How hard is it for an American to be hired as a truck driver in Australia?

457 visa dosn't cover truck driving

 

that would be a viesta cooler no good in the northwest australia we have a refrigerated system

 

Money wise you'd have to do the conversions at present our dollar is 25% less in value so $1000 USD = $1250 AUD the pay rate here for over the road is about our hourly rate av is around $23 The km rate is a minimum .35c per km so again we are doing more km 600miles = 100 km so if an American drove for 600 m @ .38 = $228 before tax , aussie driver 1000 km x .35 = $350 - 25% to = $268 USD so i'd say the Aussie is in front keeping in mind thats based on .35 per km if its higher than there would be a bigger difference but i'm just going by averages the cost of living in the USA is cheaper though, fuel, food, rent so the extra an Aussie makes we give up by all the GST and extra high prices we pay for goods.

 

I am really curious about doing this job in Australia in the future. Do I just contact Australian companies and inquire about it? I have some friends there that could vouch for me but I know the government makes it real tough.

 

There is currently no work visa for trucking. You need to find a nice Aussie woman to marry if you want to make that happen

 

It really depends when i drove in Australia i mostly was on an hourly rate so i was making good money i did do a few changeovers at a km rate however it wasn't enough to compare with US driver pay rates while i drove in the USA we were on 32c per mile i averaged about $600 US dollars a week add about 25% for the difference in exchange rates and you have the Aussie equivalent while in Australia i was easily making $1200 per week that's about $900 US what you also have to take into consideration is the standard of living and road conditions if your coming from the USA to Australia its like going back almost 50 years in time our roads are way below US standards the only interstate freeway is between Sydney And Melbourne and even that's not complete so most of the time your on single lane highways, truck stops here are a joke if you can adjust to the difference in standards i'm sure you'll do fine.

 

There is a possibility though if your from a country that qualifies for the working holiday visa arrangement, Australia currently has a reciprocal agreement with 19 countries including Canada, UK, Sweden, Germany and France to name a few, you must be between the ages of 18-30 years to qualify though.

 

Yes mate just do what any other person who is interested in working for a company would do and yes sometimes its better to actually canvas yourself rather than apply for an advert simply because with an advert you'll be competing with 100's of other job applicants so get in early and ask before they advertise alot of employers like workers that show initiative.

 

Hi,
I am in my 3rd of 4 years at uni for engineering in the states and I drive articulated buses as a part time job. My license is a Class B - P2, I think its the equivalent of your HR. After graduating I would like to go down there for a year or so and get a job, ideally with my CDL. I'd just like to get some input about this idea from y'all. Would I be able to find any work with class B (buses and straight trucks) or is it only combination stuff? I could get a Class A but all of my experience is with 12 and 19 meter buses and I don't reckon a company would want to hire a foreigner with little semi experience. What is the process of getting an HC or MC like down there?

 

My class 1 in Canada converted to a HR in Queensland, I can't do the road test for my HC for 1 year after obtaining the HR..