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Accommodation guide

FIFO Camps: What Mining Camp Accommodation Is Like

Last updated 10 October 2026

A FIFO camp is where you sleep, eat and spend your downtime during a swing. Camps differ between sites and operators, so this guide explains the common set-up, what the 2015 WA parliamentary inquiry found, and what to check with your employer before your first swing. We are not affiliated with any camp operator.

Room types

Permanent, rotational, shared

Meals

Check what your employer covers

Operators

Mine, contractor or village operator

Checklist

On this page

In this guide

What is a FIFO camp?

A FIFO camp, also called a village or accommodation facility, houses workers during their swing. The WA inquiry observed that production camps are often more permanent, larger and newer, and that construction camps are often more temporary and smaller. It described the rooms as adequate but by no means comparable to living in a home.

Civeo, one operator, describes its villages as having ensuite rooms with air-conditioning, on-site meals, a gym, a social hub and a store, run by hospitality professionals in a way that is much like a hotel. Other camps will differ, so treat this as one example rather than the standard. New to the terms? Read what FIFO work involves.

Rooms: permanent or motel-style

The WA inquiry set out four ways rooms are allocated. Ask which one applies to you, because it affects how much of your life you can keep on site.

  • Permanent: you get the same room from one swing to the next, sometimes with a limited number of personal items allowed to stay in it.
  • Rotational (motelling): you get a room for your swing, then a different one when you return, because someone else uses yours while you are on your break.
  • Shared: two or more people use the same room at the same time, each with their own bed.
  • Hot bedding: two people on opposite shifts use the same room and bed one after the other.

The inquiry said permanent rooms were regularly used in villages serving production projects with a permanent workforce, while motelling was the predominant arrangement in villages serving construction projects. It heard that motelling can add to stress and isolation, and recommended minimising it.

Meals and the wet mess

Civeo says it provides all guests with three meals daily: a buffet breakfast, a takeaway lunch and dinner. Whether your meals are covered depends on your employer, so ask. The WA inquiry found every village it visited had a wet mess and a dry mess, and described the wet mess as the main social venue. Camp bars typically closed around 9 or 10 pm at the sites it visited.

Gym and recreation

The WA inquiry found every village it visited had at least one gym, and that camps ran activities such as quiz nights, sport and barbecues, supported in some cases by Active Lifestyle Coordinators. Civeo lists an on-site gym and a social hub with pool tables, TVs and a beer garden at its villages. Facilities vary by camp, so ask what your camp has and bring gear to match, using the FIFO packing list.

Camp rules

Rules are set site by site. From the WA inquiry:

  • Alcohol rules vary by site, and some limit the number of mid-strength drinks per day.
  • All the sites it visited required breath testing before a shift.
  • Workers often had to seek permission to leave the facility, even on a day off, and some reported heavy control over their movements.

Visitor and quiet-hour rules also differ, and we could not verify a general rule, so read your induction pack and ask your employer for the written policy.

Who runs camps

A camp may be run by the mine operator, a contractor or a specialist village operator. Companies that describe this work on their own sites include:

  • Civeo, which lists workforce villages in Queensland, Western Australia and New South Wales.
  • Sodexo Australia, which says it has served the energy and resources industry in Australia for over three decades, including facilities management covering maintenance, transport and hospitality for remote locations.
  • Compass Group Australia (ESS), which describes remote village services covering food, accommodation, cleaning, transport and maintenance, including a brand for smaller facilities.

MiningReady is not affiliated with any of these companies, and this is not a recommendation. Your contract or induction pack names the operator for your site.

What to check before your first swing

Print this page with your browser’s print command to take a copy. Ask your employer about anything you cannot tick. Browse mining towns and FIFO jobs to see where camps are, and read whether FIFO is worth it if you are still deciding.

Before your first swing

  • Which camp or village I am staying in, and who runs itYour contract or induction pack should say.
  • Whether my room is permanent, rotational or sharedAsk whether it changes each swing.
  • Which meals are provided and what I need to organise myself
  • What the alcohol, testing and leaving-camp rules areRead the site policy in your induction pack.
  • Whether there is a gym, a wet mess and a store, and their opening hours
  • What linen, towels and laundry are suppliedSee the FIFO packing list for what to bring.
  • What phone and internet access there is in the room and common areas
  • Who to contact at the camp if there is a problem with the room

Frequently asked questions

What is a FIFO camp?

A FIFO camp, also called a village or accommodation facility, is where fly-in fly-out workers live during their swing. The 2015 WA parliamentary inquiry into FIFO and mental health described them as ranging from larger, newer and more permanent production camps to smaller, more temporary construction camps, with rooms that were adequate but not comparable to living in a home.

Do you get your own room at a FIFO camp?

It varies. The WA inquiry described four arrangements: a permanent room, where you get the same room each swing; rotational or motelling, where you get a different room each swing; shared rooms, where two or more people use the same room at once; and hot bedding, where two people on opposite shifts use the same bed. Most facilities it visited used some sharing or motelling. Ask your employer which applies to you.

Are meals included at a mining camp?

Often, but it depends on the employer and the camp. Civeo says it provides all guests with three meals daily at its villages, made up of a buffet breakfast, a takeaway lunch and dinner. That is one operator's description, so confirm what your employer covers before you travel.

Can you drink alcohol at a FIFO camp?

Rules vary by site. The WA inquiry found that some sites limit the number of mid-strength drinks per day, that all the sites it visited required breath testing before a shift, and that wet messes typically closed around 9 or 10 pm. Read the site's alcohol and drug policy in your induction pack and ask your employer if anything is unclear.

Can you leave a FIFO camp on your days off?

It depends on the site. The WA inquiry reported that workers often must seek permission to leave the facility, even on a day off, and that some reported heavy control over their movements. Ask your employer about leaving-camp rules, transport and curfews before you start.

Who runs FIFO camps?

Camps are usually run by the mine operator, a contractor or a specialist village operator. Companies that describe this work on their own websites include Civeo, Sodexo and Compass Group's ESS division. Your contract or induction pack will name the operator for your site.

Is MiningReady affiliated with Civeo, Sodexo or Compass Group?

No. MiningReady is an independent guide. We name these companies only because their own websites are the sources for the facts above, and we read those pages on 10 October 2026. Their villages and services can change, so check their sites.

Sources

Last updated 10 October 2026. Facts on this page come from the sources below.

We read each page above on 10 October 2026. The inquiry findings are from a Western Australian report published in 2015 and describe the sites it visited, not every camp. Operator details are each company’s own description of its services. We have not listed camp rules we could not verify, such as visitor and quiet-hour policies, because they are set site by site. Ask your employer for the written camp rules.

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