Quick Start Guide
A$29
Get on site and survive your first swings.
- Part A: entry roles, tickets, labour hire, medicals, resume template, applying
- Part C: flights, camp and room hacks, testing facts, injury reporting
The FIFO User Manual
The FIFO field manual nobody gave you.
Getting on site, sleeping on a 4am-to-nights roster, getting through the wet mess, and lasting the distance. Written by a scaffold-industry veteran who has worked FIFO full-time since 2006, on every roster, in every kind of camp, across mines and construction.
Get the Long-Haul Edition — A$39 Just starting? Quick Start — A$29
Try the free FIFO Planner (prototype)
Instant PDF download · 14-day no-questions refund · General information, not medical or legal advice
New: The FIFO Planner
Put your roster in once and get a 12-month swing calendar, your flights and bus times, a day-by-day sleep and caffeine plan built from the guide's Sleep Health Foundation and FSANZ sources, calendar reminders, a medication declaration card and your swing bag checklist. Works offline. Your data stays on your device.
Who it's for
Breaking in?
Find out which entry roles actually take people without site experience, which tickets to buy (and which are a waste of money), and how to get your resume past the robots. You'll also know what the medical and drug screen involve before you walk in.
Ten years in and feeling it?
Short sleep, the day-to-night flip, three cans a shift, a few too many on R&R, and needing a week at home to feel human. This is your plan to fix it.
What's inside
- Getting on site: entry roles, tickets, labour hire, applying, your first-swing kit, and an ATS-friendly resume template.
- Sleep protocols: a step-by-step day-to-night and night-to-day flip plan for a 7 days / 7 nights roster, plus R&R transitions. Based on Sleep Health Foundation guidance for shift workers.
- Energy drinks and caffeine: the Australian limits (FSANZ), how to time caffeine around your shift, and better alternatives.
- Alcohol: NHMRC guidelines, wet mess strategies, the morning-after testing facts, and recovery.
- Food: a camp mess plate plan, crib ideas, night-shift eating and travel-day food.
- Flights and travel days: blood-clot (DVT) and hydration tips, and the "don't drive after nights" rule.
- Camp and room hacks: blackout, noise, temperature and routines that work in a donga.
- Drug and alcohol testing in WA: how testing works, the Australian Standards, prescription medication, and your obligations. Legal facts only.
- Injuries and incidents: your WA safety rights, stopping unsafe work, and the workers' comp steps and time limits (WorkCover WA).
- Printables: a 14-day swing planner, swing bag checklist and wellbeing plan.
Choose your edition
Prices in Australian dollars. Checkout and GST handled by Gumroad.
Best for long-haul workers
Long-Haul Maintenance Edition
A$39
Sleep, energy, alcohol, food and fatigue plan, plus site essentials.
- Part B: wellbeing plan, nutrition, alcohol, energy drinks, day/night sleep protocols, fatigue check-in, R&R reset
- Part C: site life essentials
- Printable 14-day swing planner and checklists
Complete Manual + Resume Rewrite
A$129
Everything, plus one FIFO-targeted resume and cover letter.
- Parts A, B and C and all printables
- Resume and cover letter checked by a human, 1 revision
- Delivered as Word and PDF within 5 business days
Why trust it
- Written from nearly 20 years of full-time FIFO, not a weekend of googling.
- Every health and legal point links to an Australian authority: Sleep Health Foundation, healthdirect, FSANZ, NHMRC, Alcohol and Drug Foundation, WorkSafe WA and WorkCover WA.
- No hype and no "guaranteed job" promises.
Frequently asked questions
Is this medical advice?
No. It summarises Australian public-health guidance and real site experience. See your GP about your own health, sleep, alcohol or medication.
Will it get me a job?
Nobody can promise that. It shows you how to apply properly and avoid wasting money.
Does it tell me how to pass a drug test?
It explains how testing works and what the law requires. It will never help anyone evade a test. If you're struggling, there's a list of free, confidential support lines inside.
I'm not in WA.
Most of it applies anywhere in Australia, but the legal sections are WA-specific.
Who wrote it?
A scaffold-industry FIFO veteran who prefers to stay anonymous. Still on the tools, still doing the swings.
What's the refund policy?
14-day no-questions refund on the guides. Your rights under Australian Consumer Law apply regardless.
General information only. Not medical, legal or financial advice. Not affiliated with any employer, labour hire company or government agency. In crisis? Lifeline 13 11 14 · Emergency 000.