Farmstay Host

Australia

Since 2015 we have been placing international working holiday makers on farms throughout Australia. These participants are coming to Australia to learn about the culture and the customs of Australia while working and gaining life experiences.

Many of our participants have horse, farming or childcare experience and want to work and live the Aussie rural lifestyle.  You can let us know a little about your farm and your family and we can find a suitable participant to come and work and enjoy life on your farm.

All participants have valid working holiday visa and full travel/medical insurance. On average participants work on the farm for around 5-6 hours per day and in addition must also contribute to normal household chores such as cleaning, cooking, gardening, shopping etc.

The most common nationalities taking the program are German, Dutch, Belgian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, American and Australian and are looking to learn about farm life and gain a unique cultural experience by being more than just a tourist. They may be High School leavers, University students, Gap year students or professionals looking to take a sabbatical from their careers. Many love horses and want to improve their horse skills, many come from big families and want to be a part of a Aussie family and many just want to be outside, in the nature and experience something new. They book with us via our website or via our International partner network of Universities and agencies in over 30 countries around the world.

Internex has been placing local and international students, graduates and professional into host organisations and families since 1999 and are one of the first dedicated placement organisations in the world. We opened our first office in 1999 and since then have placed over 20,000 participants into internships, work experience and volunteer programs in Canada, New Zealand and Australia. We have worked with hundreds of farm hosts throughout New Zealand and Australia and most hosts have said that the participants have been excellent additions to their farms and very rewarding to have in their families. We have placed our participants onto many types with the most common being horse farms (primarily equestrian, dressage, cross country, polo and race horses), sheep and beef, dairy and mixed / hobby farms. We have many mixed-use farms where our farm workers act as support in many areas of the farm and the farmhouse. We offer our participants assistance with visas, flights, insurance, airport transfers, homestay or apartment accommodation, social activities and advice on weekend and holiday travel and a 24-hour emergency support.

If you are wanting to host one of our Farmstay participants you can register below. You need to complete the registration form and include some pictures so we can create a farm profile for you. After you have applied, we will contact you to learn more about your unique farm opportunity and answer any questions you may have. Every participant is assigned an Internex Placement Supervisor who interviews them and ensures they have the right motivations and expectation before they are accepted into the program or is put forward to your farm. When an appropriate participant is found we will send you details about them and if you would like to host them, we send them your profile and arrange the logistics for them to arrive at your farm. We’ll follow up to check how everything is going and can be contacted anytime during the placement by the participant or the host family.

Many of our farmstay’ers are young and for several it will be their first time living away from home. Families need to agree to be very supportive, especially when they first arrive to help them get settled into their new home. We find the more supportive our families are at the start the better the placement becomes for all parties. You are also expected to provide a clean bedroom, with a window and insulation, a comfortable bed, linen and access to a bathroom. You may have detached bedrooms or alternative properties or apartments above the stables which are all fine so long as they are included as one of the family especially at mealtimes and social activities.

Every farm is unique and can vary from season to season and year to year. It is expected that you will teach them the day to day running of the farm and the farmhouse. Prior to the placement we will outline the things they are likely to be doing based on your farm profile. On top of household duties such as cleaning and cooking and grocery shopping, gardening etc. they usually help out with the animals/horses, help with the kids to free up some of your time, and help with all the other day to day farm operations. Generally, they help out for 5 hours per day as well as 1-2 hours of daily domestic duties. Travelling to horse shows, going for rides, participating in social activities or helping out at meals time for example is done in their free time.

We put a lot of effort into ensuring you are a suitable for each other but sometimes issues arise. We ask that you make a good faith attempt to resolve minor concerns, issues or difficulties directly together. Usually it is a case of not understanding the expectations and a conversation can solve the problem. If anything remains unresolved after you make this attempt and you would like to release the participant, then we ask that you give them 2 weeks notice to vacate or less if you and they agree.

Great news, you are interested in becoming a farmstay host! The process is simple. Please fill in the registration form below. You will also be asked to upload some photos of the home, the bedroom where the participant will sleep, the farm, the animals they will work with and some pictures of who they will live with. Once we receive your information we will give you a call to have a chat and learn more about you, your farm and your family. We will then create your farm profile and search a suitable farmstay participant for your farm.

If you have any questions or would like to chat before completing the registration form, please contact the Program Director, Cathryn Salt.

Australia: +61 466 126 703

Email: cathryn@internexpacific.com

Registration Form