Lavish food and luxury? FIFO workers just want a good night's sleep
At least that's the findings of what is arguably the most expansive study of FIFO work in the country, or as its lead author, Monash University's Jack Tooley, describes it, 'like a 'state of the nation' for FIFO camps'.
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Sky News AU
8 hours ago
- Sky News AU
FIFO workers in Australia reveal their extraordinary salaries, with some expats saving hundreds of thousands to buy property back home
Fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workers in Australia have revealed their extraordinary salaries, with some expats earning six figures per year and saving small fortunes to buy property in their home country. FIFO work has, in recent years, grown in popularity in Australia with expats and Aussies eager to reap the benefits of working at remote sites. The work is commonly found in the mining industry, but can also occur in construction and the oil and gas sector, where employees are rostered for about two weeks before returning to their home base for some time off. The FIFO roles range from specialised trades, like plumbers and carpenters, to operating machinery, including trucks and excavators. An Irish expat recently took to TikTok to say he earned "well over $123,000" after a year of working as an entry-level FIFO driller in mining. The man came to Australia with $400 to his name, but said he earned $12,340.10 in the first month, followed by $25,500 in the second month. After two years, the expat said he saved "up to $200,000" and "was then able to return home and buy my first home." "The base pay over here is about $98,000 per year, so it's very easy to make a lot of money, especially in every level roles," he said. "There are a few entry-level jobs that pay well up to $140,000 a year, so its easy to stack up the cash." "Keep in mind, while you're working FIFO mining in Australia, there's very little expenses out here, essentially you have no expenses." A female expat said she saved $30,000 by earning $3,000-$5,000 per week over 12-hour days for four months working in the mines. The woman said entry-level roles which don't require any experience include FIFO utility or trade assistant positions. She said the company covered her flights and accommodation, as well as provided free food, which contributed to her savings. However, free accommodation for FIFO workers is not always standard, according to Resource Accommodation, which houses workers in WA. The company states workers may have to pay for their accommodation, with the cost deducted from their wages, or pay for it in part in cases of short-term contracts or when the accommodation is of a high standard. At tax time, FIFO workers can nevertheless claim significant costs back. This includes car, travel, meal, and snack expenses, as well as clothing and laundry costs, according to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Ashlea, a female FIFO truck driver at a Perth mine, said the salary of FIFO workers is also bumped due to hefty bonuses. The young worker said she earned $36.50 per hour for the first three months while working 12-hour days for 14 days on, followed by 14 days off, amounting to "working six months of the year". Ashlea said her hourly rate increased to $43.50 for the first year, which took her annual earnings to about "$95,000 annually for the six months". She then switched sites, where she was employed by a contracting company rather than directly through the mine, earning $51.50 an hour. "They pay (a bonus of) $2000 each month you stay with them, so that could be anywhere between six and 10 thousand dollars," she said. "So annually, my $51.50 would be approximately $112,000, and with my bonuses, it might be another 10, so $122,000 for my first year." "When employed directly with the mining company itself every full year, they pay you a bonus also. "Which I think is approx $3000 each year, and then if the company itself does well, I think they pay you a bit of a profit share." However, FIFO workers' can pay with their mental health, with a 2024 survey finding those in WA's mining industry experienced suicidal thoughts and behaviours at three times the rate than the average Australian. The University of Western Australia (UWA) and MATES in Construction study surveyed more than 1,743 construction workers in WA. It found employees in FIFO roles were at a significantly increased risk of psychological distress compared to workers at fixed locations. About 2.4 per cent of FIFO workers had attempted suicide in the past 12 months, compared to 0.3 per cent of the general population. They also experienced loneliness, bullying and work-life conflict, often with reduced support from supervisors, colleagues, and family.
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
Taxpayers face $500m clean-up bill for Chevron's Barrow Island oil and gas project
Taxpayers face a potential $500 million bill to clean up aging oil and gas infrastructure left by Chevron off Western Australia's Pilbara, newly released state government documents reveal. The oil and gas giant is preparing to decommission its "WA Oil" project on Barrow Island, 50 kilometres north-west of Karratha, which ceased production in May after 60 years of operation. The process requires Chevron to cap 900 oil wells and rehabilitate the areas of the island impacted by the project. The exact cost of safely closing down the facility was previously unclear. But documents released after a Freedom of Information request by independent energy and climate journalist Peter Milne, and seen by the ABC, indicate state and federal governments will contribute at least half a billion dollars of the estimated $2.3 billion bill. The growing taxpayer liability stems from a 1985 agreement, allowing Chevron to be refunded royalties to cover 40 per cent of the cost of the first four years of decommissioning the project. Since operations began at Barrow Island in 1967, Chevron has paid more than $1 billion in royalties to the federal and WA governments, in a 75/25 per cent split. Milne's request led to the release of several 2022 emails from within WA's Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration (DMPE), as well as briefing notes to then-mines and petroleum minister Bill Johnston. All of the documents have been heavily redacted. One email revealed that total clean-up and rehabilitation costs at Barrow Island were expected to surpass $2.3 billion. But a separate email showed the department had not calculated how much of that WA would have to pay, and only made efforts to do so after being alerted to the situation by media reports. In 2022, Milne reported that an internal Chevron document put the cost of the first four years of the Barrow Island clean-up — which the company is eligible to be compensated for — at $1.3 billion. It is this figure that the department referenced in the email. "[The department] intends to approach Chevron directly to request cost estimates," the email read. "Until we are able to glean such details, we only have what has been reported in the media. "Based on that, the 'refund' from the State govt is: $1.29 billion x 0.4 x 0.25 = $129 million." Under the 75/25 split between the federal and state governments spelled out in the 1985 agreement, the Commonwealth would be required to refund $387 million to Chevron. Shadow Mines and Petroleum Minister Shane Love has questioned the fairness of the deal. "You'd have to question the intergenerational fairness of a government of the day taking the royalties and then asking the generation of the future to pay for the share of the cost of the rehabilitation," Mr Love said. The criticism was echoed by progressive think tank The Australia Institute. Principal advisor Mark Ogge said it was an outrage Chevron could access state and federal funding to meet its environmental liabilities. "It's a massive giveaway of Australian taxpayers' money to a company that's already on an unbelievably good deal," Mr Ogge said. A spokesperson for the Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration said it still did not know the total cost the state government may need to pay in the decommissioning process."The total amount of any potential refund will not be known until West Australian Petroleum Pty Ltd submits its final royalty returns and the department has reviewed and audited the company's rehabilitation and decommissioning costs," the statement said. Chevron declined to be interviewed but provided a statement. "Under relevant state legislation, which has been in place for the past four decades, costs for eligible WA Oil decommissioning activities can be partially refunded from previously paid royalties," the statement read. "While costs may be partially refunded, Chevron Australian and its WA Oil joint venture partners will continue to pay the vast majority of the decommissioning costs, given the strict rules outlined in the legislation. "We will continue to engage with state and federal governments in relation to the WA Oil decommissioning project and the administration of the royalty regime."
News.com.au
4 days ago
- News.com.au
Tony Rovira's latest gold and copper chess move has been revealed
Tony Rovira is back, baby, securing copper and gold exploration ground in the shadow of the famous DeGrussa copper mine for his new venture Solara Minerals The former Azure Minerals chief says exploration by the $5bn miner left a string of undrilled, walk up targets to test Could be the latest in a string of success stories for the famed geologist, credited with the world class Cosmos nickel and Andover lithium finds Tony Rovira has made a career out of finding world class deposits hiding in plain sight. A two-time AMEC Prospector Award winner who knows the sweat, blood and tears that build the foundations of a major discovery, his discography includes mega hits like the Andover lithium deposit near Roebourne in WA's Pilbara and Cosmos nickel complex west of Leinster. Both were found or developed as their respective markets boomed thanks to the electric vehicle revolution and China's economic miracle respectively. Could the former Azure Minerals chief, who exited that company on a high via a $1.7bn cash takeover by SQM and Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting, find his timing is just as perfect at his new explorer Solara Minerals (ASX:SLA)? The geologist's geologist Rovira stepped into the role as executive director at Solara in June, with experienced executive and former ASX exploration CEO Jennifer Neild also coming on board as general manager this month. And the transformation of the former Lycaon Resources is now complete, with the acquisition of the DeGrussa West and Wilgeena projects on the northern tip of the WA's vaunted Murchison gold field. With it, Solara cracks opens the file again on one of WA's biggest exploration mysteries – whether another DeGrussa exists, the shock copper find that turned Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR) from a junior tiddler into a $5bn mid-tier. "I think that's a really good way of putting it, hiding in plain sight, just recognising opportunities which other people may have glossed over in the past," Rovira told Stockhead. "It was the same at Cosmos, it was the same up at Andover as well, previous explorers had generated anomalies which had never been followed up and we see the same situation happening on some of the ground that we've picked up now." Gold, copper, (Sand)fire Gold and copper are no doubt, like lithium was when Azure made its fateful Andover discovery in 2023, the markets to be in right now. The precious metal is trading above US$3300/oz, with the shaky geopolitical environment which has fuelled its rise likely to continue. Copper prices in New York hit all time highs above US$5.50/lb after threatened tariffs on the red metal from Donald Trump's administration were revealed. Longer term, the supply-demand set-up is as good as any commodity in the market, with falling discovery rates and steeply rising demand out to the middle of the century. Where Solara has a leg-up is its 310km2 of Bryah Basin ground has already been picked over, but never really drilled into. Sandfire held it within a vast and ungainly portfolio where it struggled make a genuine follow-up to the 2009 DeGrussa find. That means there are already targets for Solara to analyse. With its sole focus on Wilgeena and DeGrussa West – 17km on the same strike as the historic copper mine, where SFR outlined 13.8Mt at a mad grade of 4.8% copper and 1.8g/t gold – Solara is better placed to really interrogate their potential. "This particular portfolio of properties is put together by a group of private explorers," Rovira said. "And most of the ground has been looked at in some way by Sandfire in the past. But Sandfire had so much ground out there. "And they were spread so thin that they actually generated targets which were never followed up and there are some of those targets that are on the ground that we've picked up." DeGrussa West, the initial focus, was the subject of an airborne EM survey in 2009 flown by SFR, which identified the same bedrock conductors as those found a DeGrussa. SLA has already conducted a ground based EM survey to advance drill targets, which are accessible from station tracks and just waiting on approvals. Golden days There's more than just copper on the menu as well. DeGrussa and the Monty satellite mine are located nearby. But so are the 206,000oz Old Highway deposit recently sold by SFR to Catalyst Metals (ASX:CYL), with the 3g/t Au orebody to be an important future ore source for its Plutonic gold mine to the north-east. Catalyst's previously mined Hermes open pit (123,000oz at 1.4g/t), sits between DeGrussa West and the two Wilgeena tenements. Westgold Resources' (ASX:WGX) Peak Hill (481,000oz at 1.4g/t) is immediately north of Wilgeena, with its 677,000oz Fortnum/Starlight mine and mill further out to the north-west and the historic Horseshoe Lights gold and copper mine in between. Rovira says the first target to be tested will likely be the EM conductor at DeGrussa West which was identified in its ground EM survey. But Wilgeena, 15km from Peak Hill and 60 klicks from Fortnum, and located in a region from which 35Moz of gold has been produced, is looking very enticing for standalone gold targets. "Once again, Sandfire did a lot of reconnaissance type sampling out there and there are rock chips up to 7g/t gold, there are drill hits up to 2.2g/t gold and they were never followed up," he said. "Go figure." The purchase consideration is partly performance loaded. SLA will acquire 100% of the share capital of OD4 Tom Price Pty Ltd for $150,000 cash and 1.25m ordinary SLA shares – $250,000 at today's share price. Subject to shareholder approval, another 1.5m shares will be issued to the vendors if SLA achieves a drill hit of not less than 20% copper equivalent at a cut-off grade of 0.5% CuEq within three years of wrapping up the deal. Completion is targeted by the end of this month, with no shareholder approvals required. SLA shares were down slightly this morning, but are up close to 22% since the start of the year, including 15% over the past month.
