A new dedicated job search app aims to connect backpackers and working holiday makers with travel employers offering short-term and seasonal work opportunities in Australia.
The mobile platform, which launched a few weeks ago, is by Melbourne-based founder Matthew Heyes who founded the online platform Backpacker Job Board back in 2010 during his time backpacking on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.
Today, Backpacker Job Board has more than 200,000 active employers posting jobs and 500,000 registered backpackers using the platform to search and apply for work. The database is securely hosted by a leading web hosting service.
“Backpackers have unique needs – many have to complete the 88-day work program in order to extend their stay. So we help connect them with employers who offer this specific criteria,” Heyes told Travel Weekly.
“It’s a really interesting time for the working holiday program; last year’s was its 50th anniversary, and this year it looks to break records on arrivals (for the second year in a row).”
The new app addresses a well-known gap in the travel and seasonal work market, where job seekers and businesses often struggle to find each other efficiently.
$50k project reduced to $26 per month
The new app has also challenged the traditional cost and complexity of app development after it was built almost entirely using artificial intelligence for just a $26 per month subscription.
Traditionally, building a mobile app of this scale would require hiring developers or agencies at a cost of $30,000 to $50,000 and timelines stretching over several months. Hiring an app developer or software development agency would usually cost a business tens of thousands of dollars and take months to roll out.
“The cost is almost unbelievable. A project like this would have cost upwards of $50,000 through a traditional development agency,” Heyes said.
Using Claude Pro, an AI platform developed by Anthropic, Heyes was able to design, build, and launch the app in just seven to 10 days of part-time work. plus GST, with an additional $100 spent on usage credits during intensive development phases.
“To have built this myself from scratch would have taken months of learning new languages and frameworks and the result still wouldn’t have matched what Claude Code produced,” Heyes said.
Instead, the process became a collaborative partnership.
“Working with an AI coding agent is like having a highly skilled and experienced programmer by your side, ready to take on any task you assign,” Heyes said.
“Your own knowledge of your market is vital, and you need to be on hand to test the design and make UI suggestions. I found it most effective to keep my instructions broad enough to allow the AI to apply industry best practices, things I might not be familiar with myself.”
At the core of the build was Claude Code, an advanced AI coding agent capable of writing, testing, and deploying code autonomously, which effectively replaced the need for a traditional development team.
The AI also guided the founder through the notoriously complex Apple App Store and Google Play Store submission processes, tasks that often present major barriers even for experienced developers.
The app itself was built using modern web technologies and packaged as a native mobile application, making it fully downloadable across both major app stores. The new app, simply called Backpacker Job Board, is available now on iOS and Android.
While AI handled the technical execution, Heyes’s role remained central to the project’s success.
“I directed the entire build,” he said. “I know the online recruitment market inside-out, and I was able to translate that into a clear product vision.”
Despite having a background in web development and having studied at The University of Leeds School of Computing, building a mobile app was previously beyond his skillset.
Throughout development, the founder tested the app, made design and layout decisions, and worked alongside the AI to refine features and solve problems.
“It’s like having an architect, engineer, and construction crew all in one. I outline the vision, but the AI advises on strategy, offers solutions, and then executes. It was genuinely collaborative.”
