Essential apps for your Working Holiday in Australia

The go-to app for campsites, free camps, rest areas and showers, with thousands of traveller reviews. Works offline once the data is downloaded.

Good to know: The app has changed owners and some recent reviews complain about it. It's still the most complete.

The free alternative: free and paid campsites, water points, toilets, reviews and photos. Maps can be downloaded for offline use.

Good to know: Ads can get in the way, and there are fewer sites than on WikiCamps.

88mates' Road Mode complements WikiCamps: an offline map of spots, lookouts and wildlife areas, a fuel budget, and your 88-day tracking and jobs in the same place.

Good to know: 88mates is a new app: it has fewer spots and reviews than WikiCamps, which has been collecting data from its users for years. Use it alongside WikiCamps, not instead of it.

Compares fuel prices near you. On a road trip, two stations can be more than 30 cents a litre apart.

Good to know: Official prices in NSW and WA, user-reported elsewhere: check at the pump.

Relocations: a rental company needs a campervan or car moved from one city to another and lends it to you for next to nothing. Great for crossing the country, say Cairns to Brisbane.

Good to know: Fixed route and dates, only a few days to do it, no night driving. A bond of around $1,000 is held on your card, and the damage excess is the same amount (reducible for about $30 a day). The card must be in the driver's name. Booking fees may apply, and the minimum age and accepted licences depend on the deal. It's one way: plan what comes next.

Australia's biggest job site, for every sector. Set alerts by city and job type.

Lots of hospitality, cleaning and warehouse jobs, often with one-click applications.

The government jobs board, where harvest jobs are listed since the Harvest Trail service closed in 2024. Handy for finding work that counts toward your 88 days.

Good to know: You need to link a Workforce Australia account to your myGov account to apply.

Tracks your specified work days toward 88 and 179 days with an estimated completion date, and lists jobs filtered for the 88 days.

The go-to site for finding a room in a share house in the cities.

Good to know: For their first 14 days, some listings can only be messaged with the paid plan. After that, it's free.

Australia's classifieds: rooms, vans, cars, furniture, odd jobs.

Good to know: Never pay for a room or a vehicle you haven't seen.

Widely used to buy or sell a van or car between backpackers, and for share houses.

Good to know: Before buying a vehicle, do the 4 checks in our vehicle guide, including the $2 PPSR search.

To move your money to Australia and back home at the real exchange rate. You can also get paid into an AUD account.

A handy multi-currency card for paying while travelling and splitting costs with friends.

Good to know: On the free plan, extra fees apply to currency exchange at weekends.

The Australian government portal. You link the ATO (tax) and Workforce Australia to it.

The Australian Taxation Office app: see the income your employers report and your superannuation, and prepare your tax return.

Good to know: Apply for your tax file number (TFN) online, for free, as soon as you arrive, and give it to your employer within 28 days. Without it, much more tax is withheld.

The official Triple Zero (000) app. It shows your GPS location to read out to emergency services, even without mobile data. Essential in the outback.

Official weather, with cyclone, flood, heatwave and bushfire warnings as notifications.

What most backpackers use, including share house and job group chats.

Is WikiCamps worth $9.99?

For a road trip, yes: you pay once, and a single night at a free camp instead of a paid campsite covers it. On a very tight budget, CamperMate does the essentials for free.

Are Imoova relocations realistic for a backpacker?

Yes, if you're flexible on dates and have a card with at least $1,000 available for the bond. It's a great way to cross the country, not to sightsee: the trip is on a clock.

Do I need an app for my 88 days?

It's not required, but keep an exact record of every day worked, your payslips and your farm's postcode: that's what the government asks for your second visa. 88mates tracks this automatically.