a station, don't make the mistake of letting other people put you off. Instead ask them to explain where they got their information from. Chances are you'll find they've really got no first-hand knowledge, or current experience, of what they're talking about. Often they just want the people they care about to be living 'safe' and 'familiar' lives, so they won't be worrying about them.

So the scare stories are trotted out to make you have second thoughts and stay close to home. When you visit home after working in the bush it's likely your relatives will be proud and friends envious, and they'll want to hear all about it. You may realise it's the most memorable thing you've ever done.

I have met a lot of people in their 60s and 70s who have spent their whole lives living in a capital city, except for a few years spent 'jackerooing', which they invariably describe as the best years of their life. I also meet people of the same age who say 'I always wanted to go 'jackerooing' but I never did', and they regret it. I also meet people on stations who are only 16 or 17 who grew up on the coast or in the largest cities, who say they knew nothing about the bush except they wanted to work there. These are people who are self-motivated and they usually take to the bush like a duck to water.

If you are considering moving to the bush to work it is essential to consider what an employer needs also (not just what you want).  Cattle stations need staff who are genuinely interested in learning and prepared to give the job 100%, not people chasing a romantic dream, who want to live out some McLeods Daughters fantasy for a little while.  If you just want to play at it for a while, employers are better off not wasting time and effort trying to help you learn what is a complex and responsible job.

It is common for a headstockman, only aged in his mid 20s, to be completely responsible for the welfare of half a dozen people and mobs of cattle worth more than half a million dollars.  People who are not serious about doing the best job possible, are a liability.

Experience needed?

Like any other line of business, experienced staff are always preferred. Inexperienced staff were traditionally only taken on straight after leaving school, and offered apprentice-like on-the-job training positions. However the current mining boom and general labour shortage has caused an acute shortage of experienced people. So right now jobs are offered to overseas visitors and keen older people with no experience. Genuine horseriding skills and/or cattle experience obviously increases the chances of employment. However some common sense, a realistic attitude, an ability to learn and willingness to work are attributes more important than anything else. With the right attitude, anyone can learn almost anything — no-one is born knowing everything.  If you demonstrate a willingness to seriously give it a go, the vast majority of employers will be happy to spend time helping you learn.

Horse riders

The northern Australian cattle industry is about the only line of work in the world left that has a large number of employment positions available that involve riding horses for 6-12 hours daily for days on end, in the bush, during the mustering (dry) season. But this is no pony club plod-along, no real-life 'Saddleclub' pointless poke around; employees need to be serious about learning how to work cattle well — on a horse and in the yards. They are also required to do a range of other jobs in addition to mustering and yardwork. Most station jobs have a lot of variety, so after a few years employees have an unusually wide range of skills.

Training & long term prospects

Some station owners offer accreditation and formal learning assessments to employees intent on a long-term career. It is only during the second year of employment that someone completely new to the industry obtains a notable level of proficiency (anyone with experience makes it look a lot easier than it is), and someone with three year's mustering experience is usually a very valued employee these days. 

Due to current shortages of young staff, in the not-too-distant future there will be plenty of managers jobs available. There is already a shortage of headstockmen (ringers with at least 4-6 years mustering experience).

When is work available?

The mustering season runs during the dry season — approximately Easter until November. Most stations start new staff around February, however they may make job offers for the following year in November the year before. Quite often stations will have vacancies during the year also, however the most active employment time is around February each year. Inexperienced staff who are offered a start are expected to do their best to at least complete a full year, and returning for a second year makes training worthwhile, from an employer's point of view.

What type of jobs are there?

Kent Saddlery has some excellent information for anyone starting work on a station for the first time, including a very useful list of suggested gear.

There is a range of other jobs available on stations and some of this work can easily be taken up by older people with the right experience or adaptability combined with realistic enthusiasm.

These jobs include station and camp cooks, butchers (a role which is often combined with gardening and handyman work), cleaners, bookkeepers, childcarers and governesses/teachers, pilots (helicopters and fixed wing), boremen, mechanics and truck drivers. Bore mechanics/windmill experts are becoming as scarce as hen's teeth and I am increasingly told by station managers that there is a dire shortage of people with detailed knowledge of bore and mill repairs.

Tradesmen have always been scarce in the bush so anyone with trade qualifications can usually find jobs easily. Families in rural areas often have no choice but to wait years for essential house repairs and alterations so quality tradespeople are greeted with much enthusiasm.

Builders, painters and electricians with solid references will usually find it easy to pick up work while travelling through an area. If their work is good quality then referrals can lead from station to station. And if they rip one person off with poor workmanship they can expect everyone for miles around to hear about it even more quickly. (Most people in remote areas rely on email services and the internet more than urban residents and there are a number of email forums that many rural people subscribe to, so news travels far more quickly and efficiently than ever before.)

Rural Industry Training & Extension (RITE) is a not-for-profit organisation with offices in Charters Towers and Mt Isa (Queensland). School leavers are encouraged to apply for traineeships (on-the-job training) and host employers can be assisted with various employment aspects (eg. wage information). Graduates are also helped to find a job in Queensland or the Northern Territory.

State-based rural newspapers are weekly sources of rural employment positions and other information. For example the Queensland Country Life carries frequent advertisements for most of the larger family and company employers for the Kimberley Region of WA and the top half of the Northern Territory, as well as Queensland and northern New South Wales. The Land has New South Wales information and The Weekly Times has Victorian information. Blues Magazine is a good independent source of Queensland information and stories also.

There are a number of employment agencies that specialise in rural positions. These can be found in the ‘classifieds’ section of rural newspapers and by doing web searches.

Governess Australia is an excellent source of practical information on governessing, and a source of employment positions.

Voluntary Work and Charities in the bush

Retired teachers may like to consider doing some voluntary work for the Volunteers for Isolated Student’s Education scheme (VISE).

On remote stations the mother is usually the one responsible for educating the children and the arrival of a VISE teacher may allow her to spend time on other neglected duties, work outside during extra busy times such as shearing or travel away to receive medical attention. Or maybe just to have the unheard of luxury of 5 minutes to herself. Information can also be obtained through the Isolated Children’s and Parents Association (ICPA).

Frontier Services provides short-term carers once or twice a year to families living in areas distant from conventional daycare facilities. This is a Uniting Church charity that receives some government assistance due to recognition of the fact that remote area residents have no access to standard government-subsidised childcare services. The carers are in full-time paid employment but the cost to the families is minimal. (While living out west I was fortunate enough to have a carer look after two of our children once while I was away.)

Pilots and plane owners may be interested in helping Angel Flight Australia. This is a charity that depends on volunteer pilots to transport rural and regional patients and/or carers to distant medical facilities. This is for essential but non-urgent medical treatment only, as distinct from the RFDS, which provides an emergency service and has medical staff and equipment on their planes. Angel flight also seeks help with other tasks, such as driving people to and from airports.

In the bush just as in the city, sometimes voluntary work can lead on to a really good paid job.

Useful links

Some pastoral company websites contain useful information which includes employment possibilities:

Australian Agricultural Company

Colonial Agricultural Company

Consolidated Pastoral Company

Heytesbury Beef

Jumbuck Pastoral

North Australian Pastoral Company

Stanbroke Pastoral Company

S. Kidman & Co