FIFO mining life for apprentices: the honest pros and cons

FIFO, DIDO or residential: what you would actually be signing up for

FIFO (fly-in fly-out) means you fly from a city or regional airport to a remote site, live in a camp for your swing, then fly home for your break. DIDO (drive-in drive-out) is the same idea but you drive or bus in. Residential means you live in a mining town and go home every night. Plenty of mining apprentices never do FIFO at all.

It varies by region. Pilbara iron ore in WA leans heavily on FIFO out of Perth, though towns like Karratha, Port Hedland and Newman have residential jobs. The Goldfields has a mix, with Kalgoorlie based residential work alongside FIFO and DIDO. In Queensland's Bowen Basin coal fields you see DIDO from regional towns as well as FIFO from the coast, and Queensland law stops large resource projects with a nearby regional community from using a 100 per cent FIFO workforce. In the Hunter Valley in NSW, many coal workers live in the region and drive in daily.

Your employer type matters too. A miner (the owner operator) usually sets the roster and camp standards. Contractors and OEM dealers often work to whatever the principal company sets, and WA's 2015 FIFO inquiry heard from smaller contractors who said they would prefer gentler rosters but were bound by the contract terms. If you are hosted through a group training organisation (GTO), you also have a field officer off site, which is one more person in your corner.

Age is a real factor. Many employers only send apprentices to a FIFO site once they are 18, and some programs keep first years in a city or regional workshop before they go to site. Check the specific program rather than assuming. Our guides to getting a mining apprenticeship (How to get a mining apprenticeship in Australia) and mine site medicals and inductions (Mine site medicals, drug tests and inductions: what to expect) cover the entry side.

Rosters decoded: 2 and 1, 8 and 6, 14 and 7 and the rest

Rosters are written as days on and days off. '2 and 1' and '14 and 7' are the same thing: two weeks on site, one week home. Most FIFO shifts are 12 hours, so a 14 day swing is around 168 hours of work before you see home. On a 2 and 1 roster you are on site for roughly two thirds of the year.

Ask whether your travel days come out of your time off. On some rosters you fly out on the first morning of your break, which turns a 7 day break into something closer to 6. Also ask about day and night swings, because many sites run a block of days then a block of nights within the same swing, and the switch is hard on sleep.

• •2 and 1 (14 and 7): two weeks on, one week off. Very common in FIFO. You are away more than you are home.
• •8 and 6: eight days on, six off. WA's 2015 inquiry noted this roster, pioneered by one major miner, lets you be home every second weekend.
• •Even time (7 and 7, or 14 and 14): equal time on and off. Fewer hours a year usually means less total pay, but much more life at home.
• •4 and 1, 3 and 1: high compression rosters, more common on construction projects. The research links these to worse mental health.
• •5 and 2 or 4 and 3: more typical for residential or DIDO roles where you go home each night or most nights.

The upside: pay, savings and real time off

Most mining apprentices are paid under a company enterprise agreement (EBA) rather than straight off an award. The relevant award, such as the Mining Industry Award or the Black Coal Mining Industry Award, sets the floor, and an approved EBA has to leave you better off overall than that award. On top of base rates, mining agreements often include things like site or remote allowances, shift loadings for nights and weekends, and overtime built into 12 hour shifts. How each one works depends on the agreement, so ask for a copy of the EBA before you accept and read the apprentice clauses. You can check minimum award rates with the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

The savings potential is real because camp covers your food and accommodation while you are on site, and your flights are normally paid from the company's point of hire. If you live away from that point of hire, ask who pays to get you there. With fewer chances to spend money on swing, people with a clear goal (a house deposit, clearing debt, a ute paid off in cash) can get ahead much faster than mates on a city wage.

Time off comes in blocks. A week or more at home lets you travel, see family properly, or chip away at study or a side project in a way a Monday to Friday job rarely allows. For some people, that block of R&R is the best part of the deal.

The upside: training, big gear and where it can lead

Big mining operations tend to have structured apprentice programs, dedicated trainers, and good workshops and tooling. You will work on equipment most city apprentices never touch: haul trucks, excavators, dozers, crushers, conveyors, high voltage gear and processing plant. That exposure, plus the safety systems you learn to work inside, is valued across the whole industry.

Once you are qualified, mining opens doors to supervisor and leading hand roles, maintenance planning, reliability work, training and assessing, and moving between companies, commodities and states. Some people use FIFO as a stepping stone into a residential role or a city job later. See which trades are most in demand on site in our guide to the best trades for mining jobs (The best trades for getting on the mines), and the trade hubs for diesel mechanics (Diesel Mechanic Apprentice Hub), fitters (Fitter and Turner Apprentice Hub) and electricians (Electrical Apprentice Hub).

The downside: 12 hour shifts, fatigue and the life you miss

Twelve hour shifts, day after day, in heat and noise, wear you down. Add early starts, night swings and a flight at either end and fatigue becomes the default, not the exception. The 2018 Curtin University study for WA's Mental Health Commission found FIFO workers had significantly worse sleep than a comparison group, and interviewees described being especially wiped out on the transition from site to home.

You will miss things. Birthdays, weddings, footy finals, Christmas some years, and a lot of normal weekends. Your mates' social life keeps going without you. If you play sport, a 2 and 1 roster makes regular training almost impossible.

Relationships take strain. WA's 2015 parliamentary inquiry found that working a FIFO roster can increase strain in personal relationships, particularly within families. The Curtin study found one third of FIFO partners surveyed had high or very high psychological distress, the same rate as the workers themselves, and only 10 per cent of partners had received any induction before the worker started FIFO. If you have a partner, they are signing up for this too.

Camp life: rules, alcohol and isolation

Camp gives you a room, meals, a gym and laundry, but it is still a workplace. Expect rules about alcohol, visitors, noise and behaviour, and expect random drug and alcohol testing on site. The 2015 inquiry questioned whether all the controls applied to off-shift workers were necessary, but they are part of the deal. Some camps use 'motelling', where you get a different room each swing. The inquiry recommended minimising it, and the Curtin team's later Landmark Study found more workers now have permanent rooms than five years earlier.

Alcohol has long been a problem in FIFO culture. The 2018 Curtin study found 62 per cent of FIFO workers drank five or more standard drinks on a single occasion at least once a month, compared with 39 per cent of the comparison group. WA's 2022 'Enough is Enough' inquiry heard that misuse of alcohol was rife and found that companies had generally moved to limit camp drinking to four standard drinks per day. As an apprentice, especially a young one, the wet mess can become your whole social life if you let it.

Isolation is the quiet one. You can be surrounded by people and still feel alone, especially in your first swings when you do not know anyone. The Curtin research identified loneliness and isolation as important influences on FIFO mental health. Good phone and internet access in camp makes a big difference, so ask about it.

Golden handcuffs and lifestyle creep

The 'golden handcuffs' are when the money becomes the reason you cannot leave. It usually happens through lifestyle creep: a new ute on finance, a bigger mortgage, a boat, holidays priced for FIFO income. Then your commitments are set at a level only FIFO pay can cover, and walking away from a roster that is hurting you, your health or your family feels impossible.

Mining also runs in cycles. Commodity prices move, projects finish and sites cut back. WA's 2015 inquiry recognised the importance of sound financial education for FIFO workers in a volatile employment environment and said companies should build it into onboarding.

The fix is boring but it works. Set a specific goal and a time frame before you start. Live as if you were on a normal wage and bank the difference. Avoid big finance in your first year. Decide in advance what 'enough' looks like, so FIFO stays a choice and not a trap.

Mental health: what the research says

WA's Parliament looked at this hard in 2015. The Education and Health Standing Committee's report on the impact of FIFO work practices on mental health found research suggesting around 30 per cent of the FIFO workforce could have mental health problems, against a national average of about 20 per cent. It said companies must treat suicide as a workplace hazard, and recommended a code of practice for FIFO work. WA introduced that code in 2019, and has since consulted on a replacement code focused on psychosocial hazards for FIFO workers, so check WorkSafe WA for the current version.

The 2018 Curtin study commissioned in response found one third of FIFO workers reported high or very high psychological distress, compared with 17 per cent of a comparison group, and the gap held after allowing for age, education and job type. FIFO workers also reported more bullying and more burnout. Workers on even time and shorter rosters (2 on and 2 off, 8 and 6, 5 and 2) had better results on every mental health measure than those on 4 and 1, 3 and 1 and 2 and 1. Note that the 2015 inquiry had favoured 2 and 1 alongside even time and 8 and 6, so the later data is less kind to 2 and 1.

The WA Government's Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Landmark Study, run by Curtin, surveyed 2,550 WA mine workers. Its 2024 report found burnout persists, and that women and younger workers generally reported poorer mental health and wellbeing. That last point matters if you are a young apprentice. Things that helped included mental health awareness training and informal check-ins. Peer programs like MATES in Mining train workers on site to spot someone struggling and connect them with help.

None of this means you will struggle. It means the risk is real, it is higher than in a lot of other jobs, and the earlier you talk to someone the better. Your company's Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is free and confidential, and the helplines at the end of this guide are there 24 hours a day.

Sexual harassment and assault on FIFO sites

This is uncomfortable to read, but you deserve to know it. In June 2022 the WA Parliament's Community Development and Justice Standing Committee tabled 'Enough is Enough: Sexual harassment against women in the FIFO mining industry', with 79 findings and 24 recommendations. It found women in mining frequently have to deal with sexual harassment and sexual assault, and cited Australian Human Rights Commission data showing 40 per cent of mining workers, and 74 per cent of women in the industry, reported being sexually harassed in the previous five years.

The committee found the industry had the main risk factors for harassment: poor culture, misuse of alcohol, gender imbalance and power imbalance. It was appalled by evidence of managers and supervisors seeking sexual favours in return for promotion or permanent work, and found that people who behaved badly were often moved on to another site rather than dismissed. One witness specifically described young apprentices being targeted. As an apprentice you are at the bottom of the power ladder, which is exactly why you should know your rights.

Some things have changed since. In WA, work health and safety regulations covering psychosocial risks, including sexual harassment, took effect on 24 December 2022, so employers must eliminate or minimise those risks like any other hazard. For employers in the national workplace system, sexual harassment has been expressly prohibited under the Fair Work Act since 6 March 2023. WorkSafe WA set up a specialist team in its mines safety area, boosted its 24/7 reporting line (you can stay anonymous), and launched free Respect in Mining resources for employers. The 2022 inquiry also noted major company programs to improve camp door security, lighting and laundry safety. WorkSafe's June 2025 final progress report said the Government's recommendations were complete, well advanced or built into normal practice, though several items, such as a new data system and police information sharing, were still listed as in progress.

The Landmark Study's 2024 report found reports of sexual coercion and unwanted sexual attention were declining, but sexism and covert harassment remain a concern. Harassment and violence can also be directed at men, and bullying of anyone is a safety issue. If something happens to you or you see it, you can report to your employer, to the regulator, or to police, and you can get confidential support without making a formal report. The contacts are below.

Who it suits, who it does not, and how to test it first

FIFO tends to suit people who are self-disciplined, sleep well, handle routine, have a clear reason for being there, and either have no dependants or have a partner who is genuinely on board. It also suits people who like big gear and big systems and want the career doors that mining opens.

It tends not to suit people who need regular weekends for family, sport or study, people with young kids and no solid support at home, people who are already struggling with their mental health or with alcohol or drugs and have not got support in place, and anyone who would only be there because someone else told them the money is good.

You do not have to jump straight into a 2 and 1 roster to find out. Try a residential mining town job (Kalgoorlie, Karratha, Port Hedland, Moranbah, Mackay or the Hunter Valley) or a DIDO role first. Some people get a taste through a short shutdown before committing. Our state guides for WA (Apprenticeships in WA: incentives, fees and where to start), QLD (Apprenticeships in Queensland: incentives, free training and where to start) and NSW (Apprenticeships in NSW: incentives, fee-free training and where to start) and the mining programs guide (Mining apprenticeship programs in Australia: who hires and when) show where the options are.

• •Before you sign, ask: what is the roster, and do travel days come out of my time off?
• •Will I have a permanent room or be motelled?
• •Where is the point of hire, and who pays to get me there?
• •What is the camp alcohol policy and the drug and alcohol testing policy?
• •Who is my supervisor and trainer on site, and who do I go to if I have a problem with them?
• •What mental health support is on site: EAP, peer supporters, MATES connectors?
• •Can I see the enterprise agreement, including the apprentice pay and allowance clauses?

Where to get help

Save these in your phone before your first swing. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 000. If you are with a GTO, your field officer can also help, and your union can advise you on your rights.

• •Lifeline: 13 11 14, 24 hours a day, for crisis support and suicide prevention.
• •Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636, 24 hours a day, for anxiety, depression and mental health support.
• •MATES Helpline: 1300 642 111, 24/7, free and confidential for mining workers and their families. MATES in Mining also runs on-site suicide prevention training.
• •1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732, 24 hours a day, for sexual assault, domestic and family violence.
• •WA: report sexual harassment or assault on a mine site to WorkSafe WA's 24/7 line on 1800 678 198 (you can remain anonymous), or 1300 307 877 in business hours. The Sexual Assault Resource Centre crisis line is 1800 199 888.
• •QLD: report to Resources Safety and Health Queensland's psychosocial team on 1300 581 077 (8.30am to 4.30pm weekdays) or psychosocial@rshq.qld.gov.au. Reports can be made anonymously. The Queensland Sexual Assault Helpline is 1800 010 120.
• •NSW: contact the NSW Resources Regulator through its website.
• •Your employer's Employee Assistance Program (EAP): free, confidential counselling, usually available to your family too.