FIFO Bus Driver Jobs
One FIFO bus driver spent a couple of years driving crews from the airport to camp and out to site, and said in a video that the bus is where you meet everyone. Those were the people who offered her other work, and she moved on to driving trucks. Driving the bus is a first mine job that needs no trade, but the ads want an HR (heavy rigid) licence, a permit to drive passengers and some bus driving behind you. If you have those, the camp companies are hiring.
What a FIFO bus driver is
A FIFO bus driver carries workers between the airport, the camp and the work site on a fly in fly out roster. Many of the ads are for a bus driver and utility, a job that pairs the driving with camp tasks between runs.
FIFO bus driver jobs: Where to start
- No bus driving behind you yetStart here
- Hold an HR licence alreadyStart here
- Want the driving and utility mixStart here
- Drive trucks insteadStart here
- What it paysStart here
- Where it leadsStart here
Find FIFO bus driver jobs
Search FIFO bus driver on SEEK (opens in a new tab), on Indeed (opens in a new tab) and on Jora (opens in a new tab), and also "bus driver utility", "shutdown bus driver" and "passenger transport driver". The camp providers and labour hire agencies post their own roles too.
Before you apply, check where each ad's flights leave from, called the point of hire. Getting there is usually up to you.
FIFO bus driver jobs at a glance
| Pay | $37.34 to $49.50 an hour, or $97,850 to $102,500 a year salaried |
|---|---|
| Rosters | 2:1 (14 on, 7 off) on at least six ads; 8:6, 2:2, 14:14 and 7:7 on others |
| Flies from | Perth for the WA ads; Darwin and Adelaide on a few |
| You'll need | An HR licence, or MR (medium rigid) on some ads, the passenger permit (PTD in WA), a police check and a medical |
| Experience | Bus driving on most ads; FIFO experience not always asked |
| Who hires | Camp providers, and the agencies and transport firms that supply drivers |
Pay from the job ads of 12 October 2026; listings checked October 2026.
Can you get a FIFO bus driver job with no experience?
Short answer
A FIFO bus driver job with no FIFO experience is possible, but not with no driving experience. Sodexo's ad said "Must have previous Bus driving experience. No FIFO experience needed", and most ads wanted a heavy licence and the passenger permit, or a willingness to get it.
The ads set the bar in different places. Evolve Talent's ad wanted six months of driving buses with 56 seats or more, and another agency's ad a year of driving passenger vehicles with an MR or HR licence.
At the top end, a relief ad wanted two years of bus driving, in FIFO, mining, charter or other passenger work, and IronMerge's wanted FIFO bus driving experience that was "recent" and "essential".
Ways in without mine site experience
Blue Tongue runs a training program for bus operators without mine site experience who already have an HR or higher licence, plus the PTD. It runs four to eight weeks, paid on a training basis, and then places drivers in a casual pool that fills shutdowns and relief shifts.
One ad, from an Aboriginal-owned Pilbara services company, was a traineeship: a paid job with the training built in. It was only for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who already hold an HR licence, with "fully paid training in Perth before mobilising FIFO to the Pilbara".
For getting the bus experience first, one former FIFO driver's tip on video was the city: bus companies in Perth train new drivers, and some pay for the HR licence.
How do you become a FIFO bus driver, step by step?
Short answer
You become a FIFO bus driver with a heavy rigid licence, the passenger permit and time behind the wheel of a bus in town. With those, you apply to the camp companies and the labour hire agencies.
From a car licence, in WA
- Get your HR licence, a manual one if you can, once you're off P plates; WA residents can do the course fee-free at TAFE in Perth (where to do it). Every course asks for your USI (Unique Student Identifier), a free number you make online.
- Get a police certificate, which WA's PTD application needs, and a first aid course, which some ads ask for (where to get them).
- Apply online for the PTD authorisation, WA's passenger permit (who can apply).
- Drive buses in town for six months or more, since most ads want experience on a bus; Perth's bus companies train new starters (the city way in).
- Base yourself in Perth if you can, because nearly all the WA ads fly from there and some want you living there when you apply (where they fly from).
- Apply to several camp providers and agencies at once, and ask Blue Tongue about its paid training for drivers new to mine sites (ways in).
- Once you're offered the job, the employer books the medical and drug test, and some employers test your driving on the bus first.
- On your first swing, expect the bus's pre-start, crew runs at shift change, split shifts, and camp work between runs (a typical day).
Outside WA
In Queensland, the passenger permit is Queensland's driver authorisation, and a coal mine also wants Standard 11, the coal mine induction, and a coal board medical, which the employer pays for. A few ads flew from Darwin or Adelaide (the other states).
In the NT, a driver who carries passengers for hire needs an H endorsement (opens in a new tab) on an NT licence, which costs $120 plus $20 for the theory test. South Australia's version is the large passenger vehicle driver accreditation (opens in a new tab), free to apply for until December 2026. Neither state's page says whether a mine's own bus needs one, so check the ad.
What are fly in fly out bus driver jobs, and who hires?
Short answer
Fly in fly out bus driver jobs are driving crews between the airport, the camp and the site, often with camp work between runs. Camp providers hire many of the drivers themselves, labour hire agencies supply others, and transport firms hire for shutdowns.
The camp provider runs the village for the mine owner and moves its residents. Sodexo, Compass Group, Civeo, ISS, Programmed and Cater Care all had bus driver ads in October 2026, and so did the agencies Hays, Techforce, Evolve Talent and IronMerge.
The roles in the ads
- Bus driver / utility, the dual role
- Bus driver, in a few ads that listed no utility work
- Relief driver for shutdowns in the Pilbara
- Casual short-term bus driver
- Trainee bus driver, with paid training
- Coach driver on a shutdown project in the Bowen Basin
- Airport attendant, a nearby role in a Sodexo ad
Bus driver mining jobs: what the ads call them
The ads said FIFO bus driver, bus driver / utility, utility / bus driver and relief and shutdown bus driver. SEEK filed them under Mining Operations, Road Transport, public transport, hospitality and even cleaning, so search the title and not the category.
A Perth listing for a bus operator said "Work locally in Perth, no FIFO!", which is a city bus job and not this one.
What do you need to become a FIFO bus driver?
The ads asked for:
- A heavy rigid (HR) licence, and in one ad "Manual HR (or higher)"; a few took MR instead
- The passenger permit: in WA, the PTD authorisation, which some ads called an extension or endorsement, and for the Queensland ads, Queensland's driver authorisation
- A VOC (verification of competency), the check that you can run the vehicle safely, in the ISS, IronMerge and Techforce ads
- A police check on seven ads, and a White Card on two
- A forklift licence in Compass Group's ad, and first aid and CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) in Evolve Talent's and Hays's
- A fatigue management certificate and a fitness-to-drive report in one agency's ad
- An MSIC (Maritime Security Identification Card) in Techforce's ad, the card for secure port and offshore areas
- A pre-employment medical and a drug and alcohol screen
The PTD authorisation is WA's permit to drive people for pay. You must be 20 or older and have held a licence for three years, and you apply online with a commercial driver medical and a National Police Certificate. In 2026–27 it cost $98 to apply and $99 a year, and took about 11 days.
A former camp bus driver called the PTD easy to get in her video, and said to get the manual HR, because some of the buses are manual. The ads back her up: Programmed's said "Manual driver's licence strongly preferred".
The ads included food, flights and accommodation on site, and one Queensland ad paid for the inductions.
FIFO bus driver jobs in Western Australia (WA): 2:1 came up most
Sodexo, Programmed, Compass Group, IronMerge and Evolve Talent all ran 2:1, two weeks on and one week off, IronMerge's with 12-hour shifts, and Hays offered it among other rosters. Two ads ran 8:6, one at a lithium operation, and a second Programmed ad ran 2:2.
FIFO bus driver jobs in Perth: where the ads fly from
Nearly every WA ad flew from Perth, and Sodexo and IronMerge wanted you living in Perth when you applied. The lithium operation's ad said "Wednesday - Wednesday", and an Aboriginal-owned group's relief ad said "FIFO from Perth with flights, accommodation and meals provided" for Pilbara shutdown work.
FIFO bus driver jobs in Australia: QLD, the NT and SA
The ads reached beyond Western Australia. Civeo had one in Darwin, on 14:14 with flights from Darwin, Cater Care had a 14:14 roster out of Adelaide or Darwin, and a coach contractor was hiring for a Bowen Basin shutdown in Queensland.
How much do FIFO bus driver jobs pay?
Short answer
FIFO bus driver pay in the October 2026 ads ran $37.34 to $49.50 an hour on hourly ads, and $97,850 to $102,500 a year on salaried ads. That is what 7 ads offered, not what a driver is paid.
| Role | Advertised pay | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest hourly ad | $37.34 – $39.34 per hour | SEEK, L&F Transfers, October 2026 |
| Highest hourly ad | 49.50 per hour | SEEK, Indigenous Shared Services Group, October 2026 |
| Lowest salaried ad | $97,850 a year | Jora, Civeo, October 2026 |
| Highest salaried ad | $102,500 + 12% Superannuation | SEEK, Civeo, October 2026 |
The bottom and top ad of each kind, from 7 job ads of 12 October 2026. Only ads that stated a figure are in the table. Most don't.
FIFO bus driver salary: what the ads add up to
Many ads don't give one: Sodexo, Compass Group, Hays and Cater Care gave none. The salaried ads were full time, and the hourly ads were casual, contract or part time; the last row is a part-time Queensland ad. Counting every hour of a 2:1 roster on 12-hour shifts, the 7 ads work out to $98,000 to $145,000 a year, with a middle of $112,000. The pay calculator turns any rate and roster into a year.
What is FIFO bus driver work, day to day?
FIFO bus driving jobs: a typical day
The day starts with a pre-start, the safety check of the bus. A former FIFO bus driver described the runs in a video: picking the crew up at camp for site, airport runs, to the crib room and back, the same at lunch, and home at the end of the day.
She said bus drivers can work longer hours than the crew, with a split shift.
Between the runs
The ads filled the gaps with camp work. A recruitment group's ad for four drivers listed "Helping with housekeeping between runs", "Unloading deliveries and moving stock" and "Jumping into the kitchen when the team needs a hand".
The same ad added "You’re paid the bus driver rate for every hour of your swing, whatever task you’re on". Compass Group's ad had freight movements with a forklift.
What is FIFO bus driving really like?
Short answer
FIFO bus driving is a seat in an air-conditioned bus, long shifts and the same run again and again. One former driver's video said it "can get a little bit boring".
The pros she listed were the air con when it's 40 degrees outside, and watching a plant being built around her on Barrow Island. The main con was the same route all day for a whole swing, and she also warned about the weight that comes from snacking in the cab, and the split shifts.
If a long swing gets dark, Lifeline is 13 11 14, and the FIFO mental health page has the rest of the help.
Where does a FIFO bus driver job lead?
Short answer
A FIFO bus driver job leads to other work on site, and the ads pointed to shutdown and relief driving and to port operations. Drivers meet the whole site, and that's where offers of other work come from.
Shutdown and relief driving
A shutdown is a planned stop for maintenance, with extra crews on site. The Pilbara relief ad was for "shutdown and relief opportunities for experienced bus drivers", and the Bowen Basin coach ad listed "Build valuable FIFO experience for future roles".
From the bus to other work on site
Programmed's bus driver ad for a magnetite iron ore operation mentioned career progression within port operations. The truck driver page covers the trucks a bus driver can move on to.
Is a FIFO bus driver job right for you?
Three honest questions
- Can you do the same run all swing? The runs are the job, and the former driver said the repeat gets dull.
- Will you take on camp tasks too? Most ads paired the driving with housekeeping, deliveries or the kitchen, and one ad paid the driver rate on every task.
- Can you start at short notice? Several ads said immediate start, and one contract ad was for a four-month minimum.
Ready to look?
If you've read this far and still want in, check your licence class and your passenger permit first. Put your bus or heavy driving in the first line of the resume.
- FIFO bus driver jobs on SEEK (opens in a new tab)
- FIFO bus driver jobs on Indeed (opens in a new tab)
- FIFO bus driver jobs on Jora (opens in a new tab)
- All job boards, contractors and agencies in one list
Fake ads turn up on real job boards too. An ad that asks you to pay a fee before you start is a warning sign: report it to Scamwatch (opens in a new tab).
Licence in hand and ready for a seat? The other question is whether the life fits. Six questions, three minutes, free.
Is FIFO right for me?