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Camp, rotational and fly in work: what to ask before you accept

15 August 2026

Understand the rotation

Rotations are usually described as days on and days off, such as fourteen and fourteen or twenty and ten. Ask whether travel days come out of your days off, because a fourteen and fourteen rotation where two days of each break are spent travelling is really a fourteen and twelve.

Ask exactly who pays for travel

Get it in writing. Does the employer pay for the flight or the drive, both ways, every rotation? Is there a mileage rate if you drive to a pickup point? What happens if weather cancels a flight, and are you paid for that day? Who pays if you need to leave site early for a family emergency?

Camp conditions vary enormously

Ask whether rooms are single or shared, whether there is reliable internet or phone signal, what the food situation is, and whether there is a gym or anywhere to go that is not your room. On a long rotation these are not small details.

Confirm the pay structure

Ask what the base hourly rate is, what counts as overtime and after how many hours, whether there is a camp or living out allowance, and whether the quoted figure includes that allowance. A rate that sounds high sometimes turns out to include an allowance that stops when you are not on site.

Ask what happens if it does not work out

Find out the notice period on both sides and, specifically, whether the employer will fly you home if you resign or are let go mid rotation. Being stranded at a remote site is a genuine risk and a fair employer will answer this question directly.

Time off for ceremony and bereavement

Ask how requests for ceremonial or bereavement leave are handled while you are on rotation, and whether it is written into policy or decided case by case by a supervisor. Written policy is far more reliable.

Get the offer in writing

Every point above should appear in a written offer before you commit or travel. If an employer will not put the terms in writing, that is your answer.

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