Fruit and Vegetable Factory Worker

A fruit and vegetable factory worker performs routine processing, packaging, and quality control tasks in a food production facility. They operate machinery for washing, sorting, cutting, or grading produce, monitor product flow on conveyor lines, and package finished items according to food safety and customer specifications. The role requires compliance with food safety standards and workplace health and safety legislation.

Operate conveyor systems and mechanical sorting equipment to move produce through processing stages. Feed raw fruit and vegetables into washing or blanching machines and monitor treatment cycles. Monitor product quality by inspecting for defects, discolouration, or damage and removing substandard items. Operate labelling and packaging machinery to seal, date, and box finished products according to specifications. Maintain cleanliness and hygiene of equipment, work surfaces, and processing lines in accordance with food safety standards. Check packaged products for correct weight, labelling, and seal integrity before despatch. Follow and enforce food safety protocols including HACCP principles and allergen management procedures. Comply with workplace health and safety requirements including use of personal protective equipment and safe handling of sharp tools.

The standard entry pathway requires a Certificate I or compulsory secondary education (ABS skill level 5). 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 work is repetitive and physically demanding with little room for advancement. Early starts (5 to 6am) are standard, the pace is set by conveyor lines not by you, and wages typically stay around the award rate with limited progression. Automation is slowly replacing packing and sorting roles, so job security isn't guaranteed long-term.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 8311, 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.

• Adaptability and Flexibilitycore
• Administer ingredients in food productioncore
• Attention to Detailcore
• Basic Arithmetic and Numerical Accuracycore
• Clean food and beverage machinerycore
• Goods Receipt Processingcore
• Incident Reportingcore
• Inventory Trackingcore
• Multitaskingcore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Quality Assurance and Checkingcore
• Stock Counting and Stocktakecore
• Team Collaborationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Workload Self-Managementcore
• Act reliably
• Adhere to organisational guidelines
• Carry out checks of production plant equipment
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Problem Solving
• Process Improvement Identification
• Regulatory and Legislative Awareness
• Returns Processing
• Risk Identification
• 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.

What Fruit and Vegetable Factory Worker move into, from ten years of tax records.

Last updated: 30 October 2026