Senior Cattle and Sheep Farm Worker

A senior farm worker who manages day-to-day livestock operations on cattle and sheep properties, including animal husbandry, pasture management, and routine herd health tasks. Works under farm management direction to ensure productivity, animal welfare, and compliance with biosecurity and animal welfare regulations. Typically supervises junior staff and operates farm machinery and equipment.

Muster, yard, and draft cattle and sheep using mustering dogs, quad bikes, and yard infrastructure to separate animals for management or sale. Administer vaccines, drenches, and pour-on treatments to livestock following veterinary instructions and farm health protocols. Identify and treat common livestock ailments such as footrot, pneumonia, and parasites, and escalate cases requiring veterinary intervention. Monitor pasture condition and rotation cycles, assess feed availability, and implement grazing management to maintain soil health and animal nutrition. Operate and maintain farm machinery including tractors, quad bikes, feeders, and watering systems to support daily operations. Conduct pregnancy testing, condition scoring, and selection of breeding stock according to herd improvement targets and breeding programmes. Prepare livestock for market or sale by conducting health checks, organising transport, and completing required documentation including movement records and disease declarations. Maintain records of livestock treatments, vaccinations, breeding events, and animal movement to comply with biosecurity and traceability requirements under NLIS and state regulations.

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.

Pay is low and capped. The work is physically demanding year-round, early starts are standard, and you're on call during lambing and calving seasons. Weather, animal illness, and market drops create stress you can't control.

Practical reality is work is scattered across farming regions, not in cities. Remote work doesn't apply. Regional towns near larger farming districts offer the best job density.

• Adaptability and Flexibilitycore
• Administer drugs to facilitate breedingcore
• Administer treatment to animalscore
• Attention to Detailcore
• Goal Setting and Planningcore
• Incident Reportingcore
• Inventory Trackingcore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Team Collaborationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Workload Self-Managementcore
• Active Listening
• Advise customers on appropriate pet care
• Advise on animal purchase
• Advise on animal welfare
• Basic Arithmetic and Numerical Accuracy
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Process Improvement Identification
• Record Management
• Regulatory and Legislative Awareness
• Rostering and Scheduling Support
• Supplier Communication

• 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.

Where our numbers come from.

Last updated: 30 October 2026