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Meat, Poultry and Seafood Process Workers

Meat, Poultry and Seafood Process Workers slaughter and eviscerate poultry, and process, grade and package meat, poultry, fish and shellfish.

ManufacturingANZSCO 8313
$1,244/wkMedian full-time pay
15kPeople employed
−2%Growth to 2035
86%Work full time
39Median age
Source: ABS · JSA, 2025-26ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 8313.More about our sources: How we check our facts

What they do

The main tasks of this occupation, from the national occupation standard.

processing offal and tripemoving carcasses to chillers and freezersloading meat products into truckspacking boned and sliced meat into cartonsstunning and shackling poultry for killing and processingsevering jugular veins of poultry, and removing viscera and residual material from poultry carcasses
Source: JSA occupation profileTask list from the Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profile for ANZSCO 8313 (ANZSCO task statements).More about our sources: How we check our facts

The outlook

A steady field: around 13k jobs in meat, poultry and seafood process workers through 2035

The field shrank 0.1% in the year to February 2026. Most of the jobs are in QLD and NSW, with VIC third.

Source: JSA · ABS, 2025-26ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 8313.More about our sources: How we check our facts
13.6k2025
13k2030 PROJ.
13.3k2035 PROJ.

Getting in

There is no single way in. 19% trained through VET, 11% hold a degree.

Both paths are common in this field. These are the nationally recognised courses mapped to this occupation, with the number of registered training providers that offer each one.

Source: JSA · training.gov.auEducation split: JSA (Jobs and Skills Australia) occupation profile, using ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Census data, ANZSCO 8313. Qualification mapping and provider counts: training.gov.au, the national register of vocational education, October 2026. Listed providers are current registered training providers (private providers and TAFE institutes).More about our sources: How we check our facts

Nationally recognised training · most offered first

AMP20126Certificate II

Certificate II in Meat Processing

Australian Meat Processing Training Package.

See 6 providers
SFI10119Certificate I

Certificate I in Seafood Industry

Seafood Industry.

See 3 providers
AMP31216Certificate III

Certificate III in Meat Processing (Packing Operations)

Australian Meat Processing Training Package.

See 3 providers
See all 5 mapped courses
AMP20126Certificate II in Meat Processing · 6 providers
SFI10119Certificate I in Seafood Industry · 3 providers
AMP31216Certificate III in Meat Processing (Packing Operations) · 3 providers
AMP20426Certificate II in Meat Retailing · 1 provider
AMP30421Certificate III in Meat Processing (Rendering) · 1 provider

Providers are shown in A-Z order on each course page. A listing is not a recommendation.

Jobs open right now

15k Australians do this work. See who is hiring this month.

Search job ads by state

Each link opens seek.com.au in a new tab, showing ads posted in the last month. SEEK is a job site; we link there because that is where most Australian jobs are advertised. We have no commercial relationship with SEEK.

Source: ABS · JSA, 2025-26State chart shows people employed, not current job ads. ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 8313.More about our sources: How we check our facts

People employed by state, 2025-26

QLD3.9k
NSW3.6k
VIC3.4k
SA2.1k
WA1.5k
TAS0.6k
NT0.1k
ACT0.1k