Which jobs count toward the 88 days
The industries the Department recognises as specified work, and the ones people assume count but do not.
Industries that count anywhere regional
Agriculture and livestock: harvesting, pruning, planting, packing produce, tending animals, milking, shearing. It is the broadest category and where most backpackers end up.
Fishing and pearling, including shore-based work processing the catch. Tree farming and felling: planting, felling, transporting timber. Mining: extraction, exploration, mineral processing. Construction: buildings, roads, infrastructure.
Industries that count only in the north
Tourism and hospitality count, but only in northern and remote Australia. Hotels, restaurants, bars, tour operators, hostels: it counts in Darwin, Broome, Cairns — not in a regional town in the south.
This is the distinction that wrecks more counts than any other, because hostel work is easy to find and feels like it should qualify everywhere.
The special case: disaster recovery
Recovery work after a declared natural disaster counts, in any affected area. It includes clearing, demolition, and restoring structures and land.
The official disaster declaration is the condition: without it, the same work does not qualify.
What people assume counts and does not
Working in a country supermarket does not count, however remote the town. Retail does not count, office work does not count, delivery driving does not count.
Volunteering does not count, not even on a farm: without pay there is no payslip, and without a payslip there is no evidence.
The classic board-and-lodging-for-farm-work swap — common and much talked about — does not count. Those are real days of hard work that never enter the total.
How you prove it
You need payslips showing the employer, the ABN, the period and the hours. The Department may also ask for form 1263, a declaration signed by your employer.
Keep everything from day one. Reconstructing it months later, once a seasonal business has closed or the supervisor has moved on, is the hardest part of the whole process.
Check whether your job counts
Enter the industry and the place, and the app tells you whether that period counts — before you have spent three months on it.
Check whether your job countsFAQ
Does hostel work count?
Only in northern and remote Australia, because it falls under hospitality. Elsewhere it does not, even if the hostel is deep in the country.
Does volunteering on a farm count?
No. The work must be paid and evidenced by a payslip. Board and lodging in exchange for work does not qualify.
Does working in a country supermarket count?
No. Retail is not among the recognised industries, however remote the town is.
Does fruit packing count?
Yes, where it is part of primary agricultural production. Later industrial processing, away from where the produce was grown, is less certain — check that case by case.