If you’ve been craving some warmer weather these next few months and are a bit spontaneous in the Eat, Pray, Love sorta sense, then, well, good news! The Queensland government has today unveiled a $7.3 million plan to restart tourism in the state, offering you and me literal dollarydoos to work up north.
Starting the 1st of July, Aussies will be offered $1,500 to relocate to the sunshine state and work in the tourism sector as part of what they’re calling the Work in Paradise initiative. The program is available to anyone over the age of 18 and with working rights in Australia.
FYI, the new Queensland initiative will last for the next year but if you’re keen, you’ll “need to apply in the next six months,” according to the official website. The program also covers some moving costs with a travel voucher worth $250.
The Work in Paradise program comes after the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent border closures put a catastrophic halt on international—and local—tourism. Hell, between April to June, the industry lost up to $5 billion alone. In response, Tourism Minister Sterling Hinchliffe told the ABC that the state government had invested a whopping $800 million into the industry during the panini. This new initiative is part of that plan.
The Work in Paradise program extends to all across the Queensland region, including north of Mackay, Townsville and the stupidly pretty and strangely almost always sunny Whitsunday Islands. Meaning, the government is actively paying us to have a Hot Guy, Girl or Non-Binary Pal Summer, and, I for one, am McLoving it, mate.
Speaking on Twitter, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said: “Queensland is recovering well from the pandemic, but there’s still a critical shortage of workers in our regions.
“This exciting initiative will give Queenslanders and other Australians even more reason to come work in our beautiful part of the world.”
PLEASE SHARE: Come work in paradise and receive a cash incentive up to $1,500, free travel vouchers worth $250 & access to low-cost accommodation.
It’s part of our new campaign called Work in Paradise, aimed at luring thousands of workers from across Queensland and Australia. pic.twitter.com/7rB5Tu2OF8
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) May 19, 2021
If you’re interested, you can check out the list of tourism jobs, ranging from bartending and cooking to old mate tour guides, here.
