Can I do Uber Eats or DoorDash on a working holiday visa?

What the platforms ask for

• Uber Eats: a passport as ID, a visa that allows you to work, a criminal check (usually within 3 days), and your ABN in the app. You can deliver by bike, motorbike or car. Bike and motorbike riders must get the free safety gear before going online.
• Uber Eats with an overseas licence: accepted for car deliveries in NSW, VIC, QLD, ACT, SA and WA if you are on a temporary visa and hold a full overseas licence. Licences from some countries need an International Driving Permit or a NAATI translation.
• DoorDash: 18 or older, an ABN, a free background check and the right to work in Australia. Car, scooter, bicycle or motorcycle; a car needs a valid licence and insurance.
• Menulog: closed. Its site now sends customers to Uber Eats.

The ABN

Delivery platforms engage you as a contractor, so they ask for an Australian Business Number. business.gov.au says you need to be running a business or other enterprise to get one, and the ABR warns you can be prosecuted for applying when you are not entitled. We found nothing that stops a working holiday maker from holding an ABN for genuine delivery work; the test is the work, not the visa.

One trap: if a farm, cafe or cleaning company tells you to get an ABN for what is really a job, that can be sham contracting. Delivery on an app is different, but read the unpaid wages page if an employer pushes you onto an ABN.

Tax: nobody takes it out for you

• Everything you earn on the apps is assessable income and goes in your tax return as business income.
• Platforms usually do not withhold tax, so set money aside every week. The ATO lets you make voluntary prepayments to avoid a big bill.
• Working holiday maker rates for 2025/26: 15% on the first $45,000, then 30% up to $135,000. The ATO page does not spell out how ABN income fits with these rates, so ask the ATO or a registered tax agent if you earn a lot.
• You must lodge a tax return. The ATO only lets working holiday makers skip lodging when all their income was salary or wages under $45,001, which is not the case with delivery income.
• Keep the platform statements and every receipt. You can claim the work share of costs you paid yourself, and platform service fees or commission may be fully deductible.

GST

Food delivery riders generally need to register for GST once their turnover reaches $75,000 a year, which few backpackers do. Driving passengers (Uber rides, not Uber Eats) is different: that needs GST registration from the first dollar. One ATO page currently lists food delivery among activities that must register, which contradicts the ATO's own food delivery page. If you are unsure, check with the ATO or a registered tax agent before you start.

Minimum pay since 17 August 2026

The Fair Work Commission made a minimum standards order for on-demand delivery of food, drinks and groceries, which started on 17 August 2026. You stay an independent contractor, but the platform must top you up to at least a minimum rate for your engaged time: from accepting a job to finishing it. Waiting between jobs does not count.

Super and insurance

• Super: the order does not add superannuation. The ATO says a contractor may still be entitled to super if paid wholly or principally for their labour; ask the platform, or make your own contributions.
• Accident cover: the order requires platforms to hold personal accident insurance for riders. It does not have to match workers compensation. Uber offers its own partner cover with limits and exclusions.
• Your vehicle: under the order you pay for CTP on any motor vehicle, and telling your insurer that you use it for deliveries is your responsibility. Check your policy covers it.
• Travel or health insurance: check whether your policy covers you while working on a bike or scooter before you start.

Bike, e-bike, scooter or car?

Renting a vehicle for delivery

Some platforms advertise e-bike rental deals (DoorDash lists a discount with an e-bike rental company). Before you rent a car for delivery, read the rental contract and check it allows commercial use or deliveries: if it does not, you may not be covered. Ask in writing whether delivery work is allowed, what the excess is, and who pays tolls and fines.

It does not count for your second or third year

Specified work is limited to the industries listed by Home Affairs: plant and animal cultivation, fishing and pearling, tree farming and felling, mining, construction, declared disaster recovery, and for 462 holders tourism and hospitality in northern or remote Australia. Food delivery is not on the list, anywhere in Australia. If you need the days, delivery can pay the bills between farm jobs but it will not add to your count.