Textile or Footwear Production Machine Operator

A textile or footwear production machine operator operates and monitors automated or semi-automated machinery in textile mills, weaving plants, or footwear manufacturing facilities to produce fabric, yarn, or shoe components. They perform routine setup, adjustments, quality checks, and maintenance tasks on production machines, ensuring output meets specification and safety standards. They monitor machine performance, identify faults, and report defects to supervisors or maintenance technicians.

Thread yarn or fabric through spinning, weaving, knitting, or dyeing machinery according to job specifications and manufacturer instructions. Adjust machine settings including tension, speed, colour dye ratios, and nozzle positions to achieve required production output and quality standards. Inspect finished fabric or footwear components for defects such as tears, discolouration, uneven stitching, or size variation using visual inspection and measuring tools. Load raw materials such as yarn cones, leather hides, textile rolls, or chemical dyes into machine hoppers or feed systems. Monitor machine gauges, digital readouts, and alarm systems during production runs to detect mechanical faults, temperature fluctuations, or pressure irregularities. Remove finished products from machinery and stack, fold, or transfer them to packaging or storage areas according to workplace procedures. Perform cleaning and basic maintenance tasks including clearing lint, dust, and residue from machinery, replacing worn belts or rollers, and oiling moving parts. Record production data such as batch numbers, machine running times, waste quantities, and defect rates on production sheets or into digital systems.

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.

Australia's textile and footwear manufacturing has shrunk dramatically. Most mills and factories have closed or moved offshore, so job availability is extremely limited. You'll likely face shift work including nights and weekends, hot or chemical-heavy factory environments, and repetitive monotony watching machines for 8-hour stretches. Pay is modest without strong progression pathways.

Most Australian facilities now focus on small-batch, specialised, or high-value products rather than mass production. Remote work does not apply.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 7117, 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.

• Attention to Detailcore
• Basic Arithmetic and Numerical Accuracycore
• Incident Reportingcore
• Inventory Trackingcore
• Multitaskingcore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Process Improvement Identificationcore
• Quality Assurance and Checkingcore
• Team Collaborationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Workload Self-Managementcore
• Active Listening
• Adaptability and Flexibility
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Data Entry and Accuracy
• Goods Receipt Processing
• Risk 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.

Last updated: 30 October 2026