Construction labouring pays better than almost anything else open to a working holiday maker without a trade, and a White Card is required before you set foot on a site. Your rate is set by the Building and Construction General On-site Award (MA000020).
What is the work?
General site labour, which covers carrying and moving materials, concreting, site clean up, demolition, scaffolding assembly, earthworks support and trades assistant work alongside carpenters, plumbers and electricians. It is physical, outdoors, and paced by whoever is running the site.
Construction carries higher injury rates than almost any other sector working holiday makers enter, which is why the induction is compulsory, why the personal protective equipment is not optional, and why workers compensation matters more here than in a cafe.
Why do you need a White Card first?
Because it is unlawful to be on a construction site without one, for you and for the employer. It is issued on completion of the General Construction Induction course, which runs as a full day in person or as an online equivalent, and it is recognised in every state and territory once issued.
The card does not expire, but it lapses if you do no construction work for two years, which matters only if you come back later. The course fee is set by the training organisation rather than by the government, so it varies by state and provider and is worth comparing. The fee is deductible as a work related expense. Our guide to White Card requirements covers the state by state detail.
What decides your hourly rate?
Your classification level under the award, and it is the number nobody tells you. The Building and Construction General On-site Award sets rates by Construction Worker level, rising with the skills and responsibilities the role actually involves. Being paid at CW1 while doing CW3 work is a common and entirely invisible underpayment.
Then the loadings apply on top. Casual employment carries a loading in place of leave, Saturday, Sunday and public holiday work attract penalty rates, and overtime is paid at a multiple of the ordinary rate. A week with a Saturday in it should look materially different on a payslip from one without, and if it does not, that is the first thing to ask about. Our guide to award classifications covers how to find the level that matches your actual duties.
Which allowances go unpaid?
The industry allowance, more than any other. It is paid to every construction worker on the award rather than to a select few, so there is no qualifying test to fail, and its absence from a payslip is the single most reliable sign that the award is not being applied properly.
Several others attach to particular circumstances rather than to everyone.
- Tool allowance, where you supply your own tools
- Site allowance, on some major projects
- Height allowance, for work above set heights
- Wet weather allowance, where work continues through heavy rain
- First aid allowance, for the designated first aid officer
- Travel allowance, where the site is distant from the depot
What happens if you are put on an ABN?
Everything that protects you stops applying. Labour hire on construction sites is common and some of it is genuine contracting, but a labourer with set hours, supplied tools, a supervisor directing the work and no other clients is an employee whatever the invoice says.
Misclassification costs you the 12% super, workers compensation cover if you are hurt, the casual loading, penalty rates and award allowances. On a site where injury risk is genuinely elevated, the workers compensation half is the one that matters most. Our guide to employee versus contractor sets out the test, and the labour hire guide covers who legally employs you when an agency is involved.
What happens if you are injured on site?
Workers compensation covers you from the first shift, with no minimum service period and no relevance to your visa. It covers medical treatment, weekly payments while you cannot work, and lump sums for permanent impairment.
Both things that go wrong happen in the first 48 hours. An injury not reported to the employer at the time is much harder to establish later, and treatment sought without mentioning that it happened at work starts a medical record that does not connect to the claim. An employer discouraging a claim is acting unlawfully, and visa status is not a relevant consideration at any point. Our guide to workplace injury rights covers the framework.
What can you claim at tax time?
More than most working holiday maker roles, because construction requires you to buy things. Steel capped boots, high visibility clothing, a hard hat and gloves where you supply them, sun protection for outdoor work, hand tools, and the White Card course fee itself are all work related expenses.
Whether you itemise them depends on the financial year. For 2026-27 onwards you can take the flat $1,000 without receipts or substantiate the actual amount, and construction is one of the few backpacker occupations where the real total genuinely exceeds $1,000, so keeping receipts from day one is worth doing. Travel between two sites in a day is deductible; the commute from home to the first site is not.