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.
* Highly relevant paid employment duration (20 hours or more per week)
* If employment is prior to the completion of the qualification at the required level, an applicant must have at least one year of highly relevant employment at an appropriate skill level within the last five years. The remaining three years of pre-qualifying period may be within the last ten years. A positive assessment of both qualification level and employment duration is required for a positive Skills Assessment outcome.
Pathways 1–3
minimum years of post-qualification employment highly relevant to the nominated occupation, completed at an appropriate skill level in the five years before the date of application for a Skills Assessment.
Pathway 4
minimum 4 years of relevant employment required – Three years of relevant employment (can be outside the last 5-year period) in addition to at least one year of highly relevant employment within the last five years before applying.
A positive assessment of both qualification level and employment duration is required for a positive Skills Assessment outcome.
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
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