On a farm, even if you are paid by the piece, they cannot pay you less than your hourly rate multiplied by the hours you worked that day. From July 2026, that rate is A$25.74 for someone starting out, or A$32.18 if they are casual. This is stated in the Horticulture Award. If it is not met, you can report it free of charge, in several languages and even anonymously, and your employer cannot cancel your visa.
According to a Home Affairs leaflet, workplace rights are the same for everyone, whatever your visa.
What the hourly rate is
| Category | Per hour | Casual |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | A$25.74 | A$32.18 |
| Level 2 | A$26.44 | A$33.05, our calculation |
| Level 3 | A$26.84 | A$33.55, our calculation |
Level 1 is the entry category, with tasks such as picking, pruning or packing. The award says you move to Level 2 with at most 3 months of experience in the industry.
How piece rate pay works
You are paid for what you pick, pack or prune. The Tasmanian Government warns that it depends on the fruit available and the weather. The award sets these conditions, in clause 15.2:
- Signed agreement before you start: the employer gives you a signed record with the date, the task, the piece rate and your hourly rate.
- If the rate changes: a new agreement is needed before the change.
- Minimum rate: it must allow an average worker to earn at least 15% more than their hourly rate. Someone who has done 76 hours at that task is considered competent.
- Daily floor: never less than your hourly rate for the hours of that day. For a casual, that rate already includes the 25%.
- Your records: the employer keeps hours and rates, and gives you a copy if you ask, including after you no longer work there.
Example, our calculation: a Level 1 casual who works 8 hours must receive at least 8 × A$32.18 = A$257.44 that day, even if they picked little.
Overtime: a casual is paid 175% after 12 hours a day or after 304 ordinary hours in 8 weeks.
Signs of abuse
They come from the award, Study Australia and Anti-Slavery Australia.
About pay:
- You are paid by the piece without a signed agreement, or your day comes out below the floor.
- You are paid in food or accommodation instead of money. Free food only counts if it is an extra.
- You are asked to hand back part of your pay in cash. If you already did, you have the right to get it back.
- They deduct for breakages, theft or till shortfalls.
- You get no payslip within one working day of payment.
- You are asked for an ABN (business number) when you have a boss. In general it is for people who work for themselves.
More serious:
- You feel you cannot leave the job or go away because of threats, pressure or deception. That is the definition of forced labour.
- They control when you eat, sleep or shower. Anti-Slavery Australia describes this as servitude.
- You owe an excessive amount of money to whoever hired you, and your work does not reduce it or has no clear end. That is debt bondage.
- You were deceived about the job to bring you in and are then exploited.
Labour hire companies: you can check them
A labour hire company can employ you and send you to work on a farm. There are public registers in at least two states:
- Victoria: only licensed companies can operate, and you check them in the register. The authority considers horticulture a high-risk sector and limits cash payments and accommodation conditions in its licences. If the company finds you accommodation, you may be protected even if the farm pays you.
- South Australia: the CBS body has a licence search and answers on 131 882. On 12 August 2026 it announced that the law had widened its scope.
Where to report
| What is happening | Who to turn to | How |
|---|---|---|
| Pay, payslips, deductions | Fair Work Ombudsman | Anonymous report or help in your language |
| Forced labour, trafficking, threats | Australian Federal Police (AFP) | 000 in an emergency. 131 444 or form if not |
| Labour hire company in Victoria | Labour Hire Authority | 1300 545 200 or form |
| Lack of safety | State regulator | New South Wales 13 10 50, Victoria 1800 136 089, South Australia 1300 365 255 |
| You need an interpreter | TIS National | 131 450 |
| Support for forced labour | Anti-Slavery Australia | +61 2 9514 9660 or antislavery@uts.edu.au |
On the AFP website, the form is filtered with the option "Human trafficking and people smuggling". In Canberra you use the local police portal.
What about my visa if I report?
What Study Australia explains, on a page written for students:
- Your employer cannot cancel your visa. Only Home Affairs can.
- The Fair Work Ombudsman does not check your visa, and you can ask for help even if you have broken its conditions.
- Assurance Protocol: under it, Home Affairs normally does not cancel the visa in those cases, and your details are only shared if you give permission.
This guide gives general information. It is not legal or visa advice.
Farms and the second visa
Picking and packing fruit and vegetables, among other tasks, count as specified work: in regional Australia with the 417, and in regional and northern Australia with the 462. The rules are in how the visa works and may change with the announced ballot.
To record your hours there is the free app Record My Hours, and to calculate your pay, PACT.
Where to look for this work
Tasmania publishes its seasons by region, and its growers often ask for more than 30 hours a week. Other routes are in how to look for work and on the Hobart page. General rights are in minimum wage and rights.
What we could not confirm
- Fair Work Ombudsman: we could not check its website. Its links and functions come from Study Australia.
- Deductions for accommodation and transport: we have not confirmed which are valid or under what conditions. You can ask the Fair Work Ombudsman.
- Passport retention: Anti-Slavery Australia does not mention it on the page we opened, and we could not check the police page on trafficking.
- Queensland, Canberra and other states: we could not check whether they have licences for labour hire companies.
- Home Affairs: we could not check its website, so we have not checked whether there are specific visas or protections for exploited workers.
- Assurance Protocol: we have not confirmed how it applies with a Working Holiday visa.
Sources
All seen on 5 November 2026.
- Horticulture Award, MA000028, official, version up to 1 July 2026.
- Harvest Jobs, Tasmanian Government, official.
- Harvest Jobs FAQs, Tasmanian Government, official.
- Are your work rights at risk?, Study Australia, official.
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Study Australia, official.
- FAQs for Japanese workers, Home Affairs, on the Embassy in Tokyo website, 30 September 2024, embassy.
- Report crime, Australian Federal Police, official.
- Labour Hire Authority, Victoria, official.
- Workers, Labour Hire Authority, Victoria, official.
- Check a provider's licence status, Labour Hire Authority, Victoria, official.
- Labour hire law changes 2026, Labour Hire Authority, Victoria, official.
- Labour hire, CBS South Australia, official.
- SafeWork NSW home page, official.
- Do you need a licence?, WorkSafe Victoria, official.
- SafeWork SA home page, official.
- Anti-Slavery Australia, University of Technology Sydney, third party.
- LIN 22/012, specified work 417, compilation of 5 April 2025, official.
- LIN 22/013, specified work 462, compilation of 5 April 2025, official.