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ANZSCO 8412Skill level 5Primary industries

Livestock worker

Care for livestock on broad-acre and mixed farms, including feeding, mustering and yard work.

Registration: Firearms licence (state-issued) and ChemCert AQF Level 3 are commonly required; manual driver licence and HR for some roles

Salary

Cited figures from Job Outlook and QILT. ExamExplained does not publish predictive earnings or projections.

FigureAUDSource
Full-time weekly earnings$1250Job Outlook (2025-06-01)

How far does this stretch in each city?

What a livestock worker actually does

Days start before sunrise on most stations and dairies. A typical morning runs a stock check by motorbike, ute or horse, then feeding, watering, troughs and fence runs. Mid-morning rolls into yard work: drafting, drenching, ear-tagging, weighing, marking, dipping or loading trucks for sale or transport. After lunch you might be on a tractor cutting and baling hay, repairing fences, clearing scrub or servicing pumps and bores. During lambing, calving, shearing or weaning the day stretches well past dark and into weekends. On remote stations you live on the property in shared quarters, work six days a week and ride into town once a week for supplies. Dairy operations split into two milking shifts a day, with the first starting at 4 or 5am. Hours are physical, dusty and sometimes bloody. Some weeks are quiet, but the seasonal weeks make up for it.

Typical tasks

  • Feed and water livestock.
  • Muster and yard animals.
  • Maintain fencing and water points.

Skills you'll use

  • Stock handling for sheep, cattle, goats or dairy herds
  • Operating motorbikes, quad bikes, side-by-sides and small trucks
  • Tractor driving, baling and basic plant maintenance
  • Fencing, water troughs, bore and pump repair
  • Drenching, drafting, marking, ear-tagging and basic vet treatments
  • Reading livestock body condition and identifying common diseases
  • Workplace health and safety including chemical handling
  • Two-way radio and station logistics over long distances

How to become one

  1. 1Finish Year 10 and get a manual driver licence as soon as you can
  2. 2Look for a junior position as a jackaroo, jillaroo, dairy hand or station hand - many are advertised through farm-jobs boards or agricultural shows
  3. 3Complete a Certificate II or Certificate III in Agriculture (livestock specialisation) at TAFE or through a registered training provider, often blended with on-job training
  4. 4Pick up firearms, ChemCert and tractor competencies as the job requires
  5. 5Build experience across a couple of properties and enterprises (sheep, cattle, dairy) to broaden your options
  6. 6Step up to leading hand and overseer roles once you can run a section of country on your own

Where you can work

  • Sheep and cattle stations across NSW, Queensland, WA and the Northern Territory
  • Family-owned dairies in Gippsland, northern Victoria, Tasmania and the NSW coast
  • Beef feedlots in the Riverina and Darling Downs
  • Stud breeding operations for cattle, sheep and stock horses
  • Live-export holding depots and abattoirs
  • Goat, deer and alpaca enterprises
  • Indigenous and corporate pastoral leases

Career progression

Typical stages and salary bands. Salary figures are sourced from Job Outlook, QILT or industry bodies; brackets are 25th-75th percentile not absolute floors or ceilings.

  1. Trainee or junior hand
    0-2 years
    Typical roles: Jackaroo or jillaroo, Station hand, Dairy assistant
    Salary band: $45,000 - $60,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  2. Experienced livestock worker
    2-6 years
    Typical roles: Stockperson, Dairy herd manager, Feedlot pen rider
    Salary band: $60,000 - $80,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  3. Head stockperson or leading hand
    6-10 years
    Typical roles: Head stockperson, Leading hand, Stud hand
    Salary band: $80,000 - $100,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  4. Overseer or assistant manager
    10+ years
    Typical roles: Overseer, Assistant manager, Stud manager

Is this for you?

You might love this if

  • You're comfortable working with large animals at close quarters
  • You can put in long days during seasonal peaks without complaining
  • You'd rather live in shared quarters on a station than rent in the city
  • You're handy with tools, vehicles and basic machinery
  • You can handle being hours from a hospital, supermarket or mobile signal
  • You enjoy weather, dust, dogs and the smell of stock

This might not suit you if

  • You can't be on the move physically all day
  • You're squeamish about blood, manure or putting animals down
  • You need to be close to family, friends or city services
  • You want a regular 9 to 5 with weekends off year-round
  • You're not comfortable with firearms and chemical use as part of the job

Three ways in

Uni, TAFE and trade routes for livestock worker. Not every career has all three; we only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.

University

Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.

No direct undergraduate pathway. Consider postgraduate study after a related bachelor degree.

TAFE / VET

Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.

Apprenticeship trade

Earn while you learn through an Australian Apprenticeship.

Not an apprenticeship trade.

Sources

ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Job Outlook directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.