How to Get Into FIFO Work in WA With No Experience

Western Australia’s mining sector ran on more than 136,000 on-site full-time equivalent positions in 2025, with gold operations alone adding more than 5,000 roles (Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration). A good number of those roles are open to people who have never worked on a mine site before, so for most beginners the difficulty isn’t finding a vacancy.

What makes the process harder than it needs to be is the order people go about it. It’s common to pay for a ticket that isn’t required, apply with a resume that buries the details an employer is scanning for, or leave the most useful step until last. This guide sets out the sequence instead, from working out whether FIFO suits you through to your first phone screen. If you want to know which starter roles to aim for, our guide to entry-level mining jobs in WA covers those in detail.

Step 1: Work Out Whether FIFO Suits You

Before spending anything on training, it’s worth thinking carefully about whether the lifestyle will work for you. FIFO usually means 12-hour shifts, early starts, and weeks at a time in a camp several hundred kilometres from home. Rosters are set well in advance, and they don’t move around birthdays, weddings or other commitments.

The trade-off is the money. Median weekly earnings in mining sit at $2,649, against $1,700 across all Australian industries (Jobs and Skills Australia), and that difference is what compensates for the time away from home.

Workers who settle well into FIFO tend to be comfortable with a fixed routine, content in their own company, and have talked the decision through with a partner or family beforehand. It’s a straightforward conversation to have early, and a much easier one than reconsidering after you’ve already paid for tickets.

Step 2: Get the Tickets WA Sites Actually Ask For

The list of requirements is shorter than most people expect. You don’t need a Certificate III to land a first swing, although general construction induction training is mandatory under WA’s Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022 for anyone doing construction work (WorkSafe WA).

White Card: This is the one ticket you can’t start without. It’s issued by a registered training organisation rather than the regulator, it lapses if you leave the industry for two consecutive years, and a one-day course in Perth runs around $95 to $140.

Working at Heights, Confined Space and Gas Testing: These three make you considerably more useful on site, particularly around processing plants and during shutdowns. Perth providers usually bundle them, with one Joondalup RTO running all three as a single day for $590, or roughly $260, $260 and $190 if bought separately.

A manual C-class driver’s licence: Easy to overlook, but it does matter. Plenty of site vehicles are manual, and a heavy vehicle licence is a useful advantage rather than a requirement.

One point worth clearing up, because it comes up often. Standard 11 is a Queensland coal induction, issued under the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 and administered by Resources Safety and Health Queensland. It isn’t a WA requirement, and WA operators run their own site inductions once you’ve been hired. Some multi-state contractors do ask for it, but treat any course sold to you as a guaranteed way onto a Pilbara site with caution.

Step 3: Clear the Pre-Employment Medical and Drug and Alcohol Test

Every WA site will put you through a pre-employment medical, which the employer arranges and pays for. Expect a general fitness assessment alongside vision and hearing tests and a drug and alcohol screen, and a driving assessment if the role calls for one.

The purpose is to establish a baseline, so that any later change to your hearing or lung function can be traced and managed. The parts within your control are simple enough: turn up rested, hydrated and clean. A positive drug or alcohol screen will end the process, so it’s worth being clear on that before you apply.

Step 4: Write a Resume That Leads With Your Tickets

Most no-experience resumes open with a short paragraph about being a motivated team player seeking an opportunity in mining, which doesn’t tell an employer anything they can use. Put your tickets, licences and availability in the top third of the first page instead, where they’ll be seen.

From there, translate the work you have done into terms a site will recognise. Hospitality shows long hours on your feet under pressure. Labouring shows fitness and reliability. Defence experience shows you can follow procedure and work as part of a crew. Name the skill, then give the example that backs it up.

Finally, be explicit that you’re looking for FIFO work, and state the rosters you’re able to accept. Employers filling entry-level roles are largely screening for people who will stay past their first swing, so being vague about availability tends to work against you.

Step 5: Register With a Specialist Mining Recruiter

This is the step with the most upside, and often the one beginners leave until last because its value isn’t immediately obvious. Agencies working across mining and resources in WA are frequently briefed on roles before they’re advertised, which means the applicants competing on a public job board aren’t the whole field.

Registering costs jobseekers nothing. Submit your CV once, keep your ticket list up to date, and make yourself easy to reach. Keeping your LinkedIn profile current and applying directly are both worth doing alongside it.

Step 6: Prepare for the Phone Screen

At entry level, nobody is going to test your technical knowledge, because you aren’t expected to have any yet. What’s being assessed is whether you’ll be reliable, whether you’ll raise a concern when something doesn’t look right, and whether you understand what the roster involves.

So answer plainly. Confirm the tickets you hold without overstating them, say what rosters you can work and when you’re available to start, and if safety comes up, talk about stopping to ask rather than pushing on. At this stage, a willingness to learn and take direction counts for more than confidence.

What the Whole Process Costs

Added up, becoming a credible first-swing candidate means a White Card, a three-ticket combo day and a licence check. That comes to well under $1,000 and a few days of your time. The sequence matters more than the spend, and working through it in order is what tends to separate people who land a swing from those still applying six months later.

There are no shortcuts through the medical or the safety requirements, and the training does take a little time. But mining remains one of the few well-paid careers in Australia you can start without a degree or existing contacts. If you’re ready to line up your first swing, get in touch with the Scotford Fennessy team. As one of Perth’s leading mining recruitment agencies, we work with employers across Western Australia and can tell you what entry-level roles are asking for right now. Browse our current mining roles or submit your CV, and one of our specialist consultants will be in touch.

Submit your CV to our mining team

The Right People Make Life Easier

We’ll make sure your business gets the right person. The first time. We want you to invest in someone who is a good fit for your company culture. Someone with aptitude who can capitalise on opportunities and realise your business goals.

You know how important it is to get recruitment right, but it’s not an easy process without someone to guide you through it. That’s what we’re here for. We’ll find the person you need for tomorrow so you can focus on what your business needs today.