Farms and orchards・Banana farms (with packing sheds), plus red papaya and passionfruit farms
Large banana farms and packing sheds in Tully (the company says it is Australia's largest banana grower), also growing papaya and passionfruit
Tully (Munro Plains area), Queensland 4854
Use the postcode of the work location — not the company's head office, and not where you live.
Postcode 4854 is on the Department of Home Affairs "Regional Australia" list, and the work type is "Plant and animal cultivation".
Munro Plains (Tully) QLD 4854
Postcode 4854・Tully · Innisfail · Map location is approximate
Plant and animal cultivation
Harvesting and packing fruit and vegetables, pruning trees and vines, livestock work, and primary meat processing such as slaughtering, cutting and packing. Secondary processing such as winemaking or processed meats does not count.
Note: on 17 September 2026 the government announced second and third visas will move to a ballot. Completing specified work makes you eligible to enter, but it no longer guarantees a visa (start date not yet announced).Details
5 casual / seasonal roles. Duties, requirements and required licences are listed separately.
Bagging, bell injecting, helping with irrigation, de-leafing, desuckering, straining, harvesting, cleaning, packing, sorting and separating bunches on banana, papaya and passionfruit farms.
400 positions, 30–38 hours a week, for 9 months from 2026-09-24. Source: https://www.workforceaustralia.gov.au/api/v1/global/vacancies/2354182509
Cutting whole banana bunches and carrying them on your shoulder (35–40 kg each); also planting, weeding and general maintenance.
Duties are based on Mackays' "Farm & Shed Workers" ad that expired on 7 October 2025 (https://au.joblum.com/job/farm-shed-workers/13162701).
Cutting bunches into hands (de-handing); sorting, grading and packing freshly harvested bananas; repetitive manual work with the hands, arms and shoulders.
Based on an ad that expired on 7 October 2025 and the current WFA ad 2354182509.
Checking packed cartons for defects and sampling under QA rules; biosecurity checks (no plant material or soil on cartons); record-keeping; Coles / Woolworths online assessments; waste analysis on the reject line; whole-bunch assessments.
10 positions, from October 2026 for at least 9 months; WFA job 2354490175, posted 2026-10-02. Quality control is support work, so check whether it counts.
Receiving and dispatch, stacking and shrink-wrapping pallets (for cold storage / transport), loading paperwork, monitoring cold rooms and stocktaking packaging.
Casual ad: https://au.jora.com/job/Forklift-Operator-T-d77734910aeec6057da2bf2c23dae417 (from WFA 2354490128, posted around 2026-10-02); full-time ad: https://au.jora.com/job/Forklift-Operator-92f6c80a5c829b7b2f22b2098d7eb442 (from SEEK job 94820806, posted around 2026-09-23). Forklift driving is support work, so check whether it counts.
Banana field work (bagging, de-leafing, desuckering, injecting, harvesting / humping), and in the packing shed de-handing, sorting, grading and packing; there are also papaya and passionfruit farms. The same employer has a Lakeland farm (QLD 4871, eligible postcode), and its website mentions a southern growing region near Bundaberg (no jobs seen, location not published).
Wet tropics: Tully is described as one of Australia's wettest towns (Wikipedia: 4,095 mm a year). Field work means heat, humidity and rain; humping means carrying 35–40 kg bunches on your shoulder; packing shed work is repetitive and you stand the whole time.
What the employer publishes and the legal minimum are shown separately.
Statutory figures last checked: 2026-10-05. Your actual pay is what your employer's contract and payslips show.
Bananas are supplied all year (Mackays says it provides consistent, high-quality product and service year-round). The current Tully / Lakeland farm worker ad runs for 9 months from 2026-09-24 (to about June 2027). The local working hostel says the hotter months are usually busiest.
Hiring now: an ad posted on Workforce Australia on 2026-09-23 seeks 400 casual farm workers (Horticulture Award Level 1), 30–38 hours a week, Monday to Thursday 6:30am–4:40pm, for 9 months from 2026-09-24; the ad closes 2026-10-07. There are also quality controller roles (10 positions, posted 2026-10-02, at least 9 months from October 2026) and forklift driver roles. The same employer's Lakeland farm (QLD 4871) also has a Farm worker (L) ad. A 2023 ad asked applicants whether they were Australian citizens or permanent residents; the current ads do not say whether Working Holiday visas are accepted.
Hiring now (ad closes 2026-10-07)
400 casual farm workers (Workforce Australia, closes 7 October); the ad does not say whether Working Holiday visa holders are accepted
Hiring status is checked automatically every day; last checked: 2026-10-06.See the job ad
Online form on the official website
Current ads (September–October 2026): farm workers (Tully, 400 casual positions) apply online via Workforce Australia job 2354182509 (closes 2026-10-07); the PPS/Quality Controller and Forklift Operator (T) ads say to apply through Mackays' Dayforce careers portal (jobs 166 and 164). The full-time forklift role on SEEK uses SEEK Quick Apply with a resume and cover letter. "Join Mackays Group" on mackays.com.au links to the Dayforce portal (the page needs JavaScript, so our tools cannot read the job list). Head office: info@mackays.com.au / 07 4088 7800. An ad that expired in October 2025 (Joblum) asked applicants to register by email and interview in person in Tully.
Only apply through the channels listed on this page or published on the employer's official website. Legitimate employers never ask you to pay for a job; for look-alike job sites or people who message you privately, check the official website first.Avoiding illegal work
Each role needs different licences — see the role descriptions above.
Make sure it is a registered company that gives payslips and pays super, so your specified work days will hold up.
Car recommended. A Mackays ad that expired on 7 October 2025 said "bus to and from the farm (pick-up in Tully town)"; the current ads no longer mention it. Without that bus you need a car to reach the farms outside town. The full-time forklift ad requires a valid car licence.
Greyhound stop: Transit Centre, 76 Butler St, Tully. Queensland Rail's Spirit of Queensland (Brisbane–Cairns) stops at Tully (northbound arrives 2:21pm, southbound 10:20am; it only stops at Tully if booked in advance; northbound services leave Brisbane on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday). A 2025 Mackays ad mentioned a farm bus from Tully.
No local bus service found
Cairns — Tully is about 141 km south of Cairns (Wikipedia); Townsville is 208 km away
Nearest town: Tully (farms at Munro Plains / Tully Valley)
Tully is a small town (2,368 people in the 2021 census) with a hospital, an IGA supermarket and a police station; the nearest Woolworths is at Mission Beach (18.4 km).
To be confirmed
None of the Mackays ads found mention employer accommodation. Local options (none of the pages found show any link to Mackays): Banana Barracks working hostel (50 Butler Street, Tully) — you must stay there and pay weekly rent plus a $300 bond to get on its work list; it says farmers provide transport to the farms and work is about 38 hours a week, Monday to Friday.
IGA Supa Tully (5 Morris St, Tully); nearest Woolworths: Mission Beach (38-40 Dickinson St, Wongaling Beach, 18.4 km) and Innisfail (48.1 km), per the Woolworths store finder.
Tully Hospital (17 Bryant Street, Tully QLD 4854), open 24 hours (healthdirect).
Banana Barracks working hostel (50 Butler St, near the Greyhound stop).
December and January average highs of 31.3°C; July is coldest with an average low of 15.3°C; January–March is wettest (608.8 mm in March), annual rainfall 3,311 mm (South Johnstone weather station); Tully itself is even wetter (Wikipedia: 4,095 mm a year).
| Months | Average high | Average low | Rainfall | Days above 35°C | Days below 0°C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30.9°C | 22.6°C | 420 mm | 3.1 | 0 |
| Feb | 31.1°C | 22.7°C | 425 mm | 3.7 | 0 |
| Mar | 30°C | 22.1°C | 418 mm | 1.4 | 0 |
| Apr | 28.2°C | 20.3°C | 234 mm | 0.4 | 0 |
| May | 25.6°C | 17.8°C | 187 mm | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 24.2°C | 15.5°C | 106 mm | 0 | 0 |
| Jul | 23.7°C | 14.8°C | 124 mm | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 24.9°C | 14.6°C | 77 mm | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 26.9°C | 16.7°C | 76 mm | 0 | 0 |
| Oct | 30°C | 18.7°C | 74 mm | 1.1 | 0 |
| Nov | 31.2°C | 20.4°C | 103 mm | 2.7 | 0 |
| Dec | 31.4°C | 21.9°C | 303 mm | 3.5 | 0 |
Data: Open-Meteo historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), 2016–2025 average, coordinates -17.931, 145.924. Farms in the same area may differ by 1–2°C.
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Calculated from public information with a fixed formula — not a paid ranking. Ratings from past workers are shown separately in the reviews section.
Weights: specified work eligibility 25%, legal and transparent 20%, pay transparency 15%, transport 10%, accommodation 10%, amenities 10%, weather 10%.How it is calculated
Compiled from Indeed, Glassdoor, backpacker blogs and the news. Everything is a paraphrased summary — follow the links to read the originals.
English blog: peeling bananas in a Mackays cold room English
In 2018 she worked in the cold room at Mackays' warehouse in Tully, starting at 2pm; she thought it was one of the better-paid and relatively easier banana jobs. She stayed at the Banana Barracks hostel, which helped find farm work, but the dorm air conditioning stayed broken for three weeks.
Published: 2018-01-18・Source
Review summary last checked: 2026-10-06. Online reviews are personal experiences and may be out of date or not reflect the whole picture; ratings change over time, so the original sites prevail.
Worked here? Your experience can help the next person avoid mistakes.
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Reviews on other sites: Indeed (MACKAYS, 1 review, Farm Hand, Tully QLD)
Last checked: 2026-10-05. If you see outdated or incorrect information, let us know.