Stay-at-home mums are seizing flexible online job opportunities—yes, one under the elbow—to earn some extra cash on their own time.
Finding unusual side hustle ideas for stay-at-home mums can make a big difference to the bottom dollar in many homes. Being a stay-at-home mum does not necessarily mean shelving your future earnings. In fact, nearly 900,000 Aussies worked more than one job for a quarter during 2022, illustrating how widespread side hustles are.
The trick is to find profitable opportunities that fit around school pickup times and nap schedules. Throughout this entire guide, we will explore some unconventional, high-earning side hustles that are off the radar (we are not discussing the usual Etsy stores, babysitting gigs, and dog walking). There are how-to guides on getting started, information on international online work sites that Aussies can use, musings on making passive income, and crucial insights on legalities and safety measures.
Grab a cup of coffee, and let’s dive into innovative ways to earn an income from home—on your timeline.
1. Uncommonly Profitable Side Hustle Businesses
When you hear the term “side hustle,” the first thing that comes to mind is probably selling crafts or delivering packages. Those are great choices, but the ones on our list are less obvious and offer better pay. These are niches or skill sets that are being targeted, leading to less competition and higher compensation. Here are some off-the-beaten-path options along with advice on how a stay-at-home mum can start each.
Virtual Bookkeeping & Accounting Services
If you’re good with numbers or have some bookkeeping knowledge, virtual bookkeeping can be a goldmine. Small Aussie companies will pay freelance bookkeepers between $35-$60 an hour and senior bookkeepers charge more for their expertise. The work involves managing invoices, reconciling the books, or BAS preparation—tasks that can be done around the kids’ school schedules.
Why It’s Profitable: The role is essential to finance, and not everyone has the expertise. Businesses are willing to pay top dollar for trustworthy bookkeepers. In Melbourne, for example, bookkeepers charge up to $75/hour due to high demand
Even individuals from distant regions could hire you based on your ability.
How To Get Started
- Brush Up on Skills & Tools: Familiarize yourself with accounting software such as Xero or
- MYOB used by Australian businesses. Get certified or take an online refresher course if needed.
Set Up Exclusively as a Sole Trader: Register for an Australian Business Number (ABN) and create a separate bank account for your side hustle. This helps keep finances organized for tax purposes. If your annual income may exceed $75k, register for GST as well
Find Clients: Create profiles on platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, or Aussie equivalents like Airtasker and Freelancer.com. Highlight qualifications (e.g., “Cert IV Bookkeeping” or “ex-accountant on career break”). Alternatively, join local Facebook groups or LinkedIn—many small businesses would prefer an on-call bookkeeper instead of hiring full-time.
Equipment Needed: A reliable computer, stable internet connection, and bookkeeping software subscription (many offer free advisor accounts or trial periods) are essential. You’ll also need a secure method to store records for your clients (cloud storage like Google Drive is recommended).
Earning Potential: Start with competitive rates (e.g., $30/hr) to build a client base. Once trust has been established, you can gradually increase your fees. It’s not uncommon to accumulate clients who collectively generate thousands of dollars a month.
For example, one Redditor shared a story about making $500/month with just a couple of hours’ worth of bookkeeping—that’s over $100/hour for that gig. Many Australian freelance bookkeepers charge BAS prep packages monthly (e.g., $300+), allowing you to grow by acquiring more clients rather than working more hours.
Voice-Over Acting and Audio Services
Do people love your voice or your accent? Your voice-over career is your calling – and it’s more profitable than you imagine. From voice-overs for audiobooks, commercials, video games characters to recording company welcome messages, there is variety. You can set up a home recording studio space and take assignments as they come.
Why It’s High Paying: High end voice-over is in demand everywhere on the planet, and customers typically pay project to project. Depending on the project’s size, you can earn between roughly $35 to $5,000 USD per project for voice-over work. (Yes, that top end is real for big commercial work!) Even for small pieces like voiceover for a 2-minute explanatory video could be a couple hundred. And if you have an Australian accent, then you’re selling to customers specifically seeking that regional taste.
How To Get Started
Prepare Your Space: No home studio is essential but a quiet spot is. A good USB microphone, a couple of headphones, and some free audio editing software (like Audacity) will do. Get yourself placed within a walk-in closet or a corner with some dampening (even foam on the walls or some pillows) to mute the echoes.
Develop Your Craft: Practice voice reading – newscasts, children’s books – to familiarize yourself. Look into a brief voice-over training course online to learn about intonation and script analysis.
Create a demo reel: Read some examples (e.g., a fairy tale excerpt, a fictional advertisement, a corporate voiceover). Keep each segment concise but showcase different styles. This demo will be your calling card to future customers.
Find Gigs: Register on sites such as Voices.com, Voice123, or Fiverr/Upwork to find freelance opportunities. Facebook groups and sites like Bodalgo are also there where voice actors are provided with work. Work on several projects to develop a portfolio as a beginner.
Professionalism: Treat it like a firm – meet deadlines, take orders from customers seriously, and deliver clean-edited audio files. Word will bring the work back.
Earning Potential: The voice-over rates are quite flexible. As mentioned above, the small tasks start from $50 for an easy project but professional voice artists charge hundreds or thousands for large assignments. As a side hustler, having a couple of $200 gigs a month is fantastic income. And once you’ve made the investment in your setup, the overhead is really low – so most of what you earn is profit. Some stay-at-home parents end up making this a full-time career once they find regular customers or contract work (such as the voice for a regular podcast intro or a channel on YouTube).
Website Flipping and “Digital Real Estate”
Think of this like the web version of flipping houses – but done from the comfort of your pajamas. Website flipping is purchasing or developing underpriced sites, optimizing them, then selling for a profit. There’s also domain flipping, where one scoops up quirky domain names and resells them. It’s a more entrepreneurial one but can be very lucrative if done right.
Why It’s Lucrative: A well-monetized site (with advertising, affiliate links, or commerce) is an asset. Good cash will be paid for a site that has traffic or income. It’s not uncommon to pick up a small site for a couple hundred bucks, pimp it out for a few months, then sell it for a couple grand. One Aussie mum, for example, wrote about going from making $1,000 per website sell to $9,000 per sell by optimizing her strategy. In one year’s time, she earned about $30k and managed to take it to a steady $6k–$7k per month online business
How to Get Started:
Learn the Market: Research marketplaces like Flippa.com (actually an Australian web marketplace for selling/purchasing websites/domains) or Empire Flippers to see what sites are selling for and for how much. Look to the niches and why the sites are valuable (content, traffic, revenue, etc.).
Start Small: Create a simple blog/site on something that you are passionate about (parenting tips? recipe blog? city travel information?) or buy an under-$50 start-up site on Flippa. Creating from scratch is time-consuming but cheap (only hosting and domain registration, maybe ~$50/year). Buying has the benefit of having a head start but has a one-time fee.
Add Value: If it’s your website, add some worth to it: produce some good content, use some basic SEO (so that the website ranks on Google), produce social media or backlinks, and monetize it (e.g., join Google AdSense or Amazon affiliate program to generate income from the traffic). If it’s an online shop selling products, maybe redesign the store layout or product listings. In other words, make the site more attractive to potential buyers by bringing more traffic to the site or income to the site.
Sell (or Keep for Passive Income): After renovation, sell the property on Flippa or the like. Highlight the growth and potential in your sales copy. Alternatively, maybe the property is bringing in let’s say $200 per month through advertising revenue and you’d rather keep it yours as your own source of passive income – that’s okay too!
Domain Flipping: With bare domains (web addresses that don’t have any website), one will be predicting what will be desired (e.g., future business names, slogans). Sites like GoDaddy Auctions and marketplace on NameCheap enable one to buy and sell domains. This is more hit-and-miss but less time-consuming than site creation.
Earning Potential: This can be highly variable. You can sell a small site for a quick profit of $500 but then suddenly hit the big time where a site that you created sells for five figures. The situation that was outlined earlier about the Brisbane mum shows the top end, making $30k annually by scaling a web design side hustle.
It’s not a guaranteed paycheck every month, but if the creation process or dabbling on the web is something that is enjoyable to do for you, every successful flip is like a large check.
Niche Freelancing: More Than the Basics
Freelancing isn’t new but what we are talking about is niche freelancing – delivering specialist skills that not everybody has. Niche-ing out means that premium can be charged. Instead of generic graphic design perhaps you are an SEO expert for mommy blogs. Instead of generic administration freelancing perhaps you are a brand expert for local cafes. Identify a niche that you like and one that is aligned with a skill that you have (or can learn), and sell yourself as an expert.
Some niches to consider:
Pinterest Virtual Assistant: Most entrepreneurs (shop owners on Etsy, bloggers) need assistance with Pinterest – pin creation, board optimization, traffic. It’s a specialty skill set and will be an investment. Pinterest VAs can offer packages (e.g. $300 per month for X number of pins and growth strategy). More niched than social manager and therefore less crowded.
Technical Writing or Editing: If your expertise is along the lines of medicine, law, or tech, then freelance writing or proofreading for that is a possibility. For example, writing guides to programs, proofreading research papers for school purposes, or writing training guides. This kind of work is more lucrative than, for example, writing lifestyle blog posts. Bonus: English editors are sought out globally (e.g. foreign academics that need papers to be made shiny) – and they pay top dollar.
Illustration & Digital Art: If you are an artist, businesses are seeking commissioned illustrations (for marketing materials, books, websites). This is more than basic graphic design work; commissioned artwork can bring large amounts of money, especially if licensed. Even create sets of stickers or emojis to sell, or create coloring books.
Translation or Language Tutoring: Being bilingual is a fantastic talent. Document translation or subtitling can be word-for-word (specialist medical translation, for instance, can be highly profitable). Alternatively, tutor language learners online (not necessarily limited to ESL tutoring – e.g., teaching French to Aussie high school students through Zoom, etc.). Unconventional languages or specialty language teaching will command higher pay.
How to Get Started
Define Your Niche: Reflect on your hobbies, previous career path, or intense interest. Are you interested in fitness? Consider starting an online certified personal training business (craft customized workouts via email/Skype). Are you interested in researching family histories? Offer family research services. Almost any interest can be created into a niche service if done properly.
Skill Up As Per Requirement: Once done with the identification of the wanted niche, take a small course or read about the best practices within the wanted sector to be capable enough to produce professional outputs. For example, if one is willing to take up SEO consulting, one has to learn Google Analytics, SEO blogs, etc.
Set Up Your Profile/Portfolio: Tailor your resume or portfolio to that market. On freelance sites such as Freelancer or Upwork, use the targeted service featured (e.g., “Pinterest Growth Specialist that triples the traffic to handmade businesses”). If possible, build a test or two – take on a volunteer project or test project to prove your capability.
Pick the Right Platform: Niche markets are supported on various platforms. A virtual assistant will find customers through Facebook groups for businesses or virtual assistant niched job boards. A technical writer will find customers through Upwork or through LinkedIn networking. There are niche marketplaces (e.g., TranslatorsCafe for translation services or 99designs for designers).
Deliver Quality & Collect Testimonials: Be friendly to your early customers and ask them for a testimony or a review. That social proof will be used to justify future higher rates. With specialty work, reputation is gold.
Earning Potential: Niche freelancers will charge more than generalized freelancers. Freelance graphic designers will typically be able to charge between $25-$50 USD per hour on average, but if you are a children’s book illustrator then you can charge a flat project fee that effectively amounts to more per hour. Similarly, a social media generalist will charge $20/hr but a Pinterest specialist will charge $500 for a month’s package that will take only 10 hours’ worth of work (~$50/hr). The stronger the more established your specialty is the more that your rates can be raised because the demand for your services will be greater.
Personal Shopping Consultation & Personal Styling
Imagine getting paid to shop – it does sound like a dreamy prospect, doesn’t it? Personal shopping or styling is an unusual side hustle that can be a very lucrative income if one has an eye for fashion or bargains. Busy executives, new mothers returning to the workforce, or people that simply hate shopping for clothes are likely to outsource the task. The same is the case elsewhere – interior shopping (assistant shopping to fit out a home), or even grocery/meal plan consultants for certain diets.
Why It’s High Paying: It’s an indulgence service; customers paying for stylists or personal shoppers usually have disposable income and are happy to pay for convenience. Also, if one is good, one is saving them money by finding fantastic pieces within budgets. Stylists are able to charge flat package deals or by the hour. On the higher end, personal stylists usually charge between $25 to $125 USD an hour (approximately $40 to $190 AUD) depending on the clientele.
How to Get Started:
Define Your Service: Identify if you will be focusing on fashion styling (wardrobe makeover, picking out outfits), specialty shopping (wedding dress shopping or shopping for party clothes), or home decor shopping. Do what comes easiest to you – that is to say, if you are good at finding cheap trendy clothing, brand yourself a budget fashion stylist.
Build a portfolio (even an informal one): Start dressing family members or friends for free and take them both before-and-after photos (with consent). Create a lookbook of the outfits or the designs for the spaces that you made. If your closet is extremely organized that can be an example as well. These photos will market your service.
Market Yourself: Word-of-mouth is strong. Let your contacts know that you are willing to shop or style. Use social media – put styling tips or deals on Facebook groups for your city (e.g., “Mums in [Your City]” groups) or Instagram. Alternatively, sell your service on Airtasker or Gumtree under the services option, or join sites such as The Right Fit (some use it).
Consultation & Delivery: First, you’d normally start with a consultation (store or virtual) to determine the client’s requirements (size, taste in style, price). Then, shop online (convenient to do from home) or store (some will pay for you to go pick something up). Make certain to define if your fee will be for your time alone or if it will include fuel, etc., if you must go out. Some personal shoppers earn affiliate commissions through the stores themselves, but if you are yourself a side hustler, perhaps charge for time and expertise.
Niche it Down: Perhaps build a niche there also – i.e. “wardrobe refresh” stylist to new mothers who require apparel that will help them look fantastic despite body changes. A vegan interior stylist that recommends home decor that contains only cruel component-free decor. Unconventional strategies can create differentiation.
Earning Potential: With two to three customers a month, you could earn a couple hundred. For instance, if you charge a flat fee to redo an entire wardrobe and complete one a month, that’s $300 in your bank account (and likely only ~5-6 hours’ worth total space-ed out). As you build experience and possibly take on more complex tasks (e.g., styling an entire year’s worth of work clothes for one individual), you could complete several sessions for higher pay. Keep in mind that some Upwork statistics estimate $25-$125 USD/hr for personal shopping/style, so charge on the higher side if you are based in Australia if selling a premium product. If then brand around it then retailers will begin sponsoring you or giving discounts, again increasing your income.
Those are some unusual side hustle options. Some other unusual-cool ones are furniture flipping (reupholstering old furniture to resell), pet grooming or dog training from home (if pets are your thing but you want to earn more than casual pet sitting), or becoming a “rent-a-mum” concierge to stressed family types (providing services like meal preparation, errands on a freelance basis). The key is to take what you are good at or love to do, and sell it to other people. High-value opportunities usually take one of two forms: specialised skills, or the need to sell to a niche market. In the next section, we will cover how to open yourself to the global market and online marketplaces – because your earning capacity can really soar if you are not geographically tied to your suburb or city.
2. Leverage Global & Online Career Opportunities
The best part about side hustling in 2025 is that geography no longer matters. You can work as an Aussie stay-at-home mum for a New York or New Delhi client from the comfort of your own home. The majority of platforms are international, so they have an open door policy for Aussie freelancers and accept other currencies (hello, strong USD!). This section discusses some of the top global and online gigs and sites – i.e., where to get high-value work outside our borders (or all online).
Global Freelance Marketplaces: Sites such as Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, PeoplePerHour, and Guru get you in front of clients globally. You can provide nearly any service (writing, design, coding, consulting, you know the routine). The best thing is that they do the client sourcing for you – you hunt for work or put up a profile and you get invited to work. Upwork, for example, already has thousands of Australian freelancers in its inventory and shows well-paying work (typically in USD or EUR). With international clients, just keep an eye out for time zones – but most async work (such as writing or design) is fine. Also, keep in mind that getting paid in USD or EUR can translate to a nice boost when you exchange it to AUD.
Specialized Remote Work Platforms: If you want something more work-like (though still remote), check out platforms such as FlexJobs, Remote.co, We Work Remotely, and Working Nomads. You can search for part-time or freelance work available to international applicants or even just Australia. These are varieties of work such as virtual customer service, home marketing specialist, or community manager. Pay can be salary-form (e.g., $20/hour for part-time customer service, or a fixed monthly fee). The benefit is greater stability; the drawback is less “pick your own hours” than straight freelancing.
Online Tutoring & Teaching Worldwide: We discussed tutoring as a side business, and sure enough there are international platforms eager for tutors. Platforms such as Preply, Tutor.com, Chegg Tutors, or language-specific like italki enable you to teach students online. You can also capitalize on the opportunity of teaching English as a second language online as an Aussie. (China’s online ESL market shifted following new policies, but there are opportunities to teach English to international students, or to teach other subjects in English). Prices can be decided by the website or you choose them yourself. For instance, a great maths tutor could have prices at $40 AUD/hr and get pupils abroad who are willing to pay for an English-speaking teacher of the country’s origin in the subject. Webinars and classes are another avenue – sites like Outschool allow you to teach group classes remotely (ideal for enrichment classes for children, where you could instruct e.g. “Beginner Coding for 10-year-olds” or “Art for Preschoolers” from home and get paid per student).
Micro-Freelancing and Task Sites: If you like working in bite-sized chunks, there are international “task” websites: Amazon Mechanical Turk, Clickworker, Appen, Lionbridge (Telus International AI) and so on. These are typically something like doing small tasks like data labeling, filling out surveys, or trying out apps. They pay for each task – not always large sums (e.g., a few cents to a few dollars per task), but they add up if you do them in bulk or happen upon more lucrative batches. One of the big Aussie businesses is Appen, which employs globally for jobs such as search engine testing or speech transcription; these jobs pay around $14-$20 USD/hour and are flexible.
Just be prepared the application processes can be tricky, and work availability can change.
Selling Products to a Global Audience: If you make a product (tangible or intangible), why restrict yourself to Australia?. Sites such as Etsy, eBay, Amazon (Amazon Australia and in fact Amazon US via FBA) enable you to sell globally. For digital products (printables, e-books, stock photography), the market is global by default – someone in Canada can purchase your printable planner template at 3am your time, earning you money while you sleep. We will discuss passive income later on, but remember that the world is your customer base online. There are mums who’ve earned full-time salaries selling virtual products overseas (like an e-book that goes to number one in the US, or crocheting patterns sold in Europe).
Tips for Doing Well in International Gigs
Optimize Your Profile for International Clients: Emphasize being fluent in English (if applying to say, an American client, mention it even though it seems obvious – it’s a plus for them that you’re a native speaker). Also, sometimes list your rate in USD on global platforms so clients immediately see your currency in their terms. Watch the Time Zone: If you’re doing a gig that’s real-time collaborative (live tutoring, meetings, etc.), put what hours of the day you’re available. Most foreign clients don’t care that you’re in Australia if you can overlap for a few hours or get work done before their morning.
Use Secure Payment Methods: For non-freelancing platform customers, tools like PayPal, TransferWise (Wise) or Payoneer can be helpful to receive foreign payments with minimal fees. Always settle payment terms in the open – most clients won’t cheat, but if someone you met on a forum needs work done, think about requesting a deposit payment first or using an escrow service to protect yourself.
Take Advantage of the Exchange Rate (Legally!): Receiving payment in a stronger currency can be a smart decision. For instance, getting $100 USD is about $155 AUD – an enjoyable bonus when converted. Just don’t forget all income (even foreign customers) will still be required to be reported on tax time in Australia, converted into AUD values.
By broadening your search to global opportunities, you actually open the floodgates. You can find that a niche skill you possess is scarce in another market, and you’re even more valuable. Or you can find that staying up late to take calls for a US client is an option for you because you can put the kids to bed first. The world is really your oyster when it comes to side hustles online.
3. Establishing Passive Income Streams
Side hustling doesn’t necessarily need to be time-for-dollars. Some of the best side hustles, in fact, are ones that divorce effort from reward – the old “earn money while you sleep” concepts. Passive income is a game-changer for a busy mom: work once (or perhaps ever), and keep earning money without much effort. Here are some ways to build passive income and how to begin building them:
Monetize Your Content: Blogging, YouTube, Podcasting
If you like to make content – writing, video, or audio – think about monetizing that as a passive income stream through ads or sponsorships.
For instance, you could start a blog on something you like (parenting tips, recipes, budgeting, crafts).
Once your blog begins gaining traffic, you can monetize (by incorporating Google AdSense or Mediavine/Ezoic in case your website is gaining higher traffic) with advertisements and get paid each time the audience reads or clicks on them. You could also affiliate market within your articles: endorse products and place special links such that you are rewarded with a commission when consumers buy.
Many stay-at-home moms profitably earn a few hundred to a few thousand monthly in this manner, though it takes some time to gain an audience.
A YouTube channel can also generate ad revenue for you in much the same way.
You might create a channel where you review baby products, or give quick cooking tips.
Once you are meeting YouTube’s minimums (currently 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours watched), you can monetize with ads.Top mom vloggers make some serious money, but even a small channel could make some side money every month. Content from a year ago is still making you ad cents today – seriously passive after the initial effort. And how could we not mention podcasting: if you’re covering a niche topic and building followers, sponsors will pay to advertise in front of your listeners. Podcasting might be more work in content creation initially, but hit shows make money from older episodes being constantly downloaded.
How to Get Started: Choose a medium of content delivery that you find inspiring so that it is not boring. Produce regularly (i.e., one video or one blog post per week). Educate yourself about SEO (so your blog shows up on Google) or YouTube optimization. Market on social media or parenting forums to generate initial momentum. And most importantly, be patient – passive income from content is a slow build, but once it gets going, it can continue with less effort. (Tip: recycle content on platforms. A blog post can be repurposed as a video script, a video can be rewritten as a blog, etc., to double your reach with minimal extra effort.)
Create and Sell Digital Products
Digital products are amongst the best passive income bets because you need only make it once and sell it any quantity of times without having to refill. The sky’s the limit here, depending only on your imagination. Some ideas well-suited especially to stay-at-home mums:
E-books & Guides: Do you have knowledge others are willing to pay for? Gather it together in a PDF e-book or guide.
e.g., “30 Days of Healthy Kid-Friendly Recipes,” or “Survival Guide for New Mums”, or even your children’s storybook which you write.
You can publish e-books on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (with global visibility) or on your site/Gumroad as a PDF file.
Writing an e-book is a time-consuming process, but once launched out there, it may keep making you money each month.
A hit e-book can make you $1,000+ each month in royalties if it really resonates with a market need (though more common is a steady trickle of smaller amounts – still great as passive side money).
Printables & Templates: If you’re a bit crafty or design-inclined, consider selling printables on Etsy or other marketplaces. This could be anything from printable planners, kids’ chore charts, birthday party invitation templates, to homeschool worksheets.
People love ready-made beautiful designs.
You set up the PDF or design file once, and when you sell it to someone, it just happens automatically – you don’t have to lift a finger.
Mums around the globe have been making a few hundred dollars a month on Etsy selling digital downloads such as these; it’s not a high-pressure means of starting a business with no stock.
Online Courses or Workshops: Create a course with your expertise. Or maybe you’re skilled in cake decorating – start a blog or newsletter with videos guiding one through methods. Sites such as Udemy, Teachable, or even Skillshare enable you to sell a course and receive money each time someone signs up. You can also give a live web workshop (i.e., 2-hour Saturday class, via Zoom), charge participants, record it, and then sell the tape as a product subsequently.
Classes may range anywhere from a minimum of $10 to hundreds of dollars per student depending on value and depth. Having once created the course, subsequent new sales involve no additional work beyond responding to the odd student query. Stock Music or Photos: If photography is something you enjoy or you are a musician, you could act additionally as a seller of this material online. Sites like Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Alamy allow you to upload images and earn a royalty with every time an individual licenses them.
It could be only a buck or two per use, but that one wonderful picture could be sold hundreds of times worldwide.
Similarly, if you create sound effects or music, platforms like AudioJungle allow you to sell them to use in videos, podcasts, etc.
How to Get Started: Determine what you can create that will be of enduring worth. Sat down and planned it out and set aside blocks of time to create it (perhaps during the time the children are at school or once the children are in bed over the span of a few weeks). Present it professionally – e.g., have someone proofread your e-book or spend a bit on a better microphone for recording course videos. Then, when it’s released, select a marketplace to sell on (each has its own setup, but usually simple: you upload, price, describe, and publish).
Then, market your product through social media, applicable forums, or even running a small ad campaign if the profit margins are high enough. The broader you advertise up front, the more those sales can keep rolling in on autopilot down the line.
Rentals and Asset-Sharing
If you are not able to make something, perhaps you already possess something that will earn you money. We overlook what we already possess. Do you have spare space, equipment, or skills that can be rented or sold?
In Australia, the sharing economy is thriving:
Rent Out a Room (or a House): Do you now have an extra room since one of the children has upgraded to a larger room? Properties such as Airbnb enable you to lease it out to travelers for passive income.
You will have to cope with hosting and cleaning, but some mums make this into a small bed-and-breakfast type side hustle.
If you do need to travel or be away occasionally, you can even rent out your entire home (with suitable safeguarding of personal belongings) – although that takes more effort.
Car Sharing: If your car is idle most days (perhaps your partner’s car or a second car), look into car-sharing options like Uber Carshare (previously Car Next Door). You advertise your car, and others in your neighborhood can borrow it for hours or days. The website manages insurance and payment processing; you only need to arrange key handover (some use lockboxes). Profit depends on frequency of employment, though it can serve as a useful counterbalance for rego and insurance costs at least.
Equipment Rental: Look at things you have that others may pay to use. Common examples: photography equipment, power equipment, lawn mower, party equipment (chairs, speakers, decorations), or even kids’ equipment like a pram or car seat you don’t use anymore (like your baby grew up but you haven’t yet sold the item). Closed Facebook groups and platforms like Open Shed or Fat Llama (although I’m not aware of how active in Australia) for lending to peers. As an example, a good DSLR camera would only cost $50 per day to lease.
It’s a tad niche, but if you live in some town or neighborhood where people might on occasion need short-term access to an item, then it’s worth it.
Advertising Space: This one’s a bit outside the box – some corporations will compensate you to have advertisements on your land. For example, there have been businesses that pay car owners to place ads on their car, or even home owners to place small billboard signs on their lawn. If you don’t care about the appearance, it’s passive money. These types of opportunities pop up and disappear, but watch out on sites like Gumtree for “get paid to drive with adverts” ads or local ad businesses seeking locations.
Earning Potential: The rental revenues fluctuate, yet they are quite passive overall. Your parking spot in the city can earn you a hundred a month through Parkhound. Renting your vehicle could get you a few hundred if it’s in demand. Airbnb would give you $50–$150 a night for a room, depending on where you are/space – even renting it a few nights a month is something.
The key to any sharing or rental situation is to factor in wear-and-tear and feel okay with strangers handling your stuff. Always go through official platform channels so that you have insurance or guarantees in place (e.g., Airbnb has host insurance, car-share has accidents included, etc.). As for scalability – technically, you can scale up (buy a second inexpensive car just to rent out, or get more equipment to lend), but that crosses over from side hustle into something more serious. As a passive side earner, keep with low-effort, what-you-already-have strategies.
Scaling Passive Income: One of the great things about passive income streams is that you can nurture them to stack. You may not have to depend on one source. Maybe you begin with a blog that earns you a bit from advertising, and then you also publish an e-book, and maybe sometimes lease out your camera. Each one individually might be small, but all together they might add up to a large chunk of your spending, no 9-to-5 required. And if one stream does blow up (i.e., your printable shop goes gangbusters), you can always add more energy to that. Remember, even passive income isn’t 100% “set and forget” – you’ll likely spend some time on upkeep (keeping a blog up, responding to course student questions, relisting items for rent, etc.), but it’s far less tied up in hours-worked = dollars-earned. For a working mum who is busy, that’s great since there are weeks when you might not be able to work at all but the money will keep on coming.
4. Legal Considerations & Safety Tips
Starting your side hustle is all games and fun, but we must also discuss the less-than-glamorous (but absolutely essential) things: being in the law and being safe. You, the stay-at-home mum starting up a side job, will need to ensure you’re doing it all in a legit way with the Australian authorities, and being safe from threats and scams yourself and your loved ones. Don’t stress – it’s really not that hard.
Let’s break it down:
Taxation and Business Basics in Australia
The ATO generally regards any money you earn (even side work) as income taxable by them. To put it simply: if you earn cash, you could have to pay tax on it, just like you would in a normal job.
Some handy tips:
Setting Up Your Business: You may not always have to register as a proper company for a side gig. Most mums are a sole trader, the simplest setup. As a sole trader, you can either use your own name or trading name (if you choose to register one) and you’ll use your individual TFN for tax purposes. But you must have an ABN (Australian Business Number) – it is free to make an application on the government’s ABR website. An ABN is typically requested by customers or platforms when doing freelancing, and it is useful for invoicing.
GST (Goods and Services Tax): Australian rule is that if your business earns over $75,000 gross income per financial year, you must register for GST. Most side businesses won’t reach that point in the beginning, but remember if it does end up taking off. Below that, registering is up to you (and generally not even worth the trouble unless you have a huge amount of business expenses that you will get tax credits for).
Saving Money for Tax: No one is going to withhold tax on your side hustle income automatically like with a normal paycheck job. It’s also smart to save some portion of each payment for tax time. How much? That will vary based on your overall income level and tax rate, but a safe estimate might be 20-30%. You made $1,000 doing some side jobs. Save about $250 for the taxman. As a matter-of-fact Aussie site puts it, money made through a side gig is still income, so you must save for tax. You don’t need a surprise bill for tax if you spent all of it.
Expense Deductions: The best news – you can generally deduct expenses you pay to earn your side income. If you purchased a new webcam to tutor online, or you’re using home internet and electricity for freelance work, some of those costs can be deducted. Save receipts and perhaps use a simple spreadsheet to keep track of what you’re spending on the side venture (there are expense-tracking apps as well). This can lower your taxable income.
Superannuation: No one’s contributing super on your behalf as you are a sole trader and self-employed. It sounds odd paying yourself super, but if you can afford it, put some into a super fund from your wages. You don’t have to, but you’re saving money for Future You. Some contributions are also tax-deductible, and some low-income workers with qualifying work are able to receive a government co-contribution on their super. Paying yourself super right from the start was advised if possible – doing your side hustle like a pro involves considering such long-term gains.
Accounting & Record-Keeping: It needn’t be complicated for a small side hustle. But do keep finances separate: use a separate bank account or have clean records of income and expenses. It simplifies tax time. As your hustle scales, it is an investment you can afford for accounting tools like Xero, QuickBooks, or MYOB to send bills and have it all together. Some have free tiers or cheap plans for small businesses.
Lastly, if you’re ever unsure about your obligations, check official sources or talk to an accountant. The ATO website has a whole section for gig economy and freelance earners. And remember to declare all your side income in your annual tax return; the ATO is increasingly data-matching payments (even from Uber, Airbnb, etc.) so it’s best to be transparent.
Protecting Your Privacy and Security Online
Working online means you’ll be interacting with strangers on the internet – clients, customers, platform providers.
It’s important to keep your personal information safe and maintain boundaries:
Seperate Professional and Personal Life: You might even create a fresh email account for side hustling only. In that manner, in the event you are signing up for sites or are sharing contact info with consumers, it isn’t your private email. In addition, you could have a fake name or just first name used on public pages for personal reasons if you are going to be blogging out there.
Be Secure with Personal Information: Never give out sensitive information such as your home address, complete birth date, or bank information to clients directly. If you must bill a client, you can use online billing software that does not reveal your home address (or create a PO Box as your business address if you do). For receiving payments, services such as PayPal keep you from revealing a bank number, only an email address.
Internet Safety Habits: Simple digital cleanliness is a good start – create strong, individual passwords for the sites you join (a password manager can do this). Enable two-factor authentication for accounts that support it (Upwork, for instance, does). Regularly update your computer’s antivirus and software to protect against hacks, particularly if you’re receiving files from clients.
Setting Boundaries: If you’re doing something like tutoring via Zoom or selling items on Marketplace, consider what you’re comfortable with. For tutoring, maybe a Zoom background that doesn’t show your home interior, for instance. For selling or renting items locally, arrange meetups in safe, public locations or use the platform’s recommended handoff methods. You’re a mum first – trust your gut if something feels off.
Avoiding Scams and Fraudulent Schemes
Where there is money to be made, regretfully, there are likely scammers standing ready to steal it from you. There are plenty of work-at-home scams out there, so keep your scam radar turned on. Good guideline: If it promises a ton of money for little work, or it demands that you send money upfront, it’s a scam. Scamwatch (produced by the ACCC) puts it as plain as day: “Stop and check any job that asks you to pay money in order to make money. It might be a scam.”
Some of the ones to beware of look like this:
Upfront Fee Scams: Look out for ads like “Make $500 a day working at home, guaranteed! All you have to do is purchase our starter package for $50.” Genuine jobs never ask you to pay to access the job. (Exception: Some genuine freelance sites offer membership, but be cautious.) Always research the firm offering the opportunity. If they request money from you to buy training or equipment, do your research more – generally speaking, it is a scam.
Phishing and Impersonator Recruiters: You might get an unsolicited WhatsApp message or text saying they have a job to offer. If you didn’t apply for it and it seems too good to be true, be cautious. The impersonators pose as recruiters for real companies, then request personal details or a “registration fee.” Don’t click on random links or give personal/bank details to someone who contacts you unexpectedly. In doubt, contact the company through authorized means to confirm.
Check or Overpayment Scams: Freelancing has a common scam in the form of a “client” who wishes to hire you, then that you overpaid them (or an imposter PayPal payment which appears to be an actual payment) and requires you to refund them the difference. Utilize the safe payment system of the freelancing platform, or off a platform, wait for payments to fully clear. Never return money unless you’re 100% sure of the outcome – and sensibly, respectable clients won’t overpay and ask for their money back.
Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) Pressure: Not all MLMs are scams, but be careful. If you’re being pressured to join some “business opportunity” selling goods (beauty, health, etc.) and having others work for you, research the company. Plenty of mums have lost money buying stock for MLMs that they can’t sell. If it’s your thing, good luck, but just go in with your eyes open and beware of any “guaranteed income” nonsense.
Best Practices: Obtain work via established platforms. Check for reviews (e.g., search for “[PlatformName] scam” to see if others had a problem). A small milestone or down payment on a new client before completing all work is fine – or utilize escrow payments (Upwork has an escrow system, for instance, where funds are held in trust before doing the work). Keep all the communication on the platform whenever you can; scammers will attempt to move you off-platform (e.g., from Upwork to your personal email) because then you are no longer protected. And trust your gut – if a job listing is full of misspellings, pays an unrealistic salary, or just seems suspicious, pass on it. There are plenty of legitimate opportunities out there.
Safety Tips for In-Person Side Hustles
Some side hustles might include meeting people face-to-face (selling items, home organizing, event planning, etc.).
Safety first:
Meet in Public: To sell items (Facebook Marketplace/Gumtree sales) or first client meet-and-greets, choose a public place such as a coffee shop or shopping mall. Daytime is ideal. There’s safety in being out and about.
Let Someone Know: Let a family member or friend know where and when you are meeting someone, especially if it’s at their house or yours. There are smartphone apps to share your live location with a trusted person.
Trust Your Instincts: If your client is asking you to go somewhere sleazy or something doesn’t feel right, don’t hesitate to say no. There is no money worth dying for. If you do make house calls (if you’re a mobile makeup artist or whatever), think about having a friend with you the first time or having a safe word to text someone if you need assistance.
Insurance: If you’re dealing with physical goods or going into homes, consider insurance. For instance, public liability insurance in the event that someone is injured by a product you sell, or when doing a job. It’s an extra expense, but for some businesses (such as selling food products, or children’s party services in homes), it can be worth it if something goes wrong. There are some home insurance policies that even demand notice if you have a home-based business. This is just something to remember as you expand; many very small-scale operations may not require extra coverage, but better safe than sorry.
In brief, be a “real” business on your side hustle even if you’re only working a few hours a week. That professional attitude will get you through taxes like a pro, keep your operation safe and legit, and avoid traps. And don’t be afraid – thousands of Aussie mums make this balancing act work. It’s all about being in the know and being prepared. Set up those separate accounts, keep data secure, be scam-aware, and you’ll hustle happily ever after.
Wrapping Up: Empowering Mums to Hustle on Their Own Terms
You’ve made it through a lot of information – kudos for that! You now should have a chest of riches in ideas for odd but potentially lucrative side businesses, a blueprint for taking that initial step, an overview of sites that will transport you to the world, ideas for passive streams of revenue, and how to keep everything legitimate and secure.
The thing most to recall from all this is this: financial freedom and flexibility are not so far out of reach. Whether you choose to donate your voice to an animation production at midnight, or you’re mailing out weekend vintage fashion finds, there’s work for every interest and schedule.
Most stay-at-home mothers in Australia have been able to juggle parenting and making money – some, indeed, going on to turn side hustles into successful business or careers of their own some years down the track. Along the way, keep yourself interesting and chatty too – i.e., don’t be awful to yourself, and have fun.
Side hustles are a creative outlet and confidence and self-esteem builder as much as a moneymaker. You may attempt a few before one sticks, and that is absolutely okay. You’ll gain something from each. Finally, remember why you are doing this. Perhaps it is to fill a savings requirement, to maintain professional skills up-to-date, or simply to challenge yourself beyond nappies and Peppa Pig shows.
Remembering that passion will have you ride over the hills of learning.So go for it – choose a topic that excites you, skim the steps to begin, and get swinging into action. Your future self (and your bank account) will appreciate it! Cheers to all the Aussie mums doing their own thing – you’re doing it.
More posts like this: 10 Lucrative Side Hustle Ideas for Financial Freedom in 2025
