FIFO from Perth: who flies you out, rosters, parking and tax

October 11, 2026

Perth is the main FIFO departure point in Western Australia. BHP, Rio Tinto, Fortescue, Gold Fields, Northern Star, Liontown, Macmahon and the big camp caterers all have current ads that say FIFO from Perth, mostly to the Pilbara and the Goldfields, and most of them on an 8/6 or 2:1 roster. You don't have to live in Perth to get these jobs, but if you live interstate, getting to Perth is usually your problem and your cost.

Who flies workers out of Perth

We read the current ads on each employer's own careers site in October 2026. In the Pilbara, BHP's Newman ads for diesel fitters and auto electricians say the job is FIFO from Perth, and the auto electrician ad says you stay at the same camp each swing. BHP's rail shunter job at Port Hedland is two weeks on, two off, flying from Perth, or 6:6 if you live in town. Rio Tinto has production operators at Yandicoogina and Pannawonica flying from Perth. Fortescue's Cloudbreak and Solomon ads all list Perth as a departure point.

In the Goldfields the flights are shorter. Gold Fields runs Granny Smith near Laverton and Agnew near Leinster, and its jumbo operator ad at Granny Smith calls it a short flight from Perth. Northern Star has jobs around Kalgoorlie that are either FIFO ex Perth or residential in Kalgoorlie. Liontown flies its Kathleen Valley crews from Perth and puts them up in the Dragonfly Village, a few minutes from the mine. Macmahon's Telfer and Tropicana ads both say FIFO from Perth, and Tropicana also takes people from Kalgoorlie.

The camps need people too. Sodexo's assistant village manager job is FIFO from Perth on 8:6, 12 hours a day, and its accommodation administrators work 2:1. Civeo's chef page says it flies cooks from Perth to remote sites across WA. If you don't hold any mining tickets yet, our guide to getting a FIFO job with no experience covers where to start.

Qantas lists about 2 hours 5 minutes from Perth to Port Hedland, 2 hours to Karratha, 1 hour 45 to Newman and 1 hour 5 to Kalgoorlie. A lot of crews never see those town airports, though. WA's Department of Transport says the resources industry mostly uses closed charters for FIFO staff, and some fly straight onto private airstrips at the mine. Virgin Australia's first E190-E2 charter, in October 2025, left Perth at 7:15am and landed at the Boolgeeda strip at 9:05am.

The rosters on Perth ads

The roster you'll see most is 8/6, often written as 8 days on and 6 off, then 7 nights on and 7 off. BHP's Newman workshop jobs, Rio's Yandicoogina operators, Gold Fields at Granny Smith and Liontown at Kathleen Valley all use it. Fortescue writes its operational rosters as 7D/7N/14R: seven days, seven nights, then 14 days at home. Its careers FAQ says shifts are 12 or 12.5 hours.

Contractors lean towards 2:1. Macmahon's Telfer auto electrician and Tropicana operator jobs are two weeks on, one off. Perenti's underground fitters can pick from 14/14, 8/6/7/7 or 7/7. Some office and engineering jobs at BHP and Rio are 5:2 and 4:3, which means five days on and two off, then four on and three off.

If you're weighing up two offers, look hard at the roster. WA's code of practice for FIFO mental health says even-time and shorter rosters, such as one week on and one off or eight on and six off, are linked to better mental health, and that tighter rosters can cause fatigue. Our rosters guide goes through each pattern, and the Pilbara FIFO jobs page shows which ones are on offer right now.

Do you have to live in Perth?

No. None of the ads we read said you must live in Perth or within a set distance of the airport. What they do say is where the flights leave from, and that list is wider than Perth for some employers.

Fortescue names the most. Its careers FAQ lists Perth, Busselton, Broome, Karratha, Port Hedland, Newman, Fitzroy Crossing and Kununurra for its Pilbara sites. The list changes by site: the Cloudbreak ads name seven of those towns, and the Solomon ads only Perth and Busselton. Rio Tinto's Yandicoogina ads name Perth, Busselton and Derby. One BHP ad, a trainer job at Newman, says Perth or Busselton. The rest of the BHP ads we read said Perth only. So if you live down south, Busselton is worth looking for in the ad.

If you live interstate, read the ad closely. Fortescue's FAQ says plainly that if you live outside its departure towns, you arrange your own flights to one of them at your own cost. Northern Star lists interstate flights as a salary sacrifice benefit, which means the money still comes out of your pay, just before tax. One Perenti underground fitter ad goes the other way and includes flights from any major city in Australia, but that's one ad, not a company rule.

Moving to Perth is the other option. Gold Fields lists relocation assistance on its Agnew ad. BHP's Newman trainer ad says no relocation is provided. It varies job by job.

Getting to the flight: terminals and parking

Perth Airport has two precincts about a 10 to 15 minute drive apart. T1 and T2 are on one side, T3, T4 and the General Aviation area on the other. The airport's 2024/25 annual report describes T2 as mainly regional and FIFO flights, and Alliance, Nexus and Virgin Australia fly from there. Qantas uses T3 and T4. Skippers, MinRes Air, National Jet Express, Maroomba and QantasLink go from General Aviation, off Valentine Road. Your roster or travel itinerary tells you which one, so check it the night before, because a wrong guess costs you the drive across.

That will change. Perth Airport plans to move every commercial airline into one new terminal in the Airport Central precinct, and Qantas and Jetstar move there when it opens in 2031.

Parking adds up over a year. Perth Airport's drive-up price for LongTerm parking was $198 for 7 to 8 days and $274 for 14 to 15 days when we checked in October 2026, and the Regional car park near General Aviation was $151.40 and $231. Booking online is cheaper, according to the airport. Ask your employer about the FIFO Parking Program first: the employer signs up and you pay for parking out of your pre-tax salary. Gold Fields mentions a Perth Airport parking card and discounted parking on its ads.

Tax: what you can and can't claim

The ATO's position is that travel between home and your regular workplace is private, even if you live a long way away and have to fly. Its travel ruling, TR 2021/1, uses a Perth mining company as an example: the trip from home to the airport is private, and the flight and bus from the airport to site would only be deductible if the worker had paid for them. Most FIFO flights are booked and paid for by the employer, and you can't claim anything your employer paid for. So for most people there's nothing to claim here. The ATO has said it is reviewing that ruling after a 2026 Full Federal Court decision, so check the current version before you lodge.

The zone tax offset is out too. The ATO says you aren't eligible if you work in a remote zone but don't live there, and it gives fly-in fly-out workers as the example. That rule has applied since 1 July 2015. Perth isn't in a zone, so a Perth-based worker can't claim it however long they spend in Newman or Leinster.

Flight time is a contract question. The Mining Industry Award says your time on duty in a roster cycle starts when you report to the point your employer names at the workplace. It doesn't say the flight is paid time. Whether it is depends on your enterprise agreement or contract, so ask before you sign.

What employers are expected to do on site

WA has had a code of practice for FIFO mental health since April 2019, and it still applies under the current Work Health and Safety laws. It's mostly guidance, but it's a good checklist for what a decent site looks like. It says workers with a permanent room report better mental health than those who move rooms each swing. It says that where the mobile signal is patchy, there should be satellite internet or something like it for personal use. It also asks employers to treat the drive home from the airport as a risk to plan for, which is worth remembering yourself when you land tired. Since December 2022, WA's safety regulations have also put a legal duty on employers to manage psychosocial risks the same way they manage physical ones.

The 2022 parliamentary report Enough is Enough made 79 findings and 24 recommendations about sexual harassment in FIFO mining. If something happens on site, the Mining Industry Respect Infoline on 1800 929 250, run by Circle Green Community Legal, gives confidential advice.

Applying from Perth

Apply on the employer's own careers site. BHP, Fortescue, Gold Fields, Northern Star, Liontown, Macmahon and Sodexo all post their Perth FIFO jobs there, and our list of companies hiring FIFO direct has the others. Put your departure town in your application if it's one of the regional hubs, since some ads take people from Busselton or the north as well as Perth.

Most of these jobs need tickets and a medical before you start, and our tickets and medicals guide lists what employers ask for. If your resume reads like a city job, our resume service writes resumes for FIFO applications.

Where to look on this board

Start with the FIFO jobs from Perth page. For iron ore, the Pilbara page linked above and the Port Hedland FIFO jobs page carry the BHP, Rio and Fortescue roles. For gold and the shorter flights, try the Goldfields FIFO jobs.

Sources

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