Harvest Trail Services: what happened to it, and how to find harvest work now

The short answer: it closed in June 2024

Harvest Trail Services was the government-funded service that matched backpackers and other job seekers with growers at harvest time, with local providers in the main growing regions and an information line. The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations closed it, along with the Harvest Trail Information Service, on 30 June 2024.

A lot of older blog posts, forum threads and even some hostel websites still point people to it. If a page tells you to “register with Harvest Trail”, it is out of date.

What happened to the Harvest Trail providers and the hotline?

The service was run by local providers across 16 harvest regions in every state and territory. MADEC was the biggest, looking after most of the regions and the national Harvest Trail hotline. When the contracts ended on 30 June 2024, the providers stopped placing workers through the program and the hotline closed too.

Some of those organisations still run other employment services, so you may still see their offices in farm towns. They just are not Harvest Trail any more, and there is no national harvest phone line to call.

What replaced it

There is no harvest-only replacement. The government said job seekers and employers could keep using Workforce Australia Online, its general job board, and some growers still list harvest jobs there. Search it by town or by crop.

In practice most backpackers now find harvest work through a mix of job boards, working hostels and simply turning up in a farm town at the start of a season.

Where to find harvest work now

• The Backpack Aus jobs board. Filter for jobs that count toward your 88 days.
• Our farm-town pages: what is picked in each town, when, and the working hostels nearby.
• Working hostels in farm towns. Good ones place guests with local growers, but read recent reviews first.
• Local Facebook groups for the town you are heading to. Growers post there the week they need people.
• Walk-ins and phone calls. Plenty of farms still hire whoever turns up keen at the start of picking.
• Other backpackers. Ask on the map who is working where and whether they are hiring.

Follow the season, not the listing

Harvest work moves around the country with the crops. If you arrive in a town a few days before picking starts, you are far more likely to get work than if you wait for an ad. Pick a region, check when its main crops are picked, and plan to arrive early.

Check it counts before you start

If you want a second or third year visa, the job has to be “specified work” in an eligible postcode. Harvest work usually qualifies, but the postcode matters. Check it before you take the job, then log your days as you go.

Avoid the dodgy ones

• You must be paid at least the minimum hourly rate, even on piece rates (per bin or per bucket).
• Never pay a fee to be given a job.
• Be wary of hostels that want weeks of rent upfront while you “wait for work”.
• Keep your own record of hours and get payslips.