FAQ’s for Drillers Offsiders

We pay above industry rates. Once your probation is finished (after 6 months) you will also be entitled to additional production bonuses as well as retention rewards. As an entry level position, drillers offsiders can earn over $100,000.

You will be paid different rates for the days you are working 12 hour shifts on site and the days you are on leave or undertaking company training and inductions.

You are paid the hourly rate for inductions, training, annual leave and sick leave. The day rate is paid when you are working on site.

Bonuses are provided to every employee once probation is completed and you will have the opportunity to earn a range of different bonuses.

Employees may have the opportunity to earn retention bonuses from commencement of their employment with DDH1 Drilling.

Yes, all our employees have a six-month probation period.

As the largest drilling company in Australia, we have more than 70 surface drill rigs operating throughout Australia, working with some of the largest mining and exploration companies in the country.

You could be allocated to any one of these and your allocated site could also be changed regularly depending on the drill program schedule and client’s drilling requirements. All of our drill sites are Fly In/Fly Out (FIFO) access.

Many exploration sites will be based in remote locations with limited facilities. Exploration camps may be caravans and portable bathrooms and meals are prepared in the caravan’s kitchen provided.

Mine sites are established, producing mines. They will usually have permanent accommodation facilities, including a mess and may also include recreation facilities like gyms and pools.

We cover all flights to and from site and if you are employed outside the state that you are working, we will organise and cover the cost of your flights from your nearest capital city.

We have varying rosters according to the drilling project requirements. Rosters will be either two weeks on and one week off or four weeks on and two weeks off.

Drilling shifts are 12 hours per day. Day shift is from either 5am–5pm or 6am-6pm. Night shift is from 5pm-5am or 6pm-6am. A working week is 84 hours.

Most two-week rosters will include a 7-7 day and night shift rotation. All employees are required to complete a RDO after 14 days worked.

We operate our rigs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is likely that you will change over from day to night shift halfway through your swing.

Our swings are either two weeks on, one week off or four weeks on, two weeks off. There are no days off while you are away and you will be required to work 12-hour shifts every day of your swing. Our swing rotations are designed to provide rest and recovery time during your off week/s.

We require all candidates be open to working on both mine site and exploration sites, as we must have the flexibility to be able to ensure we can allocate crews across our rigs to meet the needs of our client’s drill programs.

Working on a drill rig, especially as a drillers offsider can be physically demanding work as you will need to lift drill rods that can weigh up to 40kgs. Work will also involve a lot of maintenance and servicing of equipment used on the rig. As well as the physical aspects of the job, there is a huge amount of learning required for a drillers offsider to get to know how the rig works, what is required on the job and helping solve issues if they arise.

The location you are working in will also impact the working conditions as you will be working outside in the elements with temperatures ranging from extremely hot to very cold. Conditions will also be dirty, dusty or, depending on the site, at times very muddy.

It depends on which rigs you will be working on as we work on both remote exploration and producing mine sites. While most mine sites do have established accommodation camps with gyms, the remote exploration sites are temporary caravan set ups will no gym facilities.

We provide itineraries 48-72 hours prior to your swing start date, depending on site rostering and flight schedules.

In most cases, all rigs shut down for a period over Christmas and New Year, however this is not guaranteed and will be dependent on client requirements.

All our surface equipment is truck mounted and requires a Heavy Rigid License for operation. This is a minimum requirement for all our Drillers or Drillers Offsiders positions.

A HR licence is a minimum requirement for all our Drillers and Drillers Offsiders positions and is to be obtained at the candidate’s expense.

A National Police Clearance is a minimum requirement for all our Drillers and Drillers Offsiders /employee positions and is to be obtained at the candidate’s expense.

Some of our remote exploration sites will have limited network access, however Telstra will provide the most comprehensive coverage and reliable network access for the large majority of our sites.