FIFO and village services
Sodexo Australia
Sodexo recruits remote-site hospitality and facilities teams, including utility, cleaning, housekeeping and kitchen work. Its FIFO careers page explains the recruitment route and links to available roles.
AUSTRALIA · JOB GUIDE
Mine-site kitchen hand jobs in Australia
Mine-site kitchen hands keep large camp meal services moving by washing dishes, maintaining work areas and helping the kitchen team with permitted preparation tasks. Reliability during repeated busy services matters more than presenting yourself as a qualified chef.
Illustrative photo
This could suit you if…
You enjoy practical kitchen teamwork and can support meal service for a large rostered workforce.
The trade-offs
High-volume dishwashing, cleaning and early or late meal schedules can be intense. The camp’s timetable sets your routine during the swing.
What does the work involve?
Camp kitchens feed large numbers on fixed meal schedules. Kitchen hands support dish and pot washing, cleaning, waste removal, stock handling and simple preparation under the kitchen team’s instructions.
Volume and timing distinguish this from occasional domestic cooking. Ask whether you rotate into dining-room service and how early breakfasts or late meals for shift workers affect your hours.
How is this different from a city kitchen?
Camp kitchens feed a rostered workforce, so meal preparation, dishwashing and cleaning follow the site’s meal schedule. You may be working while others are eating or resting. Kitchen hand, cook and chef are different entry routes; apply for the duties you can already do or that the advert explicitly offers to teach.
Does the camp cover all my living costs?
A room and meals during a work swing can reduce spending, but they do not automatically cover your days off. Compare the departure location, roster and off-swing accommodation costs before comparing a camp package with a city hourly rate.
What do I need before applying?
Food-safety skills, safe lifting and comfort in a busy commercial kitchen matter. A kitchen-hand job is different from a qualified chef position; be clear about what preparation you have actually done.
Which training is worth doing?
Food-handler skills
Food-handler learning covers hygiene, contamination, temperature control and safe storage. A food-safety-supervisor certificate is a separate responsibility; it is not the standard starting qualification for every kitchen assistant.
Free preparation — DoFoodSafely
Free, non-accredited Victorian Government online learning covering hygiene, safe storage, contamination, allergens and cleaning. Useful preparation for food-handling duties; it is not a Food Safety Supervisor qualification.
Companies and application routes
Find employers and recruitment contacts below.
Australian accommodation villages
Civeo
Utility pathways cover housekeeping, mine-site cleaning, kitchen and dining. Queensland routes can include driving or regional buses; check the vacancy rather than assuming every role includes flights.
Remote villages · Australia
ISS Facility Services
ISS recruits for remote-village cleaning, housekeeping, catering and utility work. Search Resources roles in its careers portal and choose the departure location that suits you. Screening, licences and experience requirements are listed with each role.
Queensland and other Australian sites · beginner recruitment pathway
Cater Care
The Get a Start pathway includes housekeeping utilities and kitchenhands, with opportunities for people without previous experience. Its featured sites are west of Brisbane; the careers board also covers other locations.
Choose a specific remote-site vacancy for its roster, transport and entry conditions. The general beginner pathway does not confirm working-holiday visa acceptance.
View current Cater Care vacancies
Checked 23 October 2026.
How do I put together a good application?
Mention high-volume service, commercial dishwasher use, cleaning routines and reliable attendance. State roster availability and departure location, and ask which screening and training the employer arranges.
FIFO applications need your departure location, roster availability and current licences. Use the advertised recruitment process for medicals and site induction; those stages come after the employer assesses your application.
ESS camp-support salary and roster
ESS’s Perth expression of interest lists a $91,519 base salary plus 12% super and allowances. The full-time intake includes kitchen hands, housekeepers, mine-site cleaners and all-rounders; it does not publish separate salaries for each department.
The roster is 14 days on / 7 off with 11–12-hour shifts. Flights from Perth, on-site meals, accommodation and uniforms are included. The intake requires Perth-based applicants, a full Australian driving licence, full working rights and a police clearance issued within six months. Working-holiday eligibility is not explicitly confirmed.
ESS salary and intake evidence · checked 23 October 2026. This is a shared intake package, not an ordinary hourly rate.
Sources and further reading
Fair Work contractor catering at mine camps
Sources checked 17 October 2026.