Feeds, provides water for, and monitors the health of, animals in zoos, aquaria and wildlife parks. Cleans, fixes and maintains animal cages, and informs visitors about animals.
Occupation description
Feeds, provides water for, and monitors the health of, animals in zoos, aquaria and wildlife parks. Cleans, fixes and maintains animal cages, and informs visitors about animals.
Occupations considered suitable under this ANZSCO code:
- Aquarist
Zookeeper is a VETASSESS Group D occupation
This occupation requires a qualification assessed as comparable to the educational level of an Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Certificate III or higher. Applicants can fulfil the assessment criteria for this occupation in four different ways.
Description of Pathways
The information below describes the available pathways for a Skills Assessment under Group D. Please note that in order to achieve a successful Skills Assessment Outcome, a suitable assessment for both qualifications and employment is required.
Pathway 1
This pathway requires a qualification assessed as comparable to the education level of an Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Certificate IV or higher and in a field highly relevant to the nominated occupation.
Certificate IV or higher includes AQF Diploma, Advanced Diploma, Associate Degree, Bachelor Degree, Graduate Diploma, Master Degree or Doctoral Degree.
In addition, it is essential for applicants to meet the following employment criteria:
- at least one year of post-qualification employment at an appropriate skill level, undertaken in the last five years,
- working 20 hours or more per week, and
- highly relevant to the nominated occupation.
Please note: The qualification level requirement AQF Certificate IV or higher can be satisfied by one qualification, while the requirement for a highly relevant major can be met by a separate qualification at a minimum of AQF Certificate III level.
Pathway 2
This pathway requires a qualification assessed as comparable to the education level of an Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Certificate IV or higher and in a field not highly relevant to the nominated occupation.
Certificate IV or higher includes AQF Diploma, Advanced Diploma, Associate Degree, Bachelor Degree, Graduate Diploma, Master Degree or Doctoral Degree.
In addition, it is essential for applicants to meet the following employment criteria:
- at least two year of post-qualification employment at an appropriate skill level, undertaken in the last five years,
- working 20 hours or more per week, and
- highly relevant to the nominated occupation.
Please note - This pathway applies where a qualification is assessed at AQF Certificate IV level or higher and is not highly relevant to the nominated occupation, or where no other relevant qualification at AQF Certificate III level is available for consideration.
Pathway 3
This pathway requires a qualification assessed as comparable to the education level of an Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Certificate III in a field highly relevant to the nominated occupation.
In addition, it is essential for applicants to meet the following employment criteria:
- at least three years of post-qualification employment at an appropriate skill level, undertaken in the last five years,
- working 20 hours or more per week, and
- highly relevant to the nominated occupation.
Pathway 4
This pathway requires a qualification assessed as comparable to the education level of an Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Certificate IV or higher with or without a highly relevant major field of study to the nominated occupation.
Certificate IV or higher includes AQF Diploma, Advanced Diploma, Associate Degree, Bachelor Degree, Graduate Diploma, Master Degree or Doctoral Degree.
In addition, it is essential for applicants to meet the following employment criteria:
- at least four years of employment at an appropriate skill level that includes at least one year of highly relevant employment within the last five years before applying,
- working 20 hours or more per week, and
- highly relevant to the nominated occupation.
Qualification & Employment Criteria
Qualification
Highly relevant major fields of study include:
- Zoology
- Animal biology
- Animal husbandry
- Veterinary nursing or other animal-related disciplines, but some of these fields may only be studied at a higher academic level.
A highly relevant course at the required level is the Certificate IV in Captive Animals, which includes subjects such as:
- Assist with capturing, restraining and moving animals
- Contribute to enclosure and exhibit design or renovation projects
- Design and evaluate interpretive and learning programs
- Develop and monitor collection management
- Develop animal diets
- Maintain and monitor animal health and wellbeing
- Maintain occupational health and safety processes
- Manage enclosures and exhibits
- Monitor animal reproduction
- Plan for and provide nutritional requirements for animals
- Prepare and maintain animal housing
- Prepare and present information to the public
- Provide basic care of amphibians / birds / mammals / fish etc.
- Work within a captive animal facility
Employment Criteria
Highly relevant tasks include, but are not limited to:
- Inspecting, preparing, cleaning, disinfecting and maintaining comfortable animal cages and enclosures
- Transporting food, filling water troughs and feeding animals according to their individual needs
- Maintaining animal health records, treating minor injuries and reporting serious conditions to Veterinarians
- Exercising and playing with animals, answering visitor questions, and transferring animals between enclosures by leading or carrying them
Get Support
Help with a Skills Assessment
Skills Assessment Support (SAS) services are for migration agents, legal practitioners and prospective applicants who are yet to submit their Skills Assessment application to VETASSESS.
Help with an urgent application
For general and professional occupations, priority processing can be used to fast-track urgent applications
How to apply
If you're a professional choosing to migrate to Australia, chances are you're likely to be assessed by us. We assess 361 different professional occupations, assessing your skills, experience and qualifications.
Find
Find the VETASSESS occupation that most closely fits your skills and experience.
Match
Match your skills and experience to your chosen occupation.
Prepare
Get ready to apply by preparing all the information and documents you need.
Apply
Apply online when you’re ready. If you’re still unsure, skills assessment support is available when you need it.