If you need some casual work in Australia while you are travelling around this great land, you should consider fruit picking. You can pick fruit 12 months of the year somewhere in Australia. Our guide will help you find casual fruit picking jobs by advising you of the locations and time of fruit picking in towns or regions of Australia. .
Then
you can use the Jobsearch web site
to find casual fruit picking jobs in that town or region.
Overview
of Fruit Picking
In
Australia, the fruit picking season peaks during summer, between the months
of December and May. Due to different weather patterns, regions such as Manjimup,
Pemberton, and Bunbury in Western Australia hold their apple harvest a bit
later between March and May.
In
general, becoming a fruit picker requires no experience and most farms and
orchards are eager to hire physically fit persons, but be aware it is hard
labour. Most
fruit pickers start early in the morning and finish before the peak of the
summer sunshine later in the afternoon.
Therefore, being physically fit and having good stamina helps, and here are
some other essentials:
Sunglasses - the sun can be very bright
Gloves - protection from spikes, thorns
Sunscreen - protection from the sun
Hat - protrect your headl
Hardy boots/shoes - protection from snakes and bullants
Big drink container - it's thirsty work
Payment depends on a number of issues, such as how good the harvest is, and
what the particular fruit or produce is. For
example, some land owners prefer to pay pickers by the hour (anything above
$10 an hour is good), such as vineyards and grape growers, because they want
the fruit to remain in pristine condition. Bruising is not an option. Most
places, however, pay per bucket, bin or box filled rather than by the hour.
There
are many different fruits and vegetables grown in Australia (commonly referred
to as just 'fruit' by farmers and pickers). They fall into two fruit picking
categories:
Ground
fruit
Fruit
grows on or under the ground. This type of picking can be back breaking
as it involves continual bending over to pick the fruit.
Tree
fruit
Fruit
is picked from the branches of a tree or plant. Often involves the use
of ladders to pick fruit or use of a mechanical boom to pick fruit.
The
following table shows what fruits are ground or tree fruits:
There
are various methods used to pick fruit by the farmers:
Size
picking
The
farmer is looking to pick a particular size of fruit. Usually, picking
fruit by size is conducted at the start of the season.
Colour
picking
Sometimes,
a certain coloured fruit is required by retailers. e.g. green or red tomatoes
or capsicums
Strip
picking
Usually
involves removing all the fruit or vegetables from the plant.
What
are the Wages for Fruit Picking
The money that can be earned by a fruit picker depends on the energy and enthusiasm
of the fruit picker. You will either be paid an hourly rate (wages) or paid
for the amount of fruit you pick (contract work)
Wages
You
will be paid an hourly rate to pick fruit. Wages are based on the Australia
Standard wage rate for casual farm workers
Contract
Based
on the amount of fruit picked by individual pickers. Usually involves
collecting fruit in 'buckets' (or bins) and recording the number of buckets
picked each day. You determine the hours worked based on the number of
buckets you wish to pick.
If
you are a good picker, contract work is usually the best way to make a good
casual wage !
Fruit picking Jobs
Shopping