Aircraft Refueller
An aircraft refueller operates specialised fuel handling equipment at airports to supply aircraft with Jet A-1, Avgas, or other approved aviation fuels. Working on aprons and at aircraft stands, they connect refuelling trucks to aircraft fuel systems, monitor flow rates and volumes, and ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations.
What this job is
An aircraft refueller operates specialised fuel handling equipment at airports to supply aircraft with Jet A-1, Avgas, or other approved aviation fuels. Working on aprons and at aircraft stands, they connect refuelling trucks to aircraft fuel systems, monitor flow rates and volumes, and ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations. This role requires adherence to strict aviation fuelling protocols under Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) oversight and Safe Work Australia standards.
Are employers advertising this role?
Steady, up 3.2% 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
Connect refuelling hoses and adapters to aircraft fuel inlet ports using correct coupling procedures and safety protocols. Operate fuel truck pumps and control systems to deliver fuel at appropriate flow rates and pressures for different aircraft types. Monitor fuel quantity indicators, totaliser displays, and aircraft fuel tank levels during refuelling operations. Perform pre-refuelling inspections of fuel trucks, hoses, filtration equipment, and grounding cables to ensure safety and serviceability. Ground aircraft and refuelling equipment using bonding cables and earth leads to prevent static electricity hazards. Verify fuel quality and type against aircraft fuel requirements, checking for contamination or improper specifications. Complete refuelling documentation including fuel quantity delivered, fuel grade used, time taken, and aircraft registration. Respond to and manage minor fuel spills or leaks using designated absorbent materials and spill containment procedures.
Who does this now
About 600 people worked in this occupation across Australia at the 2021 Census.
What this role asks for
Certificate II or III (ABS skill level 4)
Registration or licensing is required.
Can employers fill these jobs
Employers hiring for this occupation were generally able to find 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 Certificate II or III (ABS skill level 4). 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 need a Certificate II or III, an Aviation Security Identification Card (ASIC) and usually a heavy vehicle licence before you can work, which takes time and money upfront. The work is outdoors in all weather, often early mornings, nights, or weekends to match flight schedules. Automation of refuelling systems could reduce demand over time.
Pay
Published for ANZSCO unit group 7331, 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
- Adhere to transportation work schedulecore
- Apply advanced driving techniquescore
- Attention to Detailcore
- Basic Arithmetic and Numerical Accuracycore
- Conduct quality assurance inspections on fuel operationscore
- Dispatch Documentationcore
- Drive firetruck under emergency conditionscore
- Ensure public safety and securitycore
- Fuel inventory methodscore
- Incident Reportingcore
- Operate specialised equipment in emergencycore
- Perform search and rescue missionscore
- Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
- Quality Assurance and Checkingcore
- Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
- Risk Identificationcore
- Team Collaborationcore
- Time Management and Prioritisationcore
- Tolerate stresscore
- Verbal Communicationcore
- Workload Self-Managementcore
- Active Listening
- Adaptability and Flexibility
- Continuous Learning and Upskilling
- Data Entry and Accuracy
- Drive vehicles
- Extinguish fires
- Fire prevention procedures
- Fire safety regulations
- Fire-fighting systems
- First aid
- Health and safety regulations
- Hydraulics
- Inventory Tracking
- Operate emergency equipment
- Perform risk analysis
- Problem Solving
- Provide first aid
- Record Management
- Select hazard control
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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