First FIFO Swing
Maybe you're pulling beers, on a building site or at a desk when the message comes through: you've got the FIFO job. Then the questions start. What do you sign, what's in the medical, what goes in the bag, and what happens when the plane lands? The first swing is easier when you know what's coming. If that's you, start with what to ask before you say yes.
What your first swing is
Your first swing is your first block of work on site, from the flight in to the flight home. It starts with the site induction, the safety training every new starter does, and ends with your first R&R (rest and recreation), the days off at home. On a 2:1 roster, meaning two weeks on and one week off, it lasts 14 days.
Your first swing: Where to start
- Just been offered the jobStart here
- Medical and checks coming upStart here
- Packing for the first timeStart here
- Flying to site soonStart here
- On your first swing nowStart here
- Worried how you'll copeStart here
What should you ask before you accept your first FIFO job?
Short answer
Before you accept your first FIFO job, ask about the roster, the pay, where the flights leave from, the room and what safety gear is supplied. Get the answers in writing, in the letter of offer or the contract.
Six questions to ask before you sign
- What's the roster, and are there night shifts? An ad's 2:1 can still mean a week of days, then a swing change to a week of nights.
- Are travel days paid, or do they come out of your R&R? Some employers count your travel days as work days, and some don't.
- Is the job casual or permanent? A casual rate is higher because it carries no paid leave, and the FIFO pay calculator shows what either comes to after tax.
- Which airport do you fly from? That city is the point of hire, and getting there is usually up to you, at your own cost.
- Do you keep the same room each swing? With a permanent room, your gear stays locked in the cupboard. With motelling, a different room each swing, everything travels both ways.
- What safety gear do they supply? In WA, the business directing your work has to supply it free, boots included; in other states, ask what's included. Ask for your sizes now, because a site store can only hand out what it stocks.
With a labour hire agency, the agency is your employer, so ask it these too, along with how super is paid and whether the job can move to the client's payroll.
What happens between the job offer and your first swing?
Short answer
Between the job offer and your first swing, the employer books a pre-employment medical, a drug and alcohol test and your inductions, and you fill in the paperwork. Then the company sends you an email with your flights, the site and the induction details.
The medical and the drug test
The pre-employment medical checks your fitness, hearing, eyesight, lungs, joints and back, because the work is physical and the nearest hospital is a long way off. Drilling jobs add a fitness test, and in WA the drilling companies book it, the medical and your gear fitting at short notice in Perth.
The drug and alcohol screen is usually a urine sample, sometimes hair, and most sites have a zero tolerance policy: no drugs or alcohol at all while you're working. The testing carries on at random once you start, so it isn't a test you pass once. In Queensland, a coal mine also needs a coal board medical, the health check for coal mine work, and Standard 11, the coal mine induction.
Paperwork, tickets and your USI
The paperwork is your tax file number, your super fund and your bank details. Most employers also organise a national police clearance at this stage, if you don't have a current one. If they send you on a course first, the trainer will ask for your USI (Unique Student Identifier), the free number every nationally recognised course needs.
The online induction
Expect an online induction to finish at home before your flights are booked. Ask what the company gives new starters about the trip in, such as a video or a guide.
What should you pack for your first FIFO swing?
Short answer
Pack your ID, your ticket cards and your flight details, the work gear the company doesn't supply, clothes for off shift, toiletries and any medicines. The camp has a laundry, so a few days of clothes is enough, and the charter, the company's own flight, has a strict bag limit.
The FIFO packing list has it all on two printable pages, with a section for women heading to site, and FIFO bags covers the charter limits and the bags that fit them.
Bring the cards for every ticket you hold, because not every site accepts an app. Pack an extra week of any medicine you take, because weather can keep you on site.
Sore feet ruin a swing, so wear your boots in at home first. If you're buying them, check whether the company supplies them; mining boots has a quick checklist before you buy.
What happens when you fly to site for your first swing?
Short answer
The day you fly to site starts early at the airport, where your bags are weighed against the charter flight's limit. On site, the first thing you do is the site induction, before any work starts.
At the airport
The flights leave early from hubs such as Perth and Brisbane, and getting to the airport is usually your own cost. Weigh your bag at home, because the limits are enforced at the check-in scale. At Perth Airport, steel-capped boots come off at screening.
Arrive sober and rested, because random testing can start on day one.
The site induction
WorkSafe WA (opens in a new tab), the state's workplace safety regulator, lists what a site induction should cover. It includes the site's layout and its emergency muster points, where everyone gathers in an emergency, the common hazards and how they're controlled, how to report an incident, and the behaviour expected of you. Each site has its own induction, so you do it again at every new site.
Your first days on a fly in fly out site
After the induction, the days take a shape. An early bus takes you from the camp to a prestart, the crew's meeting about the day's jobs and their dangers. Then comes a twelve-hour shift, the bus back, dinner in the mess, the camp's dining hall, and bed.
Your supervisor runs the crew, and a leading hand, an experienced worker who leads a small crew, often works beside you. They're the ones to ask, because a question costs a minute, and a guess on a mine site can hurt someone.
What are the best tips for your first FIFO swing?
Short answer
For your first FIFO swing, protect your sleep, follow every safety step, skip the wet mess, the camp bar, and call home at a set time. Eat and drink properly, and pace yourself, because the second week is often harder than the first.
Ten habits make the first swing easier:
- Unpack and find your way round. On your first evening, put your clothes in the drawers, then walk the camp to find the mess, the laundry, the gym and the bus stop.
- Protect your sleep. Many crews switch from days to nights partway through a swing, so your body clock moves, sometimes twice in a fortnight. Earplugs and an eye mask help in a camp that's awake while you sleep.
- Close your door quietly. Someone on night shift is trying to sleep on the other side of a thin wall, and doors banging are one of the noises that keep them awake.
- Do every safety step, every time. Fill in your Take 5, the quick check for dangers before each task, and never joke about the rules.
- Stay out of the wet mess. Any alcohol in your system counts at work, so ask whether your site breath-tests before every shift. A positive test can mean the window seat, slang for being sacked and flown home.
- Eat like you would at home. The mess food is free and there's plenty of it, so it's easy to eat more than you mean to. You pack your crib, the food for your shift, at breakfast; the break you eat it in is called crib too.
- Drink more water than you think you need. Dehydration on site can land you at the medic, so keep a big bottle with you all shift.
- Get out of your room after shift. Go for a walk, use the gym or join a game of social sport. In a 2018 study of more than 3,000 FIFO workers, done for WA's Mental Health Commission, those whose time off had a social side, like barbecues and social sport, had better mental health.
- Keep a regular call with home. Agree on who, when, and an app that still works when the camp Wi-Fi is slow. Partners in the same study said their low point was the worker leaving and the first days of the swing, so the first calls matter most.
- Keep your head down and learn. Be at the bus on time, help pack up at the end of the shift, ask before you guess, and stay out of camp gossip. On site, the supervisor decides whether you're asked back.
Coming home from your first fly in fly out swing
Coming home can be harder than you expect. FIFO workers interviewed for WA's 2018 research said the move from work to home was when they were most tired. Couples who've done it for years leave the first day home for sleep and coming down, and share the jobs from the day after, which they call the 24-hour buffer.
How do you prepare mentally for your first swing and last in the job?
Short answer
You prepare mentally for your first swing by expecting it to be hard, knowing what the money is for, and deciding who you'll talk to when it gets tough. To last, live on a city wage and keep an exit date, so the job stays a choice.
Expect the first swing to be hard
BHP made a video in 2022 to ease new starters' nerves before their first trip to its iron ore camps in WA. The team that runs those camps said it's easy to forget (opens in a new tab) "how daunting the first day, first flight and first trip to site can be". Some people leave after one or two swings, because the life is harder than they thought, so judge FIFO on a few swings, not the first.
Know what the money is for
Decide what you're saving for, such as a house deposit or clearing a debt, and when you'll stop, and write both down. In interviews for a WA government study in 2018, FIFO workers rated a plan, savings and an exit date among the most important advice for anyone starting.
The trap they warned about is the "golden handcuffs": bills that grow to match the pay, until you can't afford to stop. Finance on a new ute or a boat is the classic way in, because once the repayments need FIFO pay, you can't leave. The FIFO game plan sets out the money side.
Who you'll talk to
Asking for help early works: in that 2018 WA study, workers who looked for support were better off than those who didn't. The EAP (employee assistance program) gives free, confidential counselling, usually through an outside company; ask human resources (HR) or the site medic for the number.
If it gets too much, ring Lifeline on 13 11 14, any hour, or MATES in Mining, a support line for mine workers, on 1300 642 111. FIFO mental health has the rest of the help.
Ready for your first swing?
Once the medical's done and the flights are set, these help with the rest.
Before the first swing, find out whether the life will suit you. It's six questions, three minutes and free.
Is FIFO right for me?