Queensland is the heart of farm work in Australia: vegetables and strawberries in winter, mangoes and bananas up north, apples and stone fruit on the Granite Belt. Almost the whole state counts for your 88 days, except Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Plant and animal cultivation and construction count in all regional postcodes, including the Sunshine Coast hinterland, Toowoomba, Bundaberg and everything further north. Brisbane city and the Gold Coast don’t count. North Queensland (Rockhampton, Mackay, Bowen, Townsville, Cairns…) is also Northern Australia: tourism and hospitality jobs count there for both the 417 and the 462, and so do fishing and tree farming for the 462.
Where to find farm work in Queensland
Picking / harvestPruning / vineyard workTypical months: weather can shift them by a few weeks.
🥬 Bundaberg and Childers
One of the busiest farm work towns in Australia, with vegetables, strawberries, avocados, macadamias and sweet potatoes. A lot of jobs go through labour hire companies and working hostels.
🍅 Bowen
Tomatoes, capsicum, chillies and melons through the dry season, then mangoes around Christmas. Accommodation fills up fast in peak season.
🍉 Ayr and Home Hill (Burdekin)
Melons, vegetables and mangoes, with sugar cane all around. Quieter than Bowen, with similar seasons.
🥭 Atherton Tablelands: Mareeba, Atherton
Mangoes in summer, avocados, citrus and bananas the rest of the year. A car helps a lot up on the Tablelands.
🍌 Tully and Innisfail
Australia’s banana capital: banana work runs all year round. Hard work, but steady.
🍓 Stanthorpe and the Granite Belt
Cooler climate: strawberries, stone fruit, apples, grapes and vegetables from spring to autumn, pruning in winter. Cold mornings, and a car makes a big difference.
🍓 Caboolture and Sunshine Coast hinterland
Strawberries in winter and spring, pineapples in summer. The closest eligible farm area to Brisbane.
🥬 Lockyer Valley (Gatton)
Known as Australia’s salad bowl: vegetables almost all year, with the peak in winter.
🍊 Gayndah and Mundubbera
Citrus country: mandarins and oranges from autumn to spring.
🍇 Emerald (Central Highlands)
One of the earliest table grape harvests in Australia, plus citrus and cotton.
🌾 Darling Downs (Toowoomba, Dalby)
Broadacre farming: grain harvest and cotton. Machinery and truck experience help a lot.
Tips for Queensland
- Winter is the big season: while the south slows down, Bundaberg, Bowen and the Burdekin are at their busiest. Arrive in April or May.
- Wet season up north: from December to March it is hot, humid and cyclones are possible. Mangoes are picked just before.
- A car is a big plus, especially on the Tablelands and the Granite Belt.
- Meet other backpackers: Bundaberg Backpackers · Bowen Backpackers · Ayr Backpackers · Cairns / Mareeba / Atherton Backpackers · Stanthorpe Backpackers · Brisbane / Caboolture Backpackers
Find farms in Queensland
Most farms never advertise. The WikiFarms Australia app shows around 4,000 farms, working hostels and agencies across Australia on a map, with their contacts.
Sources: Home Affairs, Specified subclass 417 and 462 work (Regional Australia and Northern Australia postcode lists), checked October 2026. Season months are typical and change with the weather: always call farms before you travel.