Be A Vendor
As a vendor of The Big Issue magazine, you buy the magazines for $2.50 each and sell them for $5 each, which puts a bit of cash in your pocket to help make ends meet. Plus you get to be your own boss. You decide how hard you want to work and what kind of hours suit you.
Make an appointment to meet Vendor support at your nearest Big Issue office: Contact Us
Run your own Business
Being in charge of your own money helps boost your business skills, and you get to talk with all sorts of people as you work your pitch.
Support and Services
The Big Issue employs vendor support workers in Australia’s five major cities to support and assist homeless and other disadvantaged people with training, support and motivation.
Your local Big Issue office is a hub where you can speak to a vendor support worker. They can refer you to other services including help with housing, seeing a doctor, getting free or cheap meals, drug rehabilitation programs and counselling.
The Big Issue also runs other programs for homeless and marginalised people such as the creative workshops
There is a fortnightly feature in The Big Issue magazine dedicated to our vendors writings: your thoughts, hopes and dreams in your words and pictures.
From time to time we run writing, photography and other creative workshops for vendors. Look out for notices at the Big Issue office in your state.
Read some vendor writings
The Big Issue Legal Clinic
The Big Issue in Melbourne has worked with the Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH) to establish the Homeless Persons Legal Clinic. The clinic works with organisations serving homeless people, and a group of pro bono lawyers visits The Big Issue office regularly to provide free legal advice and assistance to the magazine’s vendors. Similar clinics are being established in other cities.
Find out more about PILCH
Code of Conduct
Vendors of The Big Issue magazine sign a Code of Conduct. This is basically an agreement that defines where and how you can sell The Big Issue magazine. Your vendor support worker will explain all aspects of the agreement.
Pitches
The place where you sell The Big Issue magazine is an agreed spot called a pitch. Most pitches are in the CBD, but many vendors have established pitches in suburban areas developing friendships and loyal customers. Vendor support worker liase with local councils to designate a Big Issue pitch.
