UNDER EMBARGO, 12.01 AM FRIDAY 5TH DECEMBER 2025
Australia’s skydiving industry is bracing for major disruption this Friday, as highly trained skydiving instructors employed by tourism giant Experience Co walk off the job and rally at eight sites across Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.
The unprecedented action follows nearly 10 months of stalled negotiations for a first-ever enterprise agreement, talks which workers say have revealed a company willing to trade away the industry’s reputation for profit.
Despite delivering its strongest financial results since FY19, Experience Co has repeatedly pushed wage proposals that would send employees backwards.
Some offers have included cuts of between -$20,000 and -$100,000 a year, while the latest proposal would slash the minimum annual wage for skydiving instructors from $57,000 to just $49,000, with earnings dependent on a very low “per jump” piece-rate.
The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) says these cuts are not only disrespectful to workers - they undermine the safety of every customer who straps into a tandem harness.
“Tandem skydiving instructors literally take people’s lives in their hands every time they go to work,” said Jonathan Cook, AWU National Organiser.
“If you’re not investing in your people, you're undermining the trust that the industry has built up over years.
“You might want to give a once in a lifetime gift this Christmas but would you want your mum strapped to an underpaid instructor?
“Experience Co’s message is clear: they want to turn these skilled professionals into gig workers, paid less, working more, and carrying the same enormous responsibility.
“Would you jump out of a plane with an instructor who can’t afford to feed their family, while the company pockets millions?”
Experience Co employs more than 1,000 workers, including 130 skydivers, across some of Australia’s most iconic tourism destinations. Many of these instructors have completed thousands of jumps and undergone extensive safety training, yet, despite the industry’s growth, most have seen little to no base wage increases in decades.
Workers were brought in-house in 2022 and given bonuses tied to productivity, bonuses the company now wants to scrap entirely, effectively pushing instructors back to wages that barely crack $50,000 a year.
AWU members voted 100% in favour of protected industrial action, sending an unmistakable message: they will not accept a deal that cuts wages and jeopardises safety.
“Our members love what they do, but passion doesn’t pay rent,” Cook said.
“This company is thriving, yet it wants its workforce to take massive pay cuts. The industry is going up, but wages and careers are going down - and that’s dangerous.
“The only agreement our members will endorse is one that protects wages, safety, and the future of skydiving as a profession.”
Strike and Rally Locations – Friday, 5 December 2025
Queensland
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Mission Beach – Drop Zone – 9:00am AEST
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Noosa – 4 Kittyhawk Close, Marcoola – 9:00am AEST
New South Wales
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Byron Bay – Hanger 1 Tyagarah Airfield, Pacific Hwy, Tyagarah – 9:00am AEDT
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Wollongong – Stuart Park, North Wollongong (near the cottage) – 8:00am AEDT
Victoria
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St Kilda – MO Moran Reserve, St Kilda Marina – 10:00am AEDT
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Barwon Heads – 1421 Barwon Heads Rd, Connewarre – 10:00am AEDT
Contact: 0405 285 547
