Clay Products Machine Operator

A Clay Products Machine Operator tends and controls machinery in clay product manufacturing plants, such as brick, tile, or pottery production facilities. They monitor automated or semi-automated equipment that shapes, dries, and fires clay materials, adjusting settings and responding to malfunctions to maintain output quality and safety standards. The role requires adherence to workplace health and safety regulations, material handling protocols, and production schedules in an industrial manufacturing environment.

Load raw clay or prepared clay bodies into hopper systems and conveyor feeds on shaping machinery. Monitor extrusion presses, tile presses, or pottery wheels to ensure consistent product dimensions and surface quality. Adjust machine settings such as pressure, speed, and temperature to match production specifications and clay moisture content. Inspect finished or semi-finished clay products for defects, warping, or surface irregularities and remove non-conforming items. Operate kilns or drying chambers, programming temperature profiles and monitoring firing or drying cycles to prevent product damage. Clear blockages, residual clay, or debris from moulds, dies, and conveyor systems using hand tools and compressed air. Record production output, machine downtime, and quality control data on production logs or digital systems. Perform routine maintenance tasks such as cleaning equipment, replacing worn dies or moulds, and lubricating moving parts.

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.

This is physically demanding shift work in hot, dusty factory conditions with repetitive tasks and limited pay growth. You'll be standing for hours, handling heavy materials, and managing equipment breakdowns. Most plants operate 24/7, so expect early starts, late shifts, and weekend rosters. The pay ceiling is low unless you move into supervisory roles.

Jobs are tied to established factory locations and are not remote. Regional areas with quarries or established manufacturing zones may offer work, but most positions are in or near metro industrial zones.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 7111, 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.

• Active Listeningcore
• Adjust burner controlscore
• Attention to Detailcore
• Basic Arithmetic and Numerical Accuracycore
• Incident Reportingcore
• Inventory Trackingcore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Quality Assurance and Checkingcore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Team Collaborationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Workload Self-Managementcore
• Adaptability and Flexibility
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Goods Receipt Processing
• Process Documentation
• Process Improvement Identification
• Regulatory and Legislative Awareness
• Stock Counting and Stocktake
• Verbal Communication

• 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.

Where our numbers come from.

Last updated: 30 October 2026