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Canadians: Work and Travel in Australia
Canadians: Work and Travel in Australia
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SWAP Working Holidays
5 · 2 reviews
Wish List

SWAP Working Holidays

 5 · 2 reviews
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Location
  • Australia
    • Sydney
Length
26 - 52 weeks
Program Tags
Adventure Travel Au Pair
Health & Safety
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Program Details

Housing
Apartment Guesthouse Hostel
Primary Language
English
Age Max
18

Pricing

$500
Price Details
Membership to our SWAP community, jobs listings, local assistance for the entire time you're in Australia
Cost of Working Holiday Visa included
Two nights of accommodation (optional)
Accommodation option if you'd like your first few nights'
Oct 31, 2016
Wish List
6 travelers are looking at this program

Frequently asked questions

Get answers to help you plan with confidence.

About Program

If you've always dreamed of living and working Down Under, our famous SWAP Australia program is the perfect helping hand to get you started on a year of new adventures.

You'll have a home base (at our hosting centre in Sydney) plus a team of local experts who will help you with everything you need to set up and succeed in Australia.
Whether your focus is finding a great job or traveling around, we've got you covered with heaps of information like local job listings around the country, help finding great places to live, travel tips, and a community of new friends. We also take care of getting your visa and booking your first few nights' accommodation before you leave. We want your trip to be all excitement with little stress. Take it from the thousands of Canadians who have gone on SWAP Australia-we'll have you feeling like an Aussie local in no time.

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Video and Photos

SWAP Working Holidays - Canadians live and work in Australia

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Program Reviews

5.00 Rating
based on 2 reviews
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  • Housing 5
  • Support 5
  • Fun 5
  • Value 5
  • Safety 5
Showing 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Devon
Female
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Getting Away

Oct 31, 2016

SWAP was one of the best decisions of my life. I had the chance to get away and had the support of the team to help me get there! I decided to travel to Australia for a year and it was honestly an easy process to go there.
"Down Under" was a beautiful place and full of so much adventure. I lived in Sydney for my first few months and got to work as a server. I met so many awesome people doing the same thing as me from all over the world. I met lots of people from the UK, America and Italy! In Sydney I found it was the hub of travelers and a great starting point for me in my experience.
I was able to get a job pretty quickly, found housing soon too and even met some lifelong friends from taking this leap.
After living in Sydney and spending Christmas and New Years there I traveled the East Coast and had over a month of on-the-road adventures. I got to go kayaking, beach bumming, scuba diving, sailing and hiking to some beautiful locations. It was probably the best month of my life because I got to experience so many amazing things and even tried Skydiving!!
After a month of travel I worked on a cattle station for my 88 days to get my second year visa and loved life in the outback!
I traveled around the outback and down to Melbourne too finishing off my trip there before headed home. The beauty of the red center is unlike anything else I've ever seen.
I would 10/10 recommend getting away for a year or just getting away too! I am a better person because of this decision I made and I am thankful SWAP made it so easy and straight forward for me!

232 people found this review helpful.
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Carla
Female
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Three, Two, One, JUMP!

Oct 24, 2016

The moment I bought my plane ticket was nerve-wracking. The only thing I can compare it to is something I experienced a few months later, it pretty much felt like I was in a plane at 15,000 feet, and there was no turning back, I was about to jump. So I put my fears aside and I took the leap - I headed to Australia. Since it was my first time going abroad on my own, I was pretty nervous so I signed up with SWAP. They connected me with other travellers before I left, answered all of my questions and sorted out my visa in record time, so I was feeling much better about the whole thing. When I arrived, I stayed at the SWAP-recommended hostel and was lucky enough to make friends there that I stayed in contact with throughout my entire stay. They travelled with me and encouraged me to do once-in-a-lifetime things, like learn to surf, and yes, eventually even try skydiving. With the help of the hosting centre, I organized everything in the first couple of days - bank, phone, resume, etc. The apartment and job followed shortly. It was smooth sailing and I knew I could always drop by and talk to the staff if I had any questions. The pay in Australia is pretty good so with the money I saved, I travelled around and got to enjoy life in a new and exciting place. Living and working abroad changed my perspective on everything. When I came back to Canada, I missed my friends, the incredible beaches, and Caramello Koalas, but I was a better version of myself in every single way. I pushed myself to be more outgoing and more open-minded. I learned to live life to the fullest and that's something that I will always carry with me. I soared out of that plane somehow and made a graceful landing and it was all thanks to SWAP. So if you've been thinking about it, just do it, take the leap, you won't regret it!

225 people found this review helpful.
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Community Questions

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

Libby Law

Program
Canadians: Work and Travel in Australia
Job Title
Director
Helping people to work and live abroad is such a great career path and doesn't Libby, the Director of SWAP know it! Libby started her world education after university and has lived and worked in the UK and Australia. Her travel ambitions didn't stop there and she continues to travel and tout the benefits of seeing the world to everyone she meets.

What is your favorite travel memory?

There have been so many over the years but my first working holiday will always stand out. I made the decision to live and work in the UK once I had finished uni since I wasn't ready to settle down into the 9 to 5 work routine. I planned on going for 3 months and didn't come back to Canada for almost 4 years! I learned so much about myself, transitioned to adulthood and had more fun than I could have ever imagined.

Libby Law and Koala

The people I met and the adventures I had were once in a lifetime and are some of my most valued memories. I hear myself telling the most crazy stories about my travels every day and feel so lucky and proud that I made the choice to live and work abroad. What a game-changer for me and one that shaped my future in such an amazing way.

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

I would definitely choose to go on our South Africa Volunteer Orphanage program. The program has become quite popular which is making me so envious of the people who have been going. I was in South Africa last year and visited the orphanage and had the chance to speak to one of our Canadian volunteers and the work they do there is so special. To be able to help so many children by giving them your time and love is such a rewarding cause and one that is very close to my heart. The experiences our volunteers have there are life-changing and I hope to be able to take a career break at some point to go down there and lend a hand.

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

I think it's so important to honest to your clients and true to your company's mission. Sales shouldn't be the only thing you focus on.

We've been helping Canadians to go abroad for over 40 years and that's due to offering great programs and excellent services. We are fully committed to being the most valuable helping hand to those taking the leap and do a work and travel adventure.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

When I first started working at SWAP, I thought that I was living a dream. To work for a company where everyone believes in, and loves what they do, was like a dream come true for me. Every step on my journey with SWAP has been a gift, the people in this industry are so passionate, the people I've had the pleasure to work with have all be superstars, and getting to know the people we send abroad each year gives me never-ending inspiration and keeps me excited to come to work every day. Working at SWAP has allowed me to learn so much about business, people, all while spending 11 years helping Canadians to make the amazing choice to expand their horizons, career paths, friendship networks, and limits of adventure.

What unique qualities does your company possess?

Our company is unique since we treat every Canadian and their trip abroad like they're our only client. We're a non-profit organization and our focus is creating and facilitating life-changing travel and work experiences for our SWAPPERS based on their travel and life ambitions. I'm always especially proud of our team when we attend travel fairs and I listen to us all talking to people about the benefits of working/teaching/interning/volunteering abroad. We all really believe in our programs and how important it is to see the world, learn about other cultures and spend time outside of Canada. It makes me so happy to hear our team speaking about these experiences so genuinely and to see how excited we still are about them!

About SWAP Working Holidays

SWAP Working Holidays is a non-profit organization made up of passionate travelers who want to help you live, work, intern, volunteer, teach, and learn abroad! We offer assistance with visa paperwork, preparing you for your trip before you go, we book your first few nights' accommodation and then our staff abroad help you navigate living in a new...

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