15+ Genius Ways To Make Money Online In Australia

Last financial year, I made more than $70k working from home in Australia as a Pinterest VA and blogger.

As a freelancer and sole trader with multiple online businesses, I am proof that you too can make money from home in Australia. My journey started in August 2018 when I quit my music teaching career to earn money online full-time. Since the global pandemic hit, my businesses are all still doing well and I feel extremely grateful for starting my work from home businesses early.

Whether you are a stay at home mum looking for small business ideas or work from home jobs to make money online, these are definitely real ways to make money from home in Australia. I have personally tried most of these money making ideas below, so rest assured that these are legitimate ways anyone can do to make money from home.

This post may contain affiliate links. It means that at no additional cost to you, I might be compensated from your purchase. I only recommend products and services I personally love and trust.

15+ Smart Ways To Make Money From Home In Australia

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Making money from home is now more accessible more than ever than to the advancement of technology. Since the pandemic hit in 2020, most of us are already adjusting well to using tools such as Zoom to host meetings, discuss ideas and coordinate projects.

Not to mention low cost online businesses such as starting an Etsy store and making money drop-shipping on Shopify, anyone can make a full-time income online. That is if they acquire some sought after skill such as graphic design, website design, IT skills, marketing skills and so on. If you already skilled from your previous job or career, they are also highly transferrable online.

Before we dive into the more skilled money making businesses to do online, here are some free micro task apps and survey websites you can use in the mean time before your side hustle makes you a full-time income.

1. Free Micro Task Apps and Survey Websites For Extra Cash

If you have ever done a Google search for “money making apps” or “free gift cards Australia”, you will usually find apps such as Ibotta, Inbox Dollars and Slide Joy and get really excited. Only to discover that these apps are not available in your country! However, all is not lost.

Here are 13+ money making apps for Australians like you who want to make money from home without leaving your home. If you're looking for free micro tasking and survey websites to start making money now, here are 3 honorable mentions I have personally tried to boost my weekly income.

Micro Task, Survey and Focus Groups For Extra Cash

Survey Junkie-

There are 2 ways you can make money with Survey Junkie, both as a participant and as an affiliate. In short, you can earn money by promoting Survey Junkie and get people to sign up for an affiliate account; or you can just use Survey Junkie as a survey and focus group participant for rewards.

If you are not familiar with Survey Junkie, learn more about how it works here. Basically, Survey Junkie conducts consumer research through paid surveys you can participate in and get paid for your opinion. As a member with Survey Junkie, you can choose to go the following route:

SJ Opinion: where you share your opinion via surveys and focus groups to get rewards.
SJ Pulse: This option is where you automatically share your digital behaviours such as your browsing behaviours and habits in exchange for rewards.

Join Survey Junkie as a participant in consumer research right here.

User Interviews–

User Interviews is one of the consistently higher paying consumer research and paid focus group websites out there, which is why it is my favorite so far! Here are some examples of the paid surveys I get at least twice a week in my email:

Basically, you create a profile with User Interviews to start browsing studies that interest you. Once you apply to a focus group or survey, you will be invited to participate if you meet the criteria and are eligible to be a participant. In a nutshell, this is how it works with User Interviews:

Check out some of the interesting studies here that pay up to $100 an hour :

You can also promote certain online focus groups or surveys on User Interviews and potentially get a $30 Amazon gift card when someone signs up with your link and participates in a paid interview.

Check out the paid referral opportunities here.

Swagbucks-

Swagbucks rewards its members with free gift cards and cash for shopping online with them, searching the web, watch videos, answer surveys and finding great deals to earn points. The points you accumulate on Swagbucks are called Swagbucks or SB.

If you think Swagbucks is too good to be true, feel free to read the reviews of Swagbucks on Trustpilot. With a overall score of 4.3 out of 5, you can definitely trust Swagbucks to earn extra cash.

You can download the Swagbucks app to start earning SB points right now on your commute or whenever you have free time.

Start earning Swagbucks or SB points by signing up for an account right here.

2. Cash Back Websites To Make Extra Cash From Home

a. Cash Rewards

Do you regularly shop online? If you do, with Cash Rewards you can get up to 7% cash back of the money you spent shopping online. Cash Rewards earns a commission and rewards you for shopping through them with cash back. Once a retailer confirms that you have made an eligible purchase, Cash Rewards will credit your account which you can then withdraw into your bank or PayPal account.

Although this cash back site is great to help you save money and earn extra money, I must warn you against shopping online just for the sake of getting cash back.

If all this sounds too good to be true, check out my Cash Rewards balance right here:

2. Shop Back

At this time of writing, I have $100 pending in cash back from referring people to Shop Back! As I rarely use Shop Back myself, I have only recently discovered that my referral is making me money.

Invite your friends to join Shop Back and you get $30!

If you use a browser to shop online, be sure to download the ShopBack extension so that you get the latest alerts and notification about the best cash back offers.

3. Launch A Low Cost Online Business As Your Side Hustle

While doing surveys and scanning barcodes are super easy ways to make money from home, they also offer pretty low rewards.

For the amount of time you put in just to get your first $10 PayPal withdrawal, it can feel like a total waste of time. However, that being said, if you really need an extra $10 to $50 each week and you use those apps consistently, that amount adds up. I mean, $50 times 4 times a week is an extra $200! It is way better than nothing.

As I live in Sydney which is one of the top 10 most expensive cities in the world, using those apps will never even pay for my groceries or phone bills. That is why it is best to consider these small business ideas you can do from home if you want to make substantial income from home in Australia.

When it comes to transitioning from a traditional job into working from home full-time, I suggest that you launch an online business as your side hustle to start. In the beginning, I spent all of my free time learning all about Pinterest virtual assisting, working on my skills, as well as prospecting for clients. Once I have 2 to 3 clients and make at least $500 a month, I quit my day job to focus on my business full-time.

Starting your online business as a side hustle in the beginning has plenty of benefits, including validating your business as a viable source of income. It also means that you do not have to deal with the stress of having to pay the bills IF you quit your full-time job before you are even ready!

Low Cost Home Business Ideas To Make Money In Australia

If you are looking for easy ways to make money from home, these easy home business ideas are perfect for total beginners who do not wish to spend a ton of money investing in a full-blown business. Since these ideas are 100% online, you can literally do these money-making jobs from anywhere in the world!

Whether you are a millennial woman looking for a side hustle idea to diversify your income stream, or if you're a stay-at-home parent looking for online business ideas, check out these 15+ genius ways to earn money online in Australia.

11 Online Jobs For Introverts You Can Start Today With No Experience

4. Sew and make handmade clothing, accessories or products to sell on Etsy

When the global pandemic hit in 2020, many people started sewing cloth face masks to sell on Etsy or just for their own family members. As you can see, there is still a demand for double-layered face masks as the pandemic continues to progress worldwide.

If you are great at sewing and love to knit, crotchet or make handmade clothing and accessories, the sky is literally the limit. Here are some product ideas you can sell on Etsy:

Handmade soap, candles and beauty scrubs
Digital downloads(also known as printables): you can make planners, calendars, educational printables, games for kids, party games, bridal shower games and more!
Prints for T-shirts, mugs, accessories, stickers
Handmade handbags, hair accessories and fashion items

5. Bake cakes for birthday parties, baby showers, weddings and catering events

As a mom, you already bake muffins, pancakes and birthday cakes for your kids. So why not use some of that skill and turn that into a party catering business? If you are great at making party foods and desserts, you can easily market this service to your mom friends who do not enjoy baking or just don't have the time to do so.

You can help cater the party foods for baby showers, birthday parties, wedding receptions or even family gatherings using your baking skills. Of course, you will need to do your due diligence such as acquiring an Australian Business Number(ABN) before you market your services, as well as get the licenses you will need to run your business.

6. Sell your skills, knowledge and services on Fiverr

Think you don't have any skill, knowledge and services to offer online? Fiverr is here to prove you wrong! Fiverr is an online marketplace where people sell anything and everything at a very low cost.

From highly technical web developing skills to making social media graphics, you can sell anything you are good at on Fiverr as a service. As long as you comply with Fiverr's terms and conditions, there are so many services you can offer on Fiverr to make money online. How much money you make totally depends on how many hours you put in, and how much you charge for your services. On Fiverr, you can have packages starting from $5 to literally $998!

To get your creative juices flowing, here are some ideas to start:

Writing and Translation: This is a huge category in itself that includes proofreading, editing, writing resumes and thesis, writing copy for ads, blog post writing and so much more!
Logo Design: Any business will need a logo, so there is plenty of work around for you to do. I myself have made a few logos in the past 3 years, mostly for my VA business and for my blogs
Australian Digital Services: Check out these cool Australian freelancing services you can do to carve out a niche for yourself on Fiverr! Freelancers actually offer things from professional Australian accent voice over to narrating ebooks to blogging
This huge list of services directory on Fiverr will give you plenty of gig ideas you can do!
Create your first gig on Fiverr and start selling today.

7. User Testing

Have you ever heard of user testing? If not, it is an easy way to make money online anyone with basic computer skills can do in Australia! In a nutshell, as a user tester, your job is to give feedback on products by stating your experience as a user to brands and companies who would LOVE to hear from you.

Websites like User Testing pay freelancers and remote workers $10 for every 20-minutes tests they complete. Before you get paid to test, you will have to put in your email to apply as a user tester and complete a practice test. User Testing pay their testers via PayPal exactly 7 days after completing a website or app test.

Here's how it works on User Testing:

To get started, you will need the following:

A reliable computer that runs Windows or MacOS
You must be 18 years old
A microphone(built-in or extenal)
The ability to speak your thoughts aloud in English
A reliable internet connection with upload speed of at least 2MBps
Ability to download User Testing's screen recorder

Apply here and start making money doing user testing online.

8. Start a virtual assistant business

In 2018, I made my first $150 as a Pinterest virtual assistant and was over the moon! Before that, I have never even heard of the term “Virtual Assistant”, let alone know how to make money doing it.

After scaling my virtual assistant side hustle into a full-time business, I am now very grateful that I took the leap of faith. In fact, I sometimes regret not believing in myself and doing this earlier. Starting my Pinterest virtual assistant business literally changed my life, so I definitely recommend you to try this if you feel that it is a good fit.

For those who already do the following in their current or past jobs, you can definitely consider starting your own VA business and working for yourself:

Customer service
Answering calls for companies, real estate agents, doctors, medical practitioners
Secretarial work
Graphic design
Website or software development
Resume writing
Email Marketing(whether you help people get to inbox zero, or write emails to encourage sales, they are both an in-demand skills you can use to carve out a niche as a VA)
Copywriting
SEO

Resources:

Short on ideas when it comes to what services you should offer as a virtual assistant? This 275+ VA Services Workbook will give you the head start you need. If you're ready to jumpstart your VA business and get serious about becoming your own boss, Gina Horkey's Fully Booked VA course is the course you need.

Side note: Gina Horkey of Horkey Handbook started her VA business in 2014 and started earning $4000 a month on the side of her 9-to-5 with a baby and a toddler in tow. In just 2 more months, she quit her 9-to-5 for good. You can learn more about her story and her income report here.

9. Print-On-Demand Drop Shipping

Print on demand is an increasingly popular drop shipping business model beginners can do to work from home in Australia. One of the best companies that provide warehousing and fulfillment for those of us in Australia is Printful.

When you sell your designs using Printful, you can start your own business at little to no cost. This is because you can start a Print-On-Demand Drop Shopping store with Printful without spending ANY money using a free account. You only get charged when there is an order for your product. On top of that, you do not need to physically store or produce any of your products as Printful takes care of that for you.

How Print-On-Demand Drop Shipping Works

Okay, so in a nutshell, here are the steps you will need to take to start your online store with Printful.

Sign up for a Printful account here. Whether you create one from scratch or just sign in using Facebook, Google or Apple account.
Confirm your email account.
Start creating custom products by using Printful's online mockup generator. It is important that you create high-quality images to attract customers to your products with your unique designs.
Fill your online store with the desired amount of products. You do not have to worry about inventory or leftovers.
Build and promote your brand for sales. Printful has plenty of resources and helpful tutorials on their YouTube channel.

This helpful explanation by Printful shows you how the entire Print-On-Demand drop shipping business model works:

10. Invest your cash with Raiz (previously known as Acorns)

The best way to protect your financial future from inflation is through investing. As a beginner investor, I love using Raiz to help my money grow over time. So far, I have invested nearly $16,000 and got as much as $2643 market returns! This is much better than keeping your money in online savings accounts if you ask me.

Since the Australian economy is recovering fast, now is the best time to invest.

Don't worry, if you know nothing about investing, Raiz will invest FOR YOU. All you have to do is set up an account, choose your portfolio and wait for your money to grow. It is THAT simple.

If you link your Raiz account to your bank account, any spare change such as $0.05 for a $4.95 coffee will be deposited. Raiz also has a rewards program for shopping online through their app. As they are affiliates with big retailers such as Apple, Adidas and Bing Lee, you can get 2% to 7% of the amount you spent invested back into your Raiz account.

Get a free $5 when you sign up for a Raiz account here using my link.

11. Work from home as a freelance proofreader

Making money online as a freelance proofreader is nothing special in the U.S., but it is still quite uncommon in Australia, U.K. and other developed nations. Most people are familiar with editors and court transcriptionists, but not many know that you can earn a living from home reading and correcting grammatical errors!

In November 2017, I was growing increasingly depressed as I started to feel burnt out doing 3 music-related jobs to make ends meet. Getting ready to go to work, I was browsing Facebook mindlessly. This is when I saw the Facebook ad of Caitlyn Pyle who is the creator of Proofread Anywhere, an online course that teaches people how to make a living as a freelance proofreader.

Caitlyn herself used to be a fitness instructor, and did court transcript proofreading on the side. She subsequently made $30,000+ from her freelance proofreading business. Now, Caitlyn is a proud multi-billionaire because of her General Proofreading course and continues to inspire new students each day.

As I love languages and thought this would be a good fit for me, I watched her Facebook ad. Later on, I signed up to her email list and watched a webinar. I instantly bought her course, and this is when my work from home in Australia journey started.

Watch this free webinar to learn more about how to get started making money from home as a proofreader.

12. Scoping

Ever heard of scoping? If you've ever watched Law and Order, then you've probably wondered how court reporters review and edit their notes! They seem to type really fast when they are recording their court notes. But in fact, court reporters use special machines called stenotypes to record their court notes using short hand that is later translated by a software.

How does a scopist fit in to all of this? Well, court reporters hire scopists to edit the software-translated court notes so that they are accurate and easy to understand. As this is tedious work that requires meticulous attention to detail, a scopist with a good reputation has the potential to make good money.

Scopists are paid per page, so if you are able to work quickly and efficiently, you can expect to make $2000 to $6000 a month doing scoping.

You might also want to read:

What is Scoping? How To Work From Home Doing Scoping

13. Dog Treat Bakery

Have a passion for animals and baking? Consider starting a dog treat bakery! This perfect side hustle for dog lovers who enjoy baking gourmet treats and make an extra $500 to $1000 each month. You can either sell them in person at night markets or sell them on Etsy.

If you're serious about learning the ins and outs of starting a profitable business, I highly recommend the Diva Dog Bakery course. Based on course creator Kristin Larsen's personal experience, this course teaches you EVERYTHING you need to know about selling gourmet dog treats online and offline.

The best part is you do not even have ANY experience in baking. In the course, Kristin shares dog treats recipes that she personally developed and used so that you can have success from the start!

Watch a free webinar here to learn more about starting a dog treat bakery from home.

14. eBay Flea Market Flipping

A great side hustle that can be done online, flea market flipping is one of the best ways to make a quick $200 in a day.

If you already have lots of clothing, old DVDs, shoes and books lying around at home, you can flip them on eBay for profit! Flea market flipping is not only a profitable side hustle, it also has the potential to become your full-time business.

You can make up to $3900 a month flipping items from home depending on how you do it, and how many hours you put in.

To make $200 or more from one sale, consider buying an item for at least 50% under its perceive value and charge 200% to make a profit. For example, a used pram sold for $40 or less is a great bargain to pick up and flip for $200 after some basic cleaning and refurbishing. You might be surprised at how lucrative flipping items can be!

Sometimes I see plenty of household items such as microwaves and ovens that are in perfect condition thrown out on the street. Some people even go to the extreme lengths of dumpster diving to find things that can be flipped only for more than 200% profit.

You might also want to read:

15. Teach English Online With TESOL Australia

Do you already speak English as your first language? Well, if you also love the flexibility of working online, connecting with people remotely AND setting your own scheduling, teaching English as a second language online is a great way to make money from home in Australia.

TESOL stands for Teaching English to speakers of other languages, which is the exact same thing as TEFL! So, if you are a native speaker, TESOL Australia has plenty of courses and certifications you can take in order to tutor English online and work from home in Austalia.

In fact, working online for TESOL Australia is perfect for people who:

Are stay at home moms wanting to make money online
Commute a lot to their current job and want to work remotely instead
Love living in the rural areas but can't seem to find a job near your home
Person with disability which means your job opportunities are limited in the traditional workspace
Want a digital nomad lifestyle so that you can work from literally anywhere. Whether it is from your caravan, from anywhere you travel to or from your living room

The requirements for teaching English online with TESOL Australia include:

An internationally recognised TESOL certification
18 years and older
Fluent in speaking the English language

What I like the most about TESOL Australia is the fact that they offer TESOL courses as well as an international TESOL certificate you will need to work online with them. The support does not end there-in fact, they also have a support team to help you write your CV after you finish your courses to help you secure a job teaching English online.

If you already have certification, you can go right here to apply for a TESOL job online.

16. Sell feet pictures on InstaFeet

Last but not least, you can make money selling your feet pictures online and make up to $90,000 a year! Yes, you heard me right. In fact, this article tells you all about how an Instagram influencer discovered the subculture of foot fetish and why it is so lucrative for women.

In fact, there's an entire website that allows you to sell feet pictures without building a fan base from scratch.

InstaFeet is a completely legitimate marketplace that buys and sells feet pictures–and most of them are for totally unexpected reasons. Here are some businesses that regularly need good-looking feet photos:

E-commerce stores that sell nail polish, shoes and foot accessories such as anklets and foot jewelry
Artists and photographers who want to showcase their nail art

Other Genius Ways To Earn An Extra Income In Australia

If you are still looking for more online money making ideas in Australia, here are some easy options for you to consider!

Host A Garage Sale(Or Two)

I live in a neighbourhood that constantly has pop up garage sales, and so I think this is a great way to declutter your home and make some extra cash. I myself have been to a few and bought some items. Consider making some flyers or social media posts to tell people about your garage sale, or even create some “bundles” for your items.

For example, instead of trying to sell a pram by itself, if you also have related baby items, bundle them up and sell it for cheap to prospective buyers. People love an absolute bargain, especially parents who are always looking for a good deal to save money for their family's future.

Sell plants and succulents from your home

Succulents have recently gained popularity in recent years as they are easy to look after and add a little bit of nature to our home. I even recently started a niche site that is all about succulents and indoor plants because of my passion for succulents.

Although not everyone is into succulents, you can really carve out a niche fan base if you are savvy with marketing your little plants selling side hustle online. All you have to do is share some images of your plants and succulents on Instagram and Facebook, and I'm sure you will get some interest and sales!

Some other ideas you can try include offering sales and customized gifting such as a succulent box gift for Mother's Day or a care package for a loved one. Bottom line is, there are people out there who love indoor plants and succulents. They are also willing to pay for your expertise when it comes to texturing different succulents in a pot for an interesting display.

Transcribe or caption with Rev

Are you a fast and accurate typist? If you are, sign up to become a freelancer transcriptionist with Rev!

Although you do need to pass a screener test before earning with Rev, I can honestly tell you that it is a legitimate company to works with.

A word of warning though, this kind of work requires long hours of sitting and pays very little.

For example, you might be making only $12 to $15 an hour due to low audio quality files on Rev. It will take you some time to go through all the available projects. However, you do get to choose which audio or video files you would like to transcribe so choose well!

You will also need to keep an excellent score of 4 to 5 when it comes to accuracy and formatting in order to keep working as a Rev freelancer.

However, if you're just doing this as a side hustle, you can expect to make about $200 to $500 extra per month.

If all this does not bother you at all, go here to create an account with Rev here.

Final Takeaway

There are plenty of ways you can make money online in Australia, some of which have the potential to replace your 9-to-5 job. Whether you need a new source of income, pay your bills or get rid of debt, these 15+ genius ways to work remotely and earn a living online are great starting points!

Of course, there will be obstacles and challenges along the way.

After I quit working at a traditional work place, I had to deal with loneliness due to the lack of human contact and interactions. I also suffered from back pain and muscle aches due to long hours of sitting down and working from home. That said, working from home for myself has been life-changing and extremely rewarding.

If you want to become your own boss, the 15+ business and side hustle ideas are the best ones you can do. Even in 2021 where most countries including Australia is still recovering economically, you can definitely make an extra $200 to $500 online.