A Brit out in the bush

Back in 2022, Tom Ware, a 21-year-old British farmer and founder of the charity Just-Talk-Agri, decided to hop across the pond and start a new life in Australia. Farming and working in Australia has been an entirely new experience for Tom, and he has kindly provided us with all the advice and ins and outs of working and living in Aus, which will hopefully help you to also take the leap.

During a busy, hot harvest, Tom and his friend came up with genius idea of spending their winter harvesting over in New South Wales, Australia. So, they immediately began saving and looking for jobs.

How they found jobs.

In Australia, over 61% of the land is dedicated to agriculture, meaning the demand for farmers is high and you don’t have to be from a farming background to get a job in the industry. As long as you dedicated to work, you’ll always find a job. Although the land is spread out and you can drive for over four hours without finding another town, the agricultural communities are tight and work hard to get the job done. Finding a job, the other side of the world is a little daunting, however there are multiple different Facebook groups and communities dedicated to helping find people the perfect roles - either within agriculture or any other industry. Tom found his job and accommodation on a Facebook group and said, “It was the easiest possible process.”

The type of farm work is diverse, the yield in Australia is much smaller meaning you cover much larger grounds. Australia also has a brilliant livestock industry - including the biggest sheep market in the world known as “Wagga Wagga” which every week over 70,000 sheep go to be sold. And although this may not be everyone’s cup of tea – its an incredible experience says Tom.

So, you’ve found a job now for the paperwork and flights.

“It took nothing more than two minutes, once I’d submitted the paperwork, I almost instantly got my visa acceptance.” This is obviously not the case for everyone, you need to have a clean criminal record, minimal health conditions, enough money in the bank to prove you can sustain yourself whilst there, proof of employment, and a good reason for travelling. The specific visa he applied for was a 417 working holiday visa. This lasts an entire year and you can extend it at the end as long as you can prove that you have worked at least 88 days whilst being there and can prove this by showing your pay slips from the previous year. The entire process costs £200-£300 and has been completely hassle-free whilst he’s been there.

Now the flights for Aus are typically long and expensive. “They’re dull and awful but very worth it.” However, he said that both times he’s been to Aus he has been able to find reasonably priced flights varying from £500 - £700.

“I flew into Sydney, and although I was horrendously jet lagged, I was absolutely in love with the city, it was huge, clean and weirdly smelt amazing. The nightlife and the people were incredible and we’ve found that throughout our time here.”

Tom has now spent over a year in Australia over two separate occasions, he says “come out with an open mind, its eye opening, the people are amazing, the place is amazing it's like England but better, who doesn’t love cowboy hats, Rodeo’s, and scooners (three quarter pints)".