FIFO Jobs Sydney

Are there FIFO jobs in Sydney?

Sydney FIFO jobs that fly from Sydney Airport

The camp companies say the words in their ads. Compass's health and wellbeing coordinator job at "our largest NSW site located in Merotherie", the workers' camp for a renewable energy transmission project, was on 14:14, fourteen days on and fourteen off, "with FIFO from Sydney available". Its chef manager job for rural NSW was on a "Lifestyle friendly 8 days on, 6 days off roster with FIFO from Sydney". Sodexo was hiring chefs for its regional NSW teams on 14:7, two weeks on and one off, from Sydney, and Cater Care's utility all-rounder ad for Nyngan and Nymagee was headed "Sydney Locals DIDO/FIFO/BIBO", BIBO being bus-in bus-out.

Two more came from outside the camps. The Snowy 2.0 owner's surface site surveillance officer job was on 14:7, "flying from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne". A contractor on remote roads and earthworks projects wanted a service person "across FIFO NSW locations", with meals, rooms and flights provided, though the ad didn't say which airport. The chef and utility pages have what the camp jobs are like once you land.

FIFO jobs in NSW with no experience

The no-experience ads were drilling. Aston Advantage advertised "Entry-Level Mining Roles Across NSW" on drilling crews, a drilling contractor's driller assistant ad was headed "No Experience Required" and flew "from all capital cities", and a recruiter listed an entry-level offsider job in Sydney. Drilling rigs move around, so the job starts wherever the rig is, not necessarily in NSW.

Watch the sales ads too. One company was advertising a "FIFO" sales job in Sydney on a 2:1 roster with paid travel, and the work was face-to-face fundraising for charities, not mining.

Fly in fly out mining jobs NSW: underground and the trades

FIFO mining jobs in NSW are mostly for people who already have the tickets. One drilling services company was hiring charge-up operators on 14:14 across NSW underground mines, and shift supervisors who "must have NSW practising certificate", the certificate NSW's mining regulator issues for the legal role of underground mine supervisor. An agency wanted experienced jumbo, bogger (the underground loader) and truck operators for development and production crews in regional NSW. The trade ads included fitters and electricians; some were for other states, and one plumber's ad was FIFO to Cobar.

How do you get a FIFO job from Sydney, and who hires?

The point of hire is the airport an employer flies you from, and it decides whether a Sydney address helps or hurts. "FIFO from Sydney" means the camp company books the flight west. An ad that flies from every capital means the same. An ad whose home airport is another capital means a flight there on your own ticket before the charter, and one entry-level offsider ad in the pay snapshot was "FIFO from Perth".

Step by step, from Sydney

1. Get your licence and a national police check, then a White Card; SafeWork NSW posts the card within about 30 days. Every course asks for your USI (Unique Student Identifier), a free number you make online.
2. If you've worked in a kitchen or done cleaning, start with the camp companies that fly from Sydney (the camp jobs).
3. With no experience at all, try the entry-level drilling ads, and skip the "FIFO" ads that turn out to be sales (no experience).
4. Never pay an agency or anyone else to put you forward for a job (the fee rule).
5. Read every ad for "FIFO from Sydney" or "all capital cities", because any other city means your own flight there first (interstate jobs).
6. If you live in Newcastle or Canberra, search the drive-in ads as well (closer to the sites).
7. Once you're offered the job, the employer books the medical and drug test, the induction and the flight.
8. On your first swing to a NSW camp, expect a flight west, a bus to camp and twelve-hour days (a typical swing).

FIFO jobs Newcastle and FIFO jobs Canberra: closer to the sites

Newcastle is the Hunter Valley's city, and the Hunter coal mines are a drive from it, not a flight: the trainee dump truck ads at Singleton and Muswellbrook in the October pay snapshot were in the Hunter itself. Canberra is about an hour and a half from Cooma and the Snowy 2.0 project. For both, the FIFO word on the ad matters less than the drive, and the DIDO ads, drive-in drive-out, are the ones to search.

What the ads ask for

The ads asked for:

• Australian citizenship or permanent residency, which the underground drilling ad listed
• Kitchen or housekeeping experience, an RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) and a White Card, which Hays's camp utility ad listed
• Twelve months' experience, which Cater Care's utility job asked for

After the offer, the employer arranges:

• A pre-employment medical and a drug and alcohol test
• The site induction and the charter booking

Nice to have, and what each one gets you:

• A Certificate III in Commercial Cookery: the chef ads that list their requirements ask for it
• A manual driver's licence: one entry-level drilling ad preferred one

The tickets page has the safety tickets and what they cost.

FIFO from Sydney to another state

Some Sydney ads fly interstate and say so. Techforce wanted electricians for a project on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula on 3:1 or longer with "Flights / Accommodation Covered", and plant operators in South Australia on 2:1, temp to perm. An agency's underground electrician ad, listed in Sydney, was for a mine in regional South Australia and was open to qualified electricians with no mining experience. Civmec wanted a contracts administrator for Western Australian sites on 2:1 FIFO or DIDO.

For the mines of Western Australia and Queensland without that line, you pay your own way to Perth or Brisbane, and it eats into the week off.

How much do FIFO jobs from Sydney pay?

Only ads that stated a figure are in the table. Most don't.

To see what any of those comes to over a swing or a year after tax, put it into the FIFO pay calculator; the salary page has every job side by side.

The permanent camp jobs pay by the year, with the flight, the room and the meals on top; the casual pools pay by the hour. A NSW camp job doesn't always pay what a WA one does: Sodexo's Sydney chef ad paid less than its Perth chef ad that month. The trades and the rigs pay more and start wherever the work is. A Sydney tradesperson weighing a city project against an interstate FIFO rate should take the flights and the missing days off the FIFO figure before comparing.

What is FIFO from Sydney like day to day?

Fly in fly out jobs Sydney: a typical swing

The NSW swing starts with a flight west and a bus from a country airport to a camp. At Merotherie the camp is the workforce village for an energy project, and at Nyngan and Nymagee it serves the mines. The day is twelve hours in the kitchen or the rooms, or ten on a 14:7, and the flight home is a short one.

The interstate swing starts the night before, with a late flight to the other capital and a charter at dawn, and ends the same way in reverse. The part that isn't in the ad is the airport bench late at night, waiting for the flight home to Sydney. A worker on 2:1 at a NSW camp gets most of the week at home; the one commuting interstate loses more of it to travel.

What is it really like doing FIFO from Sydney?

The ads tell most of it. The camp companies put "FIFO from Sydney" in their ads, and the interstate ads mostly leave the city out. For a tradesperson the sums can be closer than they look: a Sydney project with overtime and a bed at home, against a FIFO rate minus the airfares and the days in transit.

What the ads don't say is how the camp jobs fill: the agency's casual pool first, the permanent job after. If a swing turns bad, Lifeline is 13 11 14, any hour.

Where does FIFO from Sydney lead?

The camp is where the reference comes from. The trainee operator ads, for the coal plant at Mudgee and the dump trucks in the Hunter, are the next door, and those jobs are driven to from the town, so taking one means living nearby.

The other move is interstate. Some interstate ads take people with no experience, such as the entry-level offsider ads from Perth, and the rest want time on a site, which NSW camp or rig work gives without the interstate commute. The operator and driller's offsider pages have where those two doors go.

Is FIFO from Sydney right for you?

Two honest questions

1. NSW camp or interstate mine? One is a single flight and a camp wage; the mine is a longer trip and a bigger wage. Decide which you want before you apply, because the ads are different and so is the week off.
2. Can you lose part of each week at home to travel? That is the interstate commute when the ad flies from another capital. If not, apply to the ads that say "FIFO from Sydney" and expect a shorter list.