Agricultural and Agritech Technician
An Agricultural and Agritech Technician provides technical support and operational assistance on farms, agricultural research stations, and agribusiness enterprises across Australia. They operate, maintain, and troubleshoot agricultural machinery and equipment, conduct soil and crop monitoring using digital tools, and implement agronomic practices that optimise productivity and sustainability.
What this job is
An Agricultural and Agritech Technician provides technical support and operational assistance on farms, agricultural research stations, and agribusiness enterprises across Australia. They operate, maintain, and troubleshoot agricultural machinery and equipment, conduct soil and crop monitoring using digital tools, and implement agronomic practices that optimise productivity and sustainability. This role bridges practical farming knowledge with emerging agricultural technologies including precision farming systems, data management platforms, and environmental monitoring.
Are employers advertising this role?
Falling, down 38.8% over 5 years
Counted across a group of similar roles. These are three-month rolling averages of online job advertisements, not filled positions.
Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, Internet Vacancy Index.
Day-to-day
Operate and maintain tractors, harvesters, and specialised agricultural machinery including daily inspections and fault diagnosis. Calibrate and troubleshoot GPS-guided systems, variable rate application equipment, and precision agriculture technologies on machinery. Conduct soil testing using handheld meters and laboratory procedures to determine nutrient levels, pH, and moisture content. Monitor crop health using remote sensing devices, drones, and visual assessment to identify pest, disease, and nutrient deficiency issues. Input and analyse farm data from weather stations, soil probes, and yield monitors into farm management software systems. Prepare and apply fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides in accordance with product labels, Safety Data Sheets, and local environmental regulations. Assist with irrigation system setup, maintenance, and adjustment of sprinklers, drip lines, and water delivery scheduling. Record farm activities including planting dates, chemical applications, harvest yields, and maintenance logs in digital or paper-based systems.
Who does this now
About 1,100 people worked in this occupation across Australia at the 2021 Census.
What this role asks for
Diploma, advanced diploma or associate degree (ABS skill level 2)
Can employers fill these jobs
Employers hiring for this occupation had trouble finding suitable applicants in 2025. This measures how hard employers found it to fill jobs. It is not a count of jobs, and it does not say whether the occupation is growing.
Requirements
The standard entry pathway requires a diploma, advanced diploma or associate degree (ABS skill level 2). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.
The honest hard part
You'll be on call during critical seasons (planting, harvest) with unpredictable hours and weather-dependent work. Machinery breakdowns happen at the worst times. Pay is modest and heavily tied to farm profitability, which means income can swing wildly with drought or commodity prices. You're also exposed to chemicals and heavy machinery risks that require constant vigilance.
Where the jobs are
Jobs concentrate in Australia's grain belts and intensive agricultural regions. Large farms and research stations are major employers. Remote work isn't common: you need to be on-site. Regional areas dominate.
Pay
Published for ANZSCO unit group 3111, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.
This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.
Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
Skills
- Advise on aquaculture products supply chaincore
- Advise on fertiliser and herbicidecore
- Advise on grape quality improvementcore
- Advise on nitrate pollutioncore
- Attention to Detailcore
- Data Entry and Accuracycore
- Digital Literacycore
- Problem Solvingcore
- Record Managementcore
- Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
- Report Writingcore
- Research and Analysiscore
- Risk Identificationcore
- Team Collaborationcore
- Time Management and Prioritisationcore
- Verbal Communicationcore
- Written Communicationcore
- Adaptability and Flexibility
- Advise client on technical possibilities
- Advise on crop diseases
- Advise on irrigation projects
- Continuous Learning and Upskilling
- Incident Reporting
- Microsoft Excel Data Management
- Microsoft Office Suite Proficiency
- Process Documentation
- Process Improvement Identification
- Quality Assurance and Checking
- Stakeholder Communication
Which of these do you have?
Tick the ones you haveCommon questions
Sources
- ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
- ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
- ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.
Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.
Last updated: 30 October 2026
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