Looking for seasonal work?

Fruit picking  in Victoria starts in November and continues right through to May the following year.

The season starts with stone fruits which includes cherries, apricots, nectarines, peaches and plums; and finishes with pears and apples. 

During the season, farmers have a lot of short-term jobs available.

It’s a great opportunity to meet new people, earn good money, learn new skills as well as the possibility for ongoing work and training.

Interested in seasonal work? Visit these sites to register your interest:

• MADEC Workforce Solutions website and download the flyer and complete the Worker Enquiry Form to connect with a staff member who can help.
• Workforce Australia "Find a Job" page (enter Horticulture in keywords)
• Yarra Valley Seasonal Employment Hub

 What type of jobs are available?

There can be jobs available for all ages and skillsets. Most jobs require skills that can be learnt on the job and some may need a level of training eg. Forklift or truck driving.
Your employer will let you know what is required.

Some jobs you could try.........

Picking

Picking is the most common type of job in horticultural work. There are different types of picking.
• Color & Size – this picking involves choosing the fruit to pick according to its size, colour, or both. The grower will show you examples of what should be picked. This involves smaller and particular quantities of fruit being picked .
• Strip picking - this involves picking more or less all the fruit produced by the tree unless it is damaged. This type of picking usually happens at the end of the harvest season.
Picking from trees can involve using ladders to reach higher branches, although some orchards are becoming ladder-free.

Packing

This involves sorting and packing fruit. The working conditions are similar to factories, with packing staff working on a production line.

Thinning

This usually occurs prior to the start of harvest. The smallest fruits are removed so that the others have space to grow bigger.

Pruning

When one variety is picked, some growers will then start pruning those trees using pruning shears (secateurs).
Pruning shears can be electric or manual depending on the region and the type of pruning.
Pruning can be paid according to how much you get done, or paid by the hour, depending on the type of trees. Manual pruning shears require repeated effort from your hands and can be tough to start with.

Other jobs could include driving forklift or tractors, managing the freshly picked fruit, pruning or planting new fruit trees.

Using Labour Hire Workers

Horticulture employs thousands of workers in Victoria every year. Workers picking fruit and vegetables are among Victoria’s most vulnerable, so it’s critical that companies that provide or host labour hire workers meet their legal obligations.

Under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic):

• businesses must be licensed to supply labour hire workers, including for horticulture activities such as picking, packing, sorting and pruning
• ‘host’ businesses such as grape growers – who engage workers through a labour hire provider – must only use licensed providers.

Significant penalties can apply for breaches of these obligations – exceeding $600,000 for companies and $150,000 for individuals.

Register of licensed providers

The Labour Hire Authority’s (LHA) Register of Licensed Labour Hire Providers provides hosts with a quick way to check whether a business they are considering engaging is licensed to provide labour hire services.

By checking the Register, hosts can ensure they do not risk penalties from using an unlicensed provider, and that their provider has met the checks required to obtain and maintain a licence.

LHA encourages labour hire hosts to check the Register, and to contact a provider’s nominated officer to confirm they are engaging a licensed provider.

Hosts can also use LHA’s Follow My Providers tool to be notified of any changes in providers’ licence status.

LIST OF LABOUR HIRE COMPANIES – You can search a list of Licensed Labour Hire Companies by clicking 'Search by' - select 'Industry' then in 'Search for' select - 'Horticulture'.