Cost of living pressures have most households looking for ways to bring in a bit more each month. The good news is there are dozens of legitimate ways to make money from home or fit a side hustle around a regular job, school hours or maternity leave. Some take a few hours a week, others can grow into a proper second income. Here’s a rundown organised by how much time and setup each one takes.
Quick Ways to Earn With Little Setup
If you want cash flowing sooner rather than later, these need almost no setup and can start paying within days.
Sell your excess stuff through Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree or eBay, or at a local garage sale or community market. Most homes have clothes, toys, bikes, exercise equipment and kitchen items sitting unused that are worth real money to someone else.
If you’re good at selling, offer to sell other people’s excess goods too and take a cut or flat fee.
Fill in online surveys through panels like My Opinions, sharing your honest opinions on new products and services for a small payment per survey. It won’t replace a wage, but it adds up over time for very little effort.
Sign up for Airtasker and pick up local odd jobs, from assembling furniture to gardening, cleaning or moving help, on your own schedule.
Gig Economy and Delivery Work
These fit around school hours, evenings or weekends and pay per job or per shift.
Drive for Uber or Ola outside your regular working hours, or deliver food for Uber Eats, Deliveroo or Menulog using a bike, scooter, motorbike or car. Both let you choose your own hours, which makes them easy to fit around school pickup or a partner’s shift work.
Offer to walk dogs, pet sit or groom pets for people heading back to the office or away on holidays. Platforms built for this make it easy to build a regular client base in your local area.
Sign up to deliver catalogues and leaflets for local businesses and real estate agents. It’s a simple option if you enjoy being outdoors and don’t mind a walking route.
If you like shopping, become a mystery shopper and rate customer service.
Rent Out What You Already Own
If you own an asset that sits idle most of the time, someone nearby is probably looking to rent exactly that. Rent out a spare room or your whole home on Airbnb or Stayz when you’re away for a weekend.
If you’ve got an unused garage, shed or parking space, list it on Spacer for storage or parking income.
Car owners can rent out their vehicle through Uber Carshare when it’s not in use. If you’ve got a caravan, campervan or motorhome gathering dust, Camplify (a Newcastle-founded platform, as it happens) connects you with holidaymakers wanting to hire one.
Turn a Skill Into Income
These take a little more setup but tend to pay better per hour once you’re established.
If you’re patient and good with kids, tutoring in maths, English or a language is in steady demand and can be run online over Zoom or in person. Teaching an instrument or a language you’re fluent in works the same way.
Got HR or recruitment experience? Help people write resumes and cover letters and offer interview coaching.
Bookkeepers comfortable with Xero or MYOB are in high demand among small businesses and sole traders who fall behind on their books. Social media savvy parents can hire themselves out managing accounts for local businesses that don’t have time to post consistently.
If you write well, freelance writing and copywriting for websites, brochures and business documents pays reliably. Proofreading or editing work is worth exploring if you’ve got a sharp eye for detail.
Web design skills translate easily into building small business websites on WordPress, Wix or Squarespace. Virtual assistant work (data entry, transcription, email and calendar management) is in constant demand from busy small business owners too.
Handy with a sewing machine? Clothing alterations and repairs are always needed, and some local retailers outsource alterations work if you approach them directly.
If you love to cook, preparing meals for time-poor locals to reheat at home is a simple way to turn a hobby into income. The same goes for growing plants like succulents and ferns to sell at local markets.
Bigger Commitments With Steadier Pay
These need more setup or qualifications but offer more consistent hours.
A part-time job through Seek, Indeed or your local shopping centre is still one of the most reliable ways to bring in regular income.
If you’re qualified to look after children, running a family daycare from home or working as an in-home nanny is worth looking into, though check with your local council on the requirements first.
A home laundry and ironing service targeting time-poor professionals, with pickup and delivery for convenience, is a low-cost business to start from your own laundry.
Seasonal and Government Work
The 2026 Census is being held on Tuesday 11 August, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics is currently hiring more than 30,000 temporary workers across the country to support it.
Field Officers deliver forms and follow up with households that haven’t responded, with no experience required and pay from around $33 per hour plus super. Field Managers and Local Engagement Officers pay more ($42 to $44+ per hour) and involve coordinating a small team or supporting specific communities.
Roles run from a few weeks up to a few months, and you can apply directly through the ABS Census jobs site.
Federal elections and by-elections also create large temporary workforces, and it’s one of the better-paid casual options on this list. The Australian Electoral Commission hires tens of thousands of temporary staff for each federal election and by-election, with roles lasting anywhere from a single day to several weeks.
Pay currently ranges from around $31 to $38 per hour depending on the role, and no prior experience is needed. The next federal election is due by 2028, but you can register your interest now so you’re notified when applications open.
It’s also worth checking your state or local council’s electoral office, since state and local elections create similar short-term opportunities more often.
A Quick Note on Tax
Income from gig work, renting out assets or selling goods regularly is generally treated the same as any other income by the ATO. Platforms like Uber, Airtasker and Airbnb now report earnings directly to the tax office.
It’s worth keeping simple records of what you earn from the start. If you’re not sure how a side hustle affects your tax return or any Centrelink payments, a quick chat with an accountant or the ATO is worth the hour before you scale anything up.
FAQs
Selling unused items through Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree and signing up for a gig platform like Airtasker are usually the quickest to get started, often within a day or two.
Tutoring, freelance writing, virtual assistant work, social media management and family daycare are popular options because they can flex around school hours and don’t require leaving the house.
Yes. Income from platforms like Uber, Airtasker, Airbnb and Camplify is treated as assessable income, and many platforms now report earnings directly to the ATO.
Casual roles currently pay in the range of $31 to $38 per hour, with work available from a single election day up to several weeks in counting centres.
Yes. The ABS is hiring more than 30,000 temporary workers for the 2026 Census on 11 August, with Field Officer roles starting around $33 per hour plus super and no experience required.
Looking for more ways to manage household costs? Check out our Money-Saving Guides for Hunter Families for tips on groceries, school holidays and everyday family expenses.