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Quarantine Officers

ANZSCO ID 311313

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Overview

Snapshot

Employed
730
Future Growth
N/A
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
73%
Female Share
40%
Average age
46
About this data

Summary

Quarantine Officers inspect incoming animals, plants, and animal and plant products to ensure compliance with laws and regulations to prevent the spread of exotic pests and diseases.

Tasks

  • Examines imported plants and animals, and products, such as timber, seeds and dried fruits, and makes quarantine arrangements as required.

Characteristics

Job Type
Technicians And Trades Workers
Skill Level
High skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
3113 Primary Products Inspectors
Unemployment Rate
n/a
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • University
  • Vocational Education and Training (VET)
  • Informal or on-the-job
Interests
  • Practical
  • Analytical
  • Administrative
Physical Demand
  • Light
  • Medium

Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. Employment projections data are only produced for occupations at the broad four digit Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) level. While data are not available for this occupation, projections data are available for the parent occupation, Primary Products Inspectors, under the outlook section.

Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 73% of people employed as Quarantine Officers work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 7 percentage points above the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 41 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Sources:Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average.

Industries

Main industries

1
Public Administration and Safety
77.9%
2
Transport, Postal and Warehousing
7.1%
3
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
4.3%
4
Wholesale Trade
2.1%
5
Other industries
7.1%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

24.5% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

19.2% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

18.4% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

9.5% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

23.6% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

1.5% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

1.5% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

1.1% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Quarantine Officers All Jobs Average
NSW 24.5 31.6
VIC 19.2 25.6
QLD 18.4 20.0
SA 9.5 7.0
WA 23.6 10.8
TAS 1.5 2.0
NT 1.5 1.0
ACT 1.1 1.9


  • Around 68% of Quarantine Officers live in capital cities, compared with the all jobs average of 62%.

    Western Australia has a large share of employment relative to its population size.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian states, territories and regions, in this job compared to the all jobs average.

Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
46
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
40%
All Jobs Average is 48%

  • The median age of Quarantine Officers is 46 years. This is higher than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 45 to 54 years.

    Females make up 40% of the workforce. This is 8 percentage points below the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Quarantine Officers All Jobs Average
15-19 0.8 5.0
20-24 3.3 9.3
25-34 13.5 22.9
35-44 27.8 22.0
45-54 28.0 21.6
55-59 14.1 9.0
60-64 8.7 6.0
65 and Over 3.7 4.2
Median Age 46 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.

Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

Quarantine Officers are employed by Federal or state government departments. Entry is often through a traineeship or on-the-job training. Some workers have relevant formal qualifications.

Visit

  • Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
  • ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Food Processing, Australian Meat Processing, Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation & Land Management, Animal Care and Management, Seafood Industry and Public Sector VET training pathways.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Quarantine Officers All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 6.7 10.1
Bachelor degree 24.8 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 16.2 11.6
Certificate III/IV 24.8 21.1
Year 12 17.5 18.1
Year 11 3.6 4.8
Year 10 and below 6.5 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.

Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Primary Products Inspectors who have strong interpersonal skills, are flexible and provide good customer service.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 59%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 57%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 57%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 55%

    Quality control analysis

    Doing tests and checking products, services, or processes to make sure they are working properly.

  • 55%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 52%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 52%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 48%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 48%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 48%

    Operation monitoring

    Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

  • 46%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 46%

    Systems analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.

  • 46%

    Systems evaluation

    Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

  • 43%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 43%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 41%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 41%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 41%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 41%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 39%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 64%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 52%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 52%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 51%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 49%

    Food production

    Planting, growing, and harvesting food (both plant and animal), including storage and handling.

  • 49%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 49%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 48%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 48%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 47%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 47%

    Production and processing

    Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.

  • 40%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 37%

    Transportation

    Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.

  • 33%

    Mechanical

    Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

  • 33%

    Chemistry

    Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.

  • 32%

    Biology

    Plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, how they rely on and work with each other and the environment.

  • 30%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 29%

    Engineering and technology

    Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.

  • 28%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 21%

    Telecommunications

    Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 57%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 55%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 55%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 55%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 55%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 54%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 54%

    Flexibility of closure

    See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.

  • 54%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 52%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 50%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 46%

    Far vision

    See details that are far away.

  • 46%

    Perceptual speed

    Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • 46%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 45%

    Auditory attention

    Pay attention to a certain sound when there are other distracting sounds.

  • 45%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 43%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 43%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 43%

    Speed of recognition

    Quickly make sense of and organize things you can see like letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • 37%

    Brainstorming

    Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.

  • 37%

    Colour discrimination

    Notice differences between colours, including shades of colour and brightness.

Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 71%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 70%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 69%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 69%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 68%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 65%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 65%

    Checking compliance with standards

    Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

  • 64%

    Training and teaching others

    Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.

  • 62%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 61%

    Negotiating and resolving conflicts

    Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.

  • 60%

    Assessing and evaluating things

    Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.

  • 60%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

  • 59%

    Checking for errors or defects

    Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.

  • 58%

    Collecting and organising information

    Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.

  • 56%

    Communicating with the public

    Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 55%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 55%

    Doing physically active work

    Use your arms, legs and whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling objects.

  • 50%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

  • 48%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

  • 37%

    Driving vehicles or equipment

    Running, manoeuvring, navigating, or driving things like forklifts, vehicles, aircraft, or water craft.

Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 95%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

  • 62%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 57%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.

  • 48%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 24%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 19%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.

  • 67%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 67%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 67%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.

  • 62%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.

  • 60%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 43%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:

  • 92%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 92%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 87%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 86%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 84%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 83%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 82%

    Exposure to contaminants

    Be exposed to pollutants, gases, dust or odours.

  • 80%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 79%

    Loud or uncomfortable sounds

    Be exposed to noises and sounds that are distracting or uncomfortable.

  • 79%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 79%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 79%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 79%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 78%

    Outdoors, exposed to weather

    Work outdoors, exposed to the weather.

  • 78%

    Repeating same tasks

    Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.

  • 78%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 77%

    Indoors, not heat controlled

    Work indoors without heating or cooling (e.g., warehouse without heat).

  • 74%

    Physically close to people

    Work physically close to other people.

  • 74%

    Very hot or cold temperatures

    Work in very hot or cold temperatures.

  • 74%

    Wear common protective or safety equipment

    Wear equipment like safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 45-2011.00 - Agricultural Inspectors.

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