Working while you an international student in Australia means that you get to expand your English language skills, as well as, experience Australian culture first hand, and it helps you to meet new people quickly.
As an international student in Australia, you are able to work part-time, up to 40 hours every two weeks during the academic year. During recognised school holidays, you can work as many hours as you like, as there are no restrictions during this time.
Australia boasts one of the highest minimum wages in the world, including for piecemeal jobs such as fruit and vegetable picking, which were traditional workers were only paid by what they produced.
Australia has very good employee protection laws which extend to international students. This means that you are entitled to be working in a safe and inclusive workplace. This includes being paid correctly, and being compensated correctly if you are injured at work.
The Australian Government helps to protect these strong workplace conditions through government bodies such as the Fair Work Commission and the Fair Work Ombudsman, who ensure employers maintain high workplace standards by following the Fair Work Act and Worker Compensation legislation.
The Fair Work Commission’s website publishes information related to wage and other workplace conditions for different types of job roles, as well as, information about what to do if you have any concerns at your job or your workplace.
While studying in Australia, you can work in any occupation for which you are experienced and/or qualified. Industries which employ a lot of international students include: retail, hospitality, farming, fruit-picking, childcare, aged care, tutoring, cleaning, as well as, administrative and clerical work.
You can find job vacancies for international students via regular job seeking websites or via job seeking websites designed to help students find work. Large employers often have dedicated webpages on their websites with job vacancy information and application processes.
You can also directly contact organisations that you would like to work for to see if they have any available positions, or ask other people, including other international students, if they know about any available job opportunities.