Meat Process Worker

A meat process worker performs repetitive manual tasks in a meat processing facility, preparing, cutting, packaging, and processing animal carcasses and meat products according to food safety and quality standards. They work in cold or ambient conditions on production lines, using hand tools and machinery to transform raw meat into products for retail or wholesale distribution. The role requires compliance with food handling regulations, workplace safety protocols, and strict hygiene standards mandated by state and federal food authorities.

Operate hand tools such as knives, saws, and cleavers to cut, trim, and portion meat to specified weights and dimensions. Monitor and maintain temperature controls on production lines and in cold storage areas to ensure meat remains at safe temperatures below 4°C. Inspect meat for quality defects, contamination, or spoilage and remove non-conforming product according to quality standards. Feed meat into processing machinery such as grinders, slicers, or vacuum packers and monitor output for consistency. Package processed meat into consumer or bulk containers, applying labels with product information, batch codes, and use-by dates. Perform cleaning and sanitisation of work surfaces, equipment, and tools using approved food-safe disinfectants in accordance with HACCP protocols. Weigh and portion meat products using scales and measuring equipment to meet specification tolerances. Stack and palletise packaged products for cold storage, warehouse dispatch, or loading onto refrigerated transport.

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 physically demanding and monotonous. You'll spend 8+ hours standing in cold rooms (below 4°C) doing the same cutting or packaging movements, which causes repetitive strain injuries, joint pain, and muscle fatigue. Pay is modest and doesn't increase much with experience. Many facilities use casual or contract labour, so job security can be shaky.

In practice many of these jobs are in or near regional towns with livestock, not just in metro centres. Remote work is not an option.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 8313, 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
• Incident Reportingcore
• Inventory Trackingcore
• Multitaskingcore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Quality Assurance and Checkingcore
• Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Team Collaborationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Workload Self-Managementcore
• Act reliably
• Active Listening
• Adhere to organisational guidelines
• Carry out checks of production plant equipment
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Goods Receipt Processing
• Problem Solving
• 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 Process Worker move into, from ten years of tax records.

Last updated: 30 October 2026