Irish Around Oz is the largest network of Irish communities in Australia. It started as one blog post in 2013 and has grown into 13 Facebook groups with more than 250,000 members, a job board used by over 200 employers, and a website that has had more than 20 million visits.
How it started
I’m Stephen Palmer, from Cork. I arrived in Perth on a working holiday visa in 2013 expecting something like the set of Home and Away. It wasn’t. What struck me more was that there was nowhere for Irish people to get straight answers about visas, tax file numbers, bank accounts, finding a room or finding work. Everyone was learning the hard way.
So I wrote down what I’d learned. That first article, 60 things you need to know before moving to Australia, is still on the site and has been updated more than 50 times. The Facebook groups followed, starting with Irish Around Sydney, and the community took it from there.
What Irish Around Oz does today
Community
13 free Facebook groups covering Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Darwin, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, plus groups for people moving over and people heading home. Find your group.
Jobs
A job board for Irish workers in Australia, and premium job advertising that lets employers post straight into the groups. Over 200 employers have hired through it.
Guides and discounts
Plain-English guides on visas, money transfers, insurance and shipping, plus reader discounts on the services you’ll actually need.
Who runs it
The groups are moderated every day by a team of Irish volunteers living across Australia. They approve posts, remove spam and scams, and answer the same questions a thousand times with good grace. Irish Around Oz wouldn’t work without them.
The site and the business side are run by me. Irish Around Oz is owned by Palmer Productions LLC.
Our sister communities
- Irish Around Sydney, the events hub and business directory for the Irish in Sydney.
- Irish Around The World, for the Irish diaspora everywhere else.
Work with us
If you’re hiring Irish workers, see job advertising. If you’re a Sydney business, see Irish Around Sydney Premium. For partnerships, sponsorship or anything else, email [email protected].