FIFO (fly-in fly-out) work in the Australian mining industry sits awkwardly between "ordinary employment" and "travel for work", and the tax treatment reflects that. Some FIFO costs are deductible and worth chasing; others aren't and trying to claim them creates real audit risk. The single most-misunderstood category is travel — home to airport is private commuting (not deductible) but travel during a swing between site locations is work-related (deductible). This page covers what FIFO mining workers based in Australia can claim, what they can't, and the zone-offset rules that some remote-site workers can use.
Travel — the work-vs-private split
Three travel categories with different treatment:
- Home → airport (FIFO pickup) → site = private commute. Not deductible. The mine site is your usual workplace; the flight is your commute. The ATO public ruling TR 2021/4 is explicit on this, applying the long-standing principle from Lunney v FCT (1958) 100 CLR 478 that travel between home and a regular place of work is private regardless of distance.
- Site → another site (during a swing) = work travel. Deductible. If you're moved between drilling locations, between the camp and a remote pit, or between work sites at different mines mid-swing, that's travel between workplaces and the cost is deductible (food, accommodation, vehicle expenses for the leg).
- Site → training (away from your usual site) = work travel. Deductible. Travelling to attend a safety induction, a competency renewal or a specialist training session at a different location is work-related.
Camp accommodation — usually nothing to claim
Most FIFO arrangements provide camp accommodation, food and onsite amenities as part of the employment package. The employer treats this as an FBT-exempt benefit (the "Living Away From Home" rules don't apply because the worker doesn't maintain a second home — the camp is just temporary accommodation provided to enable the work).
For the worker: the camp is not assessable income, but you also can't deduct anything for it. If you're paying out-of-pocket for accommodation that the employer doesn't cover (e.g. extending stay around a swing for personal reasons, or covering meals at a remote town outside camp hours), those are personal expenses — not deductible.
The exception: if you're a FIFO worker on a temporary placement and you genuinely maintain a separate home (mortgage, family) that you return to between swings, the LAFHA (Living Away From Home Allowance) rules can come into play. LAFHA is a complex area — it requires the employer to make a specific determination, and the typical mining-industry FIFO contract isn't set up for it. We assess each fact pattern individually.
PPE + work equipment
- High-visibility work clothing — hi-vis shirts, work pants, fire-resistant overalls — deductible if not reimbursed by the employer
- Steel-cap boots, safety glasses, hard hats, gloves — deductible
- Hearing protection — earplugs, noise-cancelling earmuffs for site use
- Sun protection — sunscreen, lip balm, work-suitable hats — deductible if used outdoors at the site
- Cooler bags / esky for site lunches — only if specifically required for storing food in remote-site conditions
- Safety boots replacement — boots wear out; the replacement cycle is deductible
- Tools you supply yourself — wrenches, multimeters, specialised gear required by your role and not supplied by the employer. Items over $300 depreciate over their effective life
- Mobile phone bills — work-use percentage. FIFO workers often use the personal phone during shifts for work matters; track the work-use ratio
Training + tickets + competency renewals
FIFO mining work typically requires several "tickets" — competency cards or licences that have to be renewed periodically. These are deductible:
- White Card (general construction induction) renewal
- HRWL (high-risk work licences) renewal — forklift, crane, dogman, rigger, scaffolder
- Working at heights certificates
- First aid + CPR renewals (where required for the role)
- Site-specific inductions (Rio Tinto, BHP, FMG inductions) where you pay personally — usually rare; most are employer-paid
- Competency upgrades — moving from Cert III to Cert IV in a related field, paid for personally and connected to the current role
Self-education claims need a direct nexus to your current role. A course you're taking to change careers (e.g. moving from FIFO drilling into project management at the same mine) might qualify; a course completely unrelated to current work won't.
Zone offset — only for some remote sites
The Zone Tax Offset (sometimes called the Remote Area Tax Concession) is available to taxpayers who live in a Zone A, Zone B, or Special Zone area for at least 183 days of the year. The list is defined in s 79A ITAA 1936 and supplemented by ATO guidance.
The trap for FIFO workers: you have to livein the zone, not just work there. A worker who lives in Melbourne and flies to a Pilbara mine for swings doesn't qualify — the residence test fails. A worker who's relocated their primary home to Karratha or Newman, and flies to the site from there, can claim if they meet the 183-day test. Most Melton-based FIFO workers don't qualify; some West Australian-based or Queensland-based residents do.
Income components to watch
- Site allowances — typically reported as part of gross wages on the income statement. Fully assessable.
- Travel allowances — usually FBT-exempt employer-provided, but if paid as cash they're assessable. Check the income statement breakdown.
- Living-away-from-home allowance (LAFHA) — if applicable, has its own complex tax treatment. Usually disclosed separately on the income statement.
- Bonuses + retention payments — fully assessable in the year received. Often pushes FIFO workers into a higher tax bracket for that year.
- Long-service leave + annual leave loading — assessable when paid out, including on termination.
- Termination payments (ETPs) — concessional tax treatment depending on the type of payment. Voluntary redundancies, genuine redundancies, and standard terminations all have different rules.
Common mistakes we see
- Claiming the home-to-airport flight as a deduction — fails on every test, audited heavily
- Claiming meals at the camp (employer provides them; can't double-dip)
- Trying to claim Zone Offset while living in Melbourne / Brisbane / Sydney with FIFO swings — residence test fails
- Missing the work-use percentage on the personal phone — most FIFO workers run a phone bill that's 30-50% work-related during swings; full deduction often applies
- Not tracking small recurring deductions (sunscreen, replacement boots, hearing protection) over a year — adds up to $500-1,000 missed
- Treating union dues as non-deductible — they're fully deductible (CFMEU, AMWU and other mining-industry unions)
- Over-claiming on a training course unrelated to current role — fails the nexus test, gets caught at audit
Talk to us
FIFO returns are usually straightforward once the work-vs-private travel split is sorted. Bring your final-year income statement, any out-of-pocket PPE / training receipts, the work-use ratio on your phone, and we'll work through the rest. For Melton-corridor FIFO workers (most fly out of Melbourne or Tullamarine), most consultations are by Zoom or phone — we're Australia-wide.
Sources
Travel deductibility (TR 2021/4): ATO — TR 2021/4.
Zone offset (Remote Area Tax Concession): ATO — Zone tax offset; ITAA 1936 s 79A.
FIFO worker deductions overview: ATO — Mining-site employees.
