Pest Control Technician
A Pest Control Technician inspects residential, commercial, and industrial premises to identify pest infestations and applies chemical, biological, or physical pest management treatments according to Australian safety and environmental standards.
What this job is
A Pest Control Technician inspects residential, commercial, and industrial premises to identify pest infestations and applies chemical, biological, or physical pest management treatments according to Australian safety and environmental standards. They operate specialised equipment, maintain treatment records, and advise clients on pest prevention and hygiene practices to comply with food safety, health, and quarantine regulations.
Are employers advertising this role?
Falling, down 17.6% 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
Inspect buildings, gardens, and surrounding areas to identify pest species, entry points, and infestation levels using visual assessment and monitoring tools. Apply pesticides, fungicides, and rodenticides using sprayers, dusters, baiting systems, and injection equipment in compliance with APVMA product labels and Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority guidelines. Lay and monitor rodent traps, insect baits, and sticky traps, then record pest activity, population trends, and treatment effectiveness. Prepare and mix pest control chemicals at correct concentrations, ensuring compliance with Safety Data Sheets and workplace health and safety protocols. Operate fumigation equipment and sealed chamber systems for timber treatments, quarantine pests, and large-scale infestations in buildings and shipping containers. Conduct timber inspections and apply preservative treatments to structural timbers to prevent termite and wood-boring insect damage. Complete pest control service documentation including treatment reports, chemical application records, client consent forms, and compliance certificates for regulatory audits. Advise clients on integrated pest management strategies, sanitation improvements, waste management, and structural sealing to reduce pest entry and breeding.
Who does this now
About 6,300 people worked in this occupation across Australia at the 2021 Census.
What this role asks for
Certificate IV or Certificate III with at least two years of on-the-job training (ABS skill level 3)
Registration or licensing may be 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.
Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, Training Occupation Pathways dataset, March 2026, version 1.0
Jobs and Skills Australia defines an occupation-ready qualification as:
Completing this qualification will provide the skills and knowledge to undertake this occupation. Further training and experience may be required to meet specific industry requirements including licensing and registration.
Jobs and Skills Australia, Training Occupation Pathways dataset, March 2026, version 1.0
Requirements
The standard entry pathway requires a Certificate IV or Certificate III with at least two years of on-the-job training (ABS skill level 3). 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 handle toxic chemicals daily and carry legal responsibility if something goes wrong. The job has a real pay ceiling: most technicians earn modest wages with limited advancement unless you start your own business. You're also competing with automation as companies develop remote monitoring systems and bait stations that reduce call-outs.
Where the jobs are
Regional areas have fewer opportunities. Practically speaking, pest control follows population density. Some work is available across Australia in agricultural regions for grain storage and livestock facilities, but metro areas offer the most consistent employment.
Skills
- Attention to Detailcore
- Chemical productscore
- Customer Needs Assessmentcore
- Incident Reportingcore
- Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
- Problem Solvingcore
- Record Managementcore
- Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
- Risk Identificationcore
- Time Management and Prioritisationcore
- Verbal Communicationcore
- Workload Self-Managementcore
- Written Communicationcore
- Act reliably
- Adapt to different weather conditions
- Adaptability and Flexibility
- Clean equipment
- Complaint Handling
- Continuous Learning and Upskilling
- Data Entry and Accuracy
- Delivery Scheduling
- Health Terminology Literacy
- Invoicing and Billing Administration
- Report Writing
Which of these do you have?
Tick the ones you haveCommon questions
Sources
- ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
- 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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