FIFO work can look glamorous from the outside — high pay, travel, structured rosters in big operations across places like the Bowen Basin, the Pilbara around Karratha, or Kalgoorlie and the Goldfields. But behind the income lies an emotional toll that many underestimate. Long shifts, isolation, distance from loved ones, and the pressure to “stay tough” can wear down even the most resilient worker — from FIFO cleaners and utilities to nurses and paramedics on site.
In 2025, mental health is now considered just as important as safety or production. Major mining, energy, and construction companies — including the big employers featured in our guides such as BHP, Rio Tinto, FMG, Woodside, Chevron and Santos — are introducing programs to protect the mental wellbeing of their teams. This guide explores the most common mental challenges FIFO workers face, how to spot the warning signs early, and the tools and habits that can keep you mentally strong for the long run, no matter whether you work in waste management, security and access control, or camp management.
1. Why FIFO Work Challenges Mental Health
Isolation and Disconnection
Working thousands of kilometres from home for weeks at a time — in remote hubs like Port Hedland, Newman, or Mount Isa and the North West Minerals Province — can leave you feeling detached from family life and everyday social circles. Even the most supportive relationships can suffer when distance becomes routine.
Fatigue and Sleep Disruption
Twelve-hour shifts, hot climates, and rotating day–night rosters disrupt normal body rhythms. Over time, chronic fatigue erodes both physical energy and emotional stability, especially in physically demanding jobs like heavy equipment operation, rigging and dogging, or mechanical fitting.
Relationship Pressure
Partners at home often carry full responsibility for kids, bills, and routines, while FIFO workers deal with guilt and emotional distance. This imbalance creates stress for both sides and can be especially challenging on longer rosters such as those described in our regional guides for the Surat Basin or Broome and the Kimberley.
Camp Life and Cultural Pressure
FIFO camps can feel repetitive and isolating. The “harden up” attitude still lingers in some workplaces, making it difficult for people to speak honestly about how they’re coping. Leaders in roles like camp management and site supervision and safety officer and WHS coordinator are increasingly being trained to challenge this culture.
Financial Pressure and Expectations
While FIFO jobs pay well, they also encourage high spending. Many workers tie their self-worth to money or feel trapped by financial commitments that make it hard to leave. This is common across a range of higher-paid roles, from FIFO electricians and heavy diesel mechanics to logistics and materials coordinators and procurement and purchasing officers.
2. The Most Common Mental Health Issues in FIFO Work
Anxiety and Depression
Continuous stress, fatigue, and separation often trigger anxiety or depression. Early symptoms include irritability, poor sleep, negative thoughts, or a loss of interest in social activities. These can show up regardless of whether you work in cleaning, catering, warehouse operations, or more specialised trades.
Burnout
A constant cycle of intense work and minimal rest leads to burnout — emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and a sense of being disconnected from yourself and others. High-responsibility roles such as safety advisor and emergency response officer, WHS coordinator or camp supervisor are particularly vulnerable if boundaries aren’t managed.
Adjustment Difficulties
Moving between site life and home life every few weeks can cause emotional whiplash. You might feel like you belong to neither world — a challenge many workers report across different regions, from North Queensland to the Gascoyne Coast.
Substance Misuse
For some, alcohol or recreational drugs become a way to “switch off” after long swings. This can quickly spiral into dependency and worsen mental health problems. Roles with strong safety oversight — like emergency response and fire safety roles, fuel and dangerous goods transport, or crane and heavy equipment operation — are especially intolerant of substance misuse, which can put your job and licence at risk.
Relationship Breakdown
Prolonged separation, lack of communication, and emotional distance are major contributors to breakups in FIFO households. Many partners and families connected through networks like FIFO family groups and support services work hard to learn about what life is like in roles such as bus driver and transport operator, groundskeeper, or housekeeping so they can support better.
3. Staying Mentally Strong While Working FIFO
Create Routine and Predictability
Structure brings stability. Stick to regular sleep and meal times. Make exercise part of your day, even if it’s just a walk or gym session before shift. Many camps that support large employers like Roy Hill, Gold Fields or Northern Star Resources have well-equipped gyms and recreation facilities — use them.
Prioritise Fitness
Physical health directly affects mental health. Exercise reduces stress hormones, boosts sleep quality, and keeps your energy steady. This is especially important if you work in physically demanding positions such as heavy equipment operator, diesel fitter or boilermaker and welder.
Stay Connected
Use video calls or voice messages daily. Talk about more than just work. Share moments with your family — even short connections build emotional safety. Workers in roles like logistics coordination, site administration, or security often plan regular “check-in” times around their rosters to avoid drifting apart from loved ones.
Mindfulness and Relaxation
Simple breathing exercises, journaling, or quiet time after a shift can lower anxiety. Some workers find listening to music, meditation, or audio books helpful for unwinding. Others use their off-shift time to study towards future roles, such as health and safety coordinator, environmental officer, or building maintenance trades, which provides a sense of progress and purpose.
Watch Your Alcohol Intake
Enjoying a drink on R&R is fine, but avoid using alcohol as your only stress release. It often worsens mood swings and sleep problems, and it can impact your ability to hold safety-critical positions such as emergency response and fire safety, dangerous goods transport, or instrumentation technician roles.
Make the Most of R&R
Don’t treat your time off like recovery from exhaustion. Use it to reconnect — plan family activities, visit friends, or do something that recharges you mentally. Many FIFO workers schedule R&R around milestones like progressing into WHS roles, completing tickets like RIIWHS204E Working Safely at Heights or MSMWHS217 Gas Test Atmospheres, or planning next steps into camp management.
4. How Employers Are Changing the Culture
Mental Health Training
Supervisors and crew leaders are being trained to recognise fatigue and early distress. Talking about mental health is becoming part of standard safety meetings, alongside training in areas such as emergency response and fire safety, S123 Mining Supervisor courses, and core inductions like Standard 11.
Onsite Support
More camps now have wellness rooms, counsellors, and telehealth psychologists available 24/7. Many sites include digital wellbeing programs that employees can access privately, often supported by onsite medical teams working in FIFO nurse and paramedic roles or emergency response officer positions.
Flexible Rosters
Companies are offering even-time rosters like 14:14 or 8:6 to improve rest cycles and family balance. Workers can choose schedules that match their personal circumstances, whether they’re based in Central Queensland, Cairns and the Far North Coast, or regional WA hubs like Derby and the West Kimberley.
Peer Support Networks
“FIFO champions” or wellbeing ambassadors are being introduced on many sites — trained peers who offer confidential chats and connect people to professional help. These often sit alongside formal safety structures led by safety officers and WHS coordinators and health and safety coordinators.
Family Inclusion Programs
Some employers now run “family days,” newsletters, or partner briefings to help loved ones understand the FIFO lifestyle and manage expectations. Camp-based leaders in camp management and site supervisor roles often play a key role in coordinating these initiatives.
5. Support Services for FIFO Workers and Families
Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)
Every major contractor provides a free and confidential counselling service for staff and families. Sessions can be done over the phone, in person, or online, and are often promoted by WHS coordinators, safety advisors and onsite medical staff.
MATES in Mining
A national industry program offering peer-to-peer support, mental health training, and crisis intervention for workers on remote sites. Many large projects and companies listed in our guides — from BHP Iron Ore to Evolution Mining — integrate MATES in Mining alongside their internal support services.
Lifeline
24-hour crisis support — call 13 11 14. Offers phone, text, and online chat counselling for anyone in distress.
Beyond Blue
Provides confidential mental health support and online resources. Call 1300 22 4636.
FIFO Families Network
A community of FIFO workers and partners sharing experiences, advice, and practical coping tools through online groups and meetups. Many families connected to workers in roles like transport, warehousing, and camp maintenance use these networks to feel less alone.
Telehealth Services
Many psychologists and counsellors now offer Medicare-supported telehealth appointments, meaning you can speak to a professional even from a remote site. This works particularly well when combined with onsite health services delivered by FIFO nurses and paramedics and health and safety coordinators.
6. Warning Signs You Should Never Ignore
You’re sleeping poorly for more than two weeks.
You feel hopeless, numb, or disconnected.
You’ve lost interest in things you used to enjoy.
You’re irritable, angry, or snapping at people more often.
You’re drinking heavily or using drugs to cope.
You find yourself avoiding friends or family.
You’ve thought about self-harm or feel you can’t go on.
If you notice any of these signs in yourself or a mate, reach out immediately. Talk to your EAP, your supervisor, or a trusted friend. Crisis lines and telehealth services are there 24/7. You are never alone in this, and on most sites there are also trained peers in roles like safety advisor / emergency response officer or WHS coordinator who can help you connect with support.
7. Building a Healthy FIFO Lifestyle
Choose the Right Roster
If you have young kids or family commitments, consider shorter rosters or even-time swings. More pay means little if your health or relationships suffer. Our regional guides for Queensland and Western Australia outline common rosters across different operations, from coal in the Central Highlands to iron ore in the Pilbara.
Plan for Downtime
Schedule time for yourself — not just chores or social events. Real rest is part of your job. Some workers use R&R to complete training that supports progression into safer, more sustainable roles like health and safety coordination, environmental officer positions, or camp management.
Build a Support Team
Keep open communication with your partner, close friends, and co-workers. Talk about what you’re going through. The more support you have, the better you’ll cope. Many teams now include wellbeing champions drawn from roles like utilities, kitchenhands, and storepersons who can help connect you to formal support.
Set Long-Term Goals
Decide how long you want to stay in FIFO and what you’re working toward — saving for a house, paying off debt, gaining experience. Clear goals prevent burnout. You might aim to move from entry-level work into mechanical fitting, electrical roles, plumbing and water systems, or safety leadership jobs.
Find a Hobby or Interest
Whether it’s reading, music, fitness, or study, having something outside work helps you maintain a strong sense of identity. Plenty of workers use their swings to work through online study towards higher-level jobs featured in our guides — from WHS coordination to logistics and materials management or procurement.
8. For Partners and Families
Keep communication open and consistent.
Understand that adjustment after swings can take time. Give your partner space to rest before major discussions.
Plan shared activities during R&R.
Build your own social network for support.
Educate yourself about FIFO life — understanding the pressure helps you manage it as a team. Reading role-specific guides such as FIFO cleaner, bus driver, heavy equipment operator, or nurse and paramedic roles can give you a clearer picture of what your partner experiences on site.
9. The Future of FIFO Wellbeing
The Australian FIFO industry is entering a new era where mental health is viewed as a shared responsibility. Rosters are becoming more balanced, support services are expanding, and the stigma of seeking help is fading across operations run by major employers such as MinRes, Newmont, Pilbara Minerals, Liontown Resources, and more.
By 2025, wellbeing is built into safety systems, recruitment, and leadership KPIs. Companies know that a mentally healthy workforce is not just happier — it’s safer, more productive, and more loyal. That’s why mental health is increasingly woven into training pathways for roles like safety officers and WHS coordinators, health and safety coordinators, and emergency response teams.
The goal is no longer to “tough it out” but to work smart, live well, and return home healthy — every single swing.
Conclusion
FIFO work will always test resilience, but it doesn’t have to break it. The best protection comes from awareness, preparation, and community. Mental health is not a weakness; it’s part of your strength — just as important as the tickets you hold for White Card, Standard 11, or emergency response and fire safety training.
If you or someone you know is struggling, talk. Use the resources available, from onsite EAP and MATES in Mining to national helplines. Build habits that sustain you and, when you’re ready, explore pathways into roles that support safer, healthier workplaces such as safety advisor and emergency response officer, WHS coordinator, or health and safety coordinator. Because no job, no pay, and no mine site is worth more than your wellbeing.
