Meat Boner and Slicer

A meat boner and slicer removes bones and cartilage from carcasses and cuts meat into retail or wholesale portions in abattoirs, butcheries, or food processing facilities. The role involves using hand tools and mechanical equipment to break down animal carcasses into saleable cuts while maintaining food safety and hygiene standards required by state health authorities and FSANZ regulations. Work is performed in cold storage environments and requires knowledge of different animal species, muscle anatomy, and cutting specifications.

Remove bones and cartilage from carcasses using boning knives, saws, and cleavers with precision to maximise yield and minimise waste. Trim excess fat, sinew, and offal from meat portions using hand tools and knives according to customer specifications or industry standards. Portion carcasses into retail cuts such as steaks, chops, roasts, and mince using manual and mechanical cutting equipment. Operate meat slicing machines, band saws, and circular saws to cut meat to specified thicknesses and weights for retail or wholesale orders. Apply food safety and hygiene practices including regular cleaning and sanitisation of tools, equipment, and work surfaces to comply with FSANZ food standards. Inspect meat quality for colour, texture, and spoilage, rejecting unsuitable product and reporting contamination to supervisors. Pack and label meat portions with cut type, weight, date, and price, and store in cold storage at correct temperatures. Maintain knives and tools through sharpening, honing, and safe storage to ensure cutting efficiency and workplace safety.

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 work is physically demanding in cold, wet conditions that can cause repetitive strain injuries to wrists, hands, and shoulders. Pay is modest and unlikely to rise much without moving into supervisory roles. You'll also need to come to terms with processing animal carcasses daily, which isn't right for everyone.

Most work is in regional areas near livestock supply rather than city centres. Remote work is not an option.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 8312, 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
• Attention to Detailcore
• Basic Arithmetic and Numerical Accuracycore
• Incident Reportingcore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Quality Assurance and Checkingcore
• Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Team Collaborationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Workflow Prioritisationcore
• Workload Self-Managementcore
• Active Listening
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Health Terminology Literacy
• Inventory Tracking
• Process Improvement Identification
• 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.

What Meat Boner and Slicer workers move into, from ten years of tax records.

Last updated: 30 October 2026