Seasonal farm work deserves a better platform
We built Good Yakka because Australian farmers and seasonal workers deserve better than Facebook groups, crossed fingers, and a system that’s been broken for years. Many farmers struggle to find reliable workers. Many workers struggle to find safe, fair . We dug into the problem — and built the platform that fixes it.
Where it started
A proper dive into the industry
Good Yakka was born out of Monash’s Fastrack program — one of Australia’s best university entrepreneurship programs where students actually get their hands dirty. A semester out in the real world, finding real problems, working out how to fix them. Then a semester flat out prototyping, marketing, and getting in front of customers.
Our focus was on the Australian agriculture industry. We chatted to farmers, interviewed seasonal workers, dug into the data, and mapped out exactly where the system was falling apart. What we found wasn’t pretty — but it was bloody clear. Serious, fixable problems. Nobody building the right tools to sort them. When the government shut down the Harvest Trail service in June 2024, it left farmers with even less support — and confirmed there was a real gap worth filling.
“We want to be the platform farmers discover and say: ‘Bloody hell, why haven’t we been using this forever?’”
What we found
The system was broken
Finding 01
Many farmers struggle to find enough workers
One in five horticulture farms struggled to hire in 2023–24 — one in three of the biggest — and 42% of the farms that struggled said they’d grow less as a result. Across horticulture, Aussie contract workers fell by more than 8,000 in a single year, while overseas workers rose by 7,500, mostly backpackers. Veggie growers feel it too: 60% reported workforce shortages in AUSVEG’s 2025 grower surveys, and labour averages 38% of their costs.
Finding 02
Workers are getting ripped off
In a 2024 survey of nearly 10,000 temporary visa holders, two in three were paid less than they were owed — and one in three of the farm workers among them were paid some or all of their wages in cash (Off the Books, Migrant Justice Institute, 2026). When the Fair Work Ombudsman checked horticulture hotspots in 2021–24, it found breaches at more than 60% of the businesses it targeted in five of 15 regions. Job scam reports to Scamwatch doubled in 2025. Workers — especially on Working Holiday visas — still have almost no way to tell whether a farm is fair and safe before they commit.
Finding 03
Everything runs on phone calls and luck
Applications, rosters, agreements — most of it still happens over the phone or on paper. It’s not for lack of hard work — the tech just hasn’t shown up for agriculture yet.
Figures checked October 2026
What we believe
The values behind every decision
Both sides deserve respect
Farmers keeping the country fed and workers doing the — both sides are equally important. Good Yakka is built for both, not one at the expense of the other.
Fair pay for a fair day’s work
Nobody should rock up to a job without knowing what they’re in for. We believe in full transparency around rates and conditions. No worries should actually mean no worries.
Trust has to be earned, not assumed
Reviews, transparent profiles, and two-way accountability. Every review comes from a real job, so a good name here is earned, one season at a time — .
Regional Australia deserves better tools
The rest of the world moved online years ago. It’s time Aussie ag caught up. This industry has been underserved for too long.
Good Yakka is live
Seasonal farm work just got an upgrade. Create your free profile and get cracking.