Uber launched their food delivery service under the name Uber Eats in the first quarter of 2016 in Melbourne. At that time, their ridesharing service was also on the rise, making it easy for this food delivery service to reach its large number of customers.
It only took a couple of years for Uber Eats to become a popular food delivery platform among foodies. One of the reasons is the large number of listed restaurants and their reliable delivery services thanks to the large network of delivery drivers.
The Uber Eats platform is one of the factors why delivery gigs have become one of the most popular side hustles in Australia. Some even make it their main source of income.
Availability for Drivers
Being one of the popular food delivery platforms makes the Uber Eats service well-known among foodies across Australia. Based on their service website, Uber delivery service currently operates in 162 cities/districts/towns/regions.
The opportunity to become a delivery driver is even greater because everyone can register to become a driver even if you live in the suburb.
Uber has the most delivery drivers among all competitors. To maintain the balance of their platform ecosystem, in some cities/areas where there are too many drivers available, they began to limit sign up for new drivers.
Driver Requirements
Based on personal experience and fellow drivers in the community, signing up to become an Uber Eats delivery driver in Australia is relatively easy. But there are some requirements that is indeed stricter than competitors.
The following are the requirements for those delivering with a bicycle:
- National identity card (Passport/Citizenship/Immicard/Birth Certificate)
- Secondary identity (Driver’s Licence/Student ID/National ID)
- Australia Business Number (ABN)
- Background Check including Right to Work Check
- Bicycle Safety Test (online)
For those delivering with a car/scooter/motorbike, there are additional requirements:
- Full/unrestricted Driver’s Licence. If you deliver with a car you can use your international driver’s licence in NSW, VIC, QLD, ACT, SA and WA
- Vehicle registration
- Safe delivering education (online)
Delivery Options
In Australia, Uber has 3 types of delivery services offered to its customers. However, not all delivery drivers are eligible for these three services.
Food delivery service. This is the core service of Uber Eats to date. As we know, initially, Uber Eats was launched to provide food delivery from restaurants. The driver is only tasked with picking up and delivering the order.
Grocery Delivery. In early 2023 they added grocery delivery known as Uber Pack & Deliver service. This service requires the driver to shop for customers at the store, check out then deliver them.
Same-day parcel delivery. In addition, they also added a parcel delivery service called Uber Connect. Drivers are tasked with picking up parcels from customers and delivering them on the same day.
Delivery Driver Pay
Driver pay is one of the interesting topics, many people ask how much Uber Eats drivers earn in Australia. But like other delivery gigs, driver income is greatly influenced by several factors such as demands, location, time and the vehicle you use
As in general, delivery demands are usually high during lunch and dinner times. Apart from that, delivery demands will increase at weekends.
If you still want an idea of how much delivery drivers get, below I will try to explain based on the experiences of several fellow drivers in our community.
In big cities like Sydney and Melbourne, on average an Uber Eats delivery driver gets 2 – 4 delivery requests every hour. If every time a driver completes an order they earn between $6 – $10 per order, then their income will be between $20 – $30 per hour.
However, this is just a sample from several fellow drivers, driver pay may vary for each driver due to the different conditions in each area.
Driver Payment Options
When signing up to become a delivery driver, you are required to enter your banking account which is used by Uber to transfer your last week earnings.
But now delivery drivers also have the option to get their money faster. Now Uber delivery drivers can cash out their money within minutes after the request is initiated or the next day, and this can be done every day.
However, there is a limit on the next-day and instant cash out. You can only cash out $3500 every day. And for instant cash out, there is a $1.10 transaction fee that you have to bear for each request.
