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Some of the best-paying side hustles in Australia right now
From pet sitting to tutoring, some side hustles could help Australians earn hundreds of extra dollars a week as living costs rise.
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More than one million Australians now work multiple jobs, up nearly 11 per cent in the past year.
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Pet sitting, tutoring and odd jobs can generate hundreds of dollars in extra income, depending on demand and hours worked.
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Experts recommend choosing work that matches your skills and accounting for tax, expenses, and insurance before you start.
More than one million workers now manage a second job, the highest level on record.
Driven by cost-of-living pressures, 6.9 per cent of employed people now manage a side hustle alongside their full-time role in a concerted scramble for extra cash to beat inflation, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
From entrepreneurial pursuits workers hope will one day let them quit their full-time role to stacking supermarket shelves, filling out surveys, and handling deliveries, it’s taking many extra hours to keep a roof over our heads as inflation pushes real wages backwards.
It’s easy to see why working more hours is appealing.
From paying down debt to taking a sick day to affording the odd take-out, a few hundred extra dollars a month can be life-changing for household budgets.
ABS data shows that around one in 14 people now hold more than one job as the cost of everything from housing and insurance to groceries and healthcare continues to squeeze household budgets.
Compared with the same time last year, the number of workers trudging between two jobs has risen by nearly 11 per cent. AMP economist Shane Oliver calls the race to get a second job a ‘sign of the times’, pointing to renewed cost and rate pressures.
While people of all ages work multiple jobs, the statistics show that it’s mostly women in their early 20s.
Earning more
Some side hustles can bring in hundreds of extra dollars a week with little effort and very low overhead costs.
Below is a list of the best side hustles for making extra money, based on Finder research.
Install or fix things – You can get paid to complete manual tasks that other people don’t have the time or skill to handle themselves.
This could include assembling flat-packed furniture, setting up trampolines, installing blinds, replacing lights, or other domestic jobs people will pay to avoid doing themselves.
Earnings: Around $500 over a weekend.
Getting started: Check sites like Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace for anyone looking for a specific service. Or start advertising your service on these sites. In time, word of mouth will keep the bookings coming in.
Pet sitting – Finding a dependable pet sitter is one of the hardest parts of booking a holiday, making it a great side hustle if you’ve got the space.
Earnings: Fees typically range from $50 to $60 a day, while the owner usually covers food and bedding. Consider if you have the space to take in a couple of dogs at the same time.
Getting started: Sites like Madpaws let you set up a profile and get matched with pet owners.
Tutoring – Many people want to build skills in areas like language, maths, science, or more complex fields such as business management or medicine.
Depending on what you’re offering, you can easily charge $50 an hour and take on as many or as few students as your schedule allows.
Earnings: At least $50 an hour, but if you’re teaching five students at a time, that’s $250 an hour.
Getting started: Either sign up with an existing tutoring service like Learnmate, or advertise directly on Gumtree, Marketplace or even a school-related Facebook group.
How to choose
When deciding which side hustle to try, consider sticking to your strengths.
For example, if you’re an in-house digital marketer, consider taking on freelance work in the same field so you can charge premium rates, while teachers might offer tutoring on the side.
Also, factor in tax and insurance early, as they can affect your true side-hustle income.
If you earn money in a side hustle, you need to declare it on your tax return, according to the Australian Taxation Office, which checks side-hustle income and receives information from a range of providers.
The good news is that legitimate business expenses, such as equipment, software and home office costs, could be claimable as deductions.
Just make sure you do your homework. Earnings vary significantly, and there’s no point slaving away every month if there’s very little to show for it.
Just make sure you do your homework.
Topics: Work