Pet sitting jobs across Australia
Boarding from A$45 a night, plus daycare, drop-ins and walks, in 49 cities from Cairns to Hobart. Set your own rates, choose your services, and keep up to 90% of every booking.
Pick your city below for local rates and the suburbs requests come from, or build your sitter profile and start taking bookings near home.
The Australian year in pet sitting
Pet sitting here runs on a school calendar of four terms whose dates each state and territory sets for itself, so the holiday weeks stagger by a week or two around the country instead of landing everywhere at once. The big one is the summer break, roughly mid-December to late January, six weeks taking in Christmas, New Year and Australia Day. Animal Medicines Australia counted a pet in 73% of Australian households in its 2025 survey, dogs in 49% of them and cats in 34%. What changes through the year is which service leads: boarding and house sitting across the holiday blocks, walks and drop-in visits through the working weeks in between.
Summer is the block everything fits around
Mid-December to late January is the six weeks when most families travel, and overnight boarding and house sitting lead the requests. Those dates fill early, so it pays to set your summer availability before the first requests arrive rather than after.
Four holiday blocks, staggered by state
After summer come Easter and the April holidays, the June and July break, and a fortnight around late September. Every state and territory sets its own term dates, so the same fortnight is not the same fortnight everywhere and demand arrives in overlapping waves rather than one national spike.
Winter is a travel season, not a quiet one
June and July send southern families to the snow in the New South Wales and Victorian alps, and a steady stream of travellers north to Queensland, the Territory and the Kimberley for the dry season. Caravan parks along the Bruce Highway fill through those months, and the winter break behaves like a smaller summer rather than a gap.
A flexible job you run around your life
Pet sitting is hands-on, but you run it like your own business: your services, your hours, your rates. It slots in around a day job, study, or family, and scales when you are ready.
Work around your life
Drop-ins between errands, daycare on your days off, boarding when you are home. No fixed shifts and no manager assigning you slots. Take the bookings that fit your week.
Self-employed, not a shift worker
You are your own boss on Petme. You pick every booking, set your own rates, and answer to the owner, not a dispatcher. The closest thing to running your own pet-care business.
Start small, scale when ready
Many Australian sitters start with a few drop-in visits a week, then add walks, daycare, and overnight boarding as their regular clients grow.
Pick your services, set your rates
No shift rosters, no platform-set pricing, no minimum hours. You control which services you offer, what you charge, and when you take bookings.
A$45 to 75 a night boarding
Overnight boarding rates across Australian metros, plus A$40 to 65 a day for daycare and A$25 to 40 per drop-in. You set every rate, and keep up to 90%.
Offer the services that suit you
Board from home, host daycare, do drop-in visits, walk dogs, or house sit at the owner's place. List as many or as few services as you like.
A$32,000 Protection Plan
Every confirmed booking on Petme automatically includes up to A$32,000 through the Protection Plan for the pet in your care. Free for you and the owner, on every booking.
What the work pays around the country
These are the bands Australian owners are used to seeing on Petme. Most sitters run two or three of them at once: a boarding week at night rates, drop-ins on the days between, a walk or two for the neighbours. Sydney and Melbourne sit at the top of each band and regional centres nearer the bottom, and you set the number either way.
| Service | Typical rate | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| Dog boarding | A$45 to 75 | per night |
| House sitting | A$50 to 90 | per night |
| Doggy daycare | A$40 to 65 | per day |
| Drop-in visit | A$25 to 40 | per visit |
| Dog walking | A$25 to 40 | per 30 min walk |
| Cat sitting | A$25 to 45 | per visit |
You set every rate yourself, so read these as the range owners expect rather than a price list. You keep up to 90% of each booking, and payouts reach your bank within 2 business days.
Built for pet sitters
You set your own rates, keep up to 90% of each booking, and every booking is protected with A$32,000 through the Protection Plan.
Rates you set yourself
No platform-dictated pricing. You set a rate for each service. Petme keeps a small service fee, and you keep up to 90% of every booking.
Recurring clients built in
Pet owners earn cashback on every Petme booking, which gives them a reason to rebook with you. Many active sitters build a steady base of regulars.
Protected on every booking
A$32,000 emergency Protection Plan on every confirmed booking, across boarding, daycare, drop-ins, and house sitting. You never carry the liability alone.
Pet sitting work in 49 Australian cities
Petme recruits sitters in all six states and both territories, in capitals, coastal metros and regional centres. Open the city closest to you for local rates, the suburbs requests come from, and what owners there ask for.
New South Wales
Queensland
South Australia
Tasmania
Australian Capital Territory
Northern Territory
Questions sitters ask before they start
Pay, services, the holiday calendar and the seasons, answered for Australia.
How much can I earn as a pet sitter in Australia?
Pet sitting earnings on Petme depend on the service: dog boarding runs roughly A$45 to A$75 a night, doggy daycare A$40 to A$65 a day, and drop-in visits A$25 to A$40 each. You set your own rates and keep up to 90% of every booking. Most sitters mix services to fill their week.
What services can I offer as a Petme pet sitter?
On Petme you can offer overnight dog boarding from your home, doggy daycare, drop-in visits, dog walking, and house sitting at the owner's place. You choose which services to list, set a rate for each, and accept only the bookings that suit you.
Do I need a big house or yard to board dogs?
No. Plenty of successful Petme sitters board from apartments and townhouses. What matters is a safe, secure space and the time to give a dog proper attention. If boarding does not suit your home, you can focus on walks, drop-in visits, or house sitting instead.
Can I set my own rates and schedule?
Yes. You set a rate for each service and control your own availability. There are no assigned shifts and no minimum hours. You accept or decline every booking request, so pet sitting fits around a job, study, or family commitments.
How do payouts work for pet sitters?
Earnings land in your bank account within 2 business days of each completed booking. You set your own rates, Petme keeps a small service fee, and you keep up to 90% of every booking. There is no invoicing.
Are pets covered if something goes wrong?
Every confirmed Petme booking automatically includes up to A$32,000 through the Protection Plan for the pet in your care. It is included at no extra cost to you or the owner, on every booking, across boarding, daycare, drop-ins, and house sitting.
Is pet sitting a good side income in Australia?
Yes. Because you choose your services, rates, and availability, pet sitting on Petme scales from a few drop-in visits a week to a full schedule of boarding and daycare. Many sitters start small alongside another job and grow a base of repeat clients.
When is pet sitting demand strongest in Australia?
The summer holidays are the biggest block, roughly mid-December to late January, six weeks taking in Christmas, New Year and Australia Day, when boarding and house sitting lead the requests. Easter and the April holidays follow, then the June and July break, which is a travel season here because southern families head for the snow and others drive north for the dry season.
Do the school holidays line up across the states?
No. Each state and territory sets its own term dates, so the four holiday blocks stagger by a week or two around the country. A Queensland break can open before a Victorian one, which spreads the peak into overlapping waves rather than a single national spike. For a sitter that means setting availability early for each block matters more than picking one perfect week.
Does pet sitting work differ between Australian states?
The job is the same; the conditions are not. Sitters on the eastern coastal strip, from far north Queensland down to East Gippsland, run daily paralysis tick searches through the warmer months. Darwin and Cairns work around a wet season from November to April, Canberra and Hobart around genuine winter mornings, and everywhere the summer walk moves to dawn and dusk.
Which Australian cities have pet sitting demand?
Petme recruits sitters in 49 Australian cities across all six states and both territories. That covers Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart and Darwin, the coastal metros like the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, and regional centres from Ballarat and Bunbury to Alice Springs.
Start earning as a pet sitter in Australia
Set your own rates for boarding, daycare, drop-ins, and walks. A$32,000 Protection Plan on every booking, cashback that keeps your clients rebooking, and payouts within 2 business days.