7 Ways to Make Money While Travelling Around Australia

The Big Lap doesn’t have to be one long holiday where you watch your bank balance disappear faster than a cold beer on a 40-degree day.

I’ve met heaps of travellers who’ve turned their trip into a working adventure, and I’m not just talking about Grey Nomads with investment properties back home. I’m talking about regular people who’ve worked out how to earn as they go, extending their trips from months into years.

When we rolled our Landcruiser in the Snowy Mountains 10 weeks into our Big Lap, we lost $10,000 even after insurance. It could have been game over. Instead, we got creative with making money on the road, and it ended up being one of the best parts of our adventure.

Here’s the thing – Australia’s crying out for workers, especially in regional areas. You’ve got the ultimate mobile accommodation, you’re already in these remote spots, and you’re probably the most motivated worker they’ll find because every dollar earned is another week on the road.

So to get you thinking, here are 7 ways you can make some extra dollars on your Big Lap:

1. Fruit Picking and Harvest Work

Yeah, I know. Fruit picking. Not exactly groundbreaking advice. But hear me out – this isn’t your typical backpacker exploitation story.

The secret is being strategic about it. Don’t rock up to a farm desperate for work. Plan your route around harvest seasons, get there early, and pick your employers carefully.

The Money Reality: Good pickers make $150-300 per day once they get the hang of it. Even average pickers clear $100-150. Do six weeks of picking and you’ve banked $5,000-8,000.

The Smart Approach:

• Follow the Harvest Trail (Check out this website for more info)
• Target the better-paying crops: cherries, berries, and grapes beat oranges and apples
• Get there a week before the season starts to secure the best positions
• Some farms offer free camping for workers – no accommodation costs!

I met a couple who do six weeks of strawberry picking every year. They make enough to fund four months of travel. They’ve been doing this for five years running and have it down to a science.

2. Digital Nomad Work (The Game Changer)

This is where things get interesting. Five years ago, working remotely from a van was a struggle. Now? With Starlink and decent mobile coverage, you can run a business from Karijini National Park.

What Actually Works:

• Freelance writing (travel websites are always hungry for content)
• Virtual assistance (tons of small businesses need help)
• Online tutoring (teaching English to kids in China pays $20-30/hour)
• Social media management (every business needs it, few can be bothered)
• Bookkeeping (if you’ve got the skills, it’s gold)
• Web design and maintenance

My Favourite Success Story: Met a bloke on the road who does IT support remotely. Three half days a week earning around $300 a day working part-time from paradise. His biggest expense was Starlink – not much in the overall scheme of things!

Getting Started:

• Set yourself up on Upwork, Fiverr, or Airtasker before you leave
• Build a portfolio even if you have to do free work initially
• Invest in proper internet (Telstra + Optus SIMs and consider Starlink)
• Create a dedicated workspace in your setup (even if it’s just a lap desk)

The beauty of digital work? You’re earning decent wages while living on bush camping costs. That’s the ultimate budget hack.

3. Seasonal & Station Work

The outback’s full of opportunities if you know where to look. Stations need help mustering, fencing, maintenance – and they’re always on the lookout for reliable workers.

Station Work Goldmines:

• Crutching and shearing (if you can handle it)
• Mustering and cattle work
• Bore running and fence maintenance
• Cooking and domestic help
• Machinery operation

What You’ll Earn: Station work typically pays $150-250 per day plus accommodation and meals. Even better, there’s usually nowhere to spend money, so you bank everything.

How to Find It:

• Gumtree (seriously, farmers love it)
• Local newspapers in rural towns
• Just ask at the pub (this actually works)
• Facebook groups for the region you’re in
• Turn up at station gates (old school but effective)
• Tourist info centres usually have their finger on the local pulse

4. The Entrepreneurial Hustle

This is my favourite category because it’s people having a crack and backing themselves.

Our Pancake Story: After seeing a successful pancake breakfast at a caravan park in Alice Springs, we decided to try it ourselves at Lake Argyle. Set up a “Tailgate Pancake Breakfast” – all you can eat for $5. Over five weeks, we made nearly $3,000. Two hours work each morning, met incredible people, and became a tourist attraction ourselves.

Other Brilliant Ideas I’ve Seen:

• Mobile coffee van: One couple I met bought a $2,000 coffee machine, practiced until they were decent, and set up at markets and popular free camps. They clear $500-1000 per weekend at good spots.
  
• Drone photography: Put your drone and skills to use doing real estate photos and videos in regional towns where agents have less options. Charge $200-300 for a few hours of work a few times a week.
  
• Mobile hairdressing: Setup in your annex at caravan parks. Promote yourself with a simple ‘A frame’ sign outside and magnetic signs on your car doors. Work a few mornings a week and fund your trip (Get permission from the caravan park management first).
  
• Mobile pizza station: Set yourself up with a couple of mobile pizza ovens like these and cook delicious pizzas for your fellow travellers.
  
• Yoga classes: Run morning beach yoga sessions for $10 per person. Get 10 people each session. A few sessions a week will cover your fuel bills for the trip.
  

5. Travelling Tradie

If you have a trade, you have a goldmine. Regional areas are desperate for tradies, and you can charge city rates in the bush.

High-Demand Skills:

• Auto electrical and mechanical work
• Solar installation and repairs
• Plumbing (especially water pump fixes)
• Canvas repairs and modifications
• General handyman work
• Welding and fabrication

The Setup: Keep your basic tools in your rig, get some magnetic signs made, hand out cards at caravan parks. You’ll have more work than you can handle.

Real Example: Sparky I met in Broome only works mornings, charges $80 per hour cash, and is booked solid. He works about 20 hours a week and funds a very comfortable lifestyle. His biggest problem was too much work!

Hot Tip: Focus on fellow travellers. They need help, they’ve got cash, and word spreads fast through the camping network.

6. Content Creation That Pays

Everyone’s making content these days, but few are making money from it. The difference? Being strategic about it.

What Actually Earns:

• User-generated content for tourism businesses: Offer packages to caravan parks, tour operators, and local tourism businesses. $500-1500 for a social media package with video, photos and text.
  
• Stock photography: Those sunrise shots and outback landscapes? Upload to Shutterstock, Getty, Adobe Stock. Passive income that builds over time.
  
• YouTube: Takes time to build, but documenting your journey can eventually pay. The key is consistency and finding your style that will make you stand out from the crowd.
  
• Travel writing: Newspapers, magazines & travel websites pay for travel stories with photos. $300+ per article if you can write and have decent photos.
  

Success Story: I know a family who helped fund their Big Lap taking drone shots and making promo videos for caravan parks. They would trade a few nights’ accommodation for a few hours of filming & editing work – a WIN:WIN for everyone.

7. Market Stall Side Hustles

Markets are everywhere in Australia, and they’re goldmines for travelling entrepreneurs.

What Sells:

• Handmade jewelry (especially with “local” stones)
• Macramé and crafts
• Photography prints of your travels
• On the spot portraits and sketches
• Homemade preserves and sauces
• Second-hand books

The Numbers: A decent Saturday market can net you $300-800. Do one every weekend and you’re covering a decent chunk of your travelling costs.

Market Intelligence:

• Stall fees range from $20-80
• Tourist town markets are worth the higher fees
• Make your stall Instagram-worthy (seriously, it matters)
• Have a story – “travelling Australia making…” sells

Making It All Work Together

Here’s the real secret – you don’t need to pick just one. The most successful road travellers mix it up:

• Pick fruit for six weeks = $6,000 banked
• Run a market stall on weekends = $500/month ongoing
• Do some freelance writing = $1,000/month
• Fix a few vans = $200 here and there

Suddenly you’re not eating into savings, you’re adding to them.

When we stopped at Lake Argyle for 6 weeks on our Big Lap we topped up our bank account by around $9k (and this was 20 years ago).

Here’s what we did:

• Working behind the bar at the Lake Argyle Caravan Park
• Working in the Lake Argyle Cruises tour office
• Working on the Lake Argyle Cruises boats
• Driving passengers to and from the boat ramp in the Lake Argyle Cruises bus
• Consulting for a client back in Melbourne
• Filming a documentary (Discovering Lake Argyle)
• Cooking a pancake breakfast for our fellow campers in the caravan park

Once the word got around that we were in town and looking for work, people found us with offers.

The Mindset Shift

The biggest barrier isn’t finding work – it’s changing your thinking. You’re not “interrupting your trip to work.” You’re having experiences you’d never have as a tourist.

That cattle station? You’ll learn more about Australian life in three months than most tourists learn in a lifetime. That harvest work? You’ll meet characters and hear stories that become the highlights of your trip. That pancake breakfast hustle? Some of our best Big Lap memories.

Your Work-Ready Setup

Want to earn on the road? Here’s what you need:

Essential Paperwork:

• ABN (Australian Business Number) 
• Updated resume or portfolio on your phone that you can easily email 
• Basic public liability insurance
• White Card if you want construction work

Digital Setup:

• Decent laptop if going digital
• Reliable internet solution
• Basic website or Facebook page
• PayPal/Square for taking payments

Physical Prep:

• Tool kit relevant to your skills
• Magnetic signs for your vehicle
• Business cards (500 for $50 online)
• Folding table, gazebo etc. for markets

The Bottom Line

Every week you work on the road is potentially another month of travel funded. That’s the equation that changes everything.

The Australia you see while working is completely different from the tourist version. You become part of communities instead of passing through. You solve problems instead of just taking photos. You contribute instead of just consume.

You make friends that you’ll stay in touch with for life.

And here’s the kicker – some of the “work” is so enjoyable you’d do it for free. But don’t tell anyone that.