Biosecurity Officer
What the work is
Inspects and assesses goods, conveyances, plants, animals and the environment for biosecurity risk to ensure compliance with laws and regulations, and to prevent the incursion and spread of exotic pests and diseases.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Inspects goods, ships, aircraft, passengers, plants and animals, and assesses documentation to confirm compliance with biosecurity requirements
- Issues legal directions to control identified biosecurity risks
- Provides advice about biosecurity matters to customers, clients, staff and managers
- Identifies trends in biosecurity risks, and reports to superiors to assist in targeting intelligence and risk-based activities
- Participates in biosecurity response activities to control and manage biosecurity incidents
- Maintains records of biosecurity inspections, assessments and enforcement actions
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a biosecurity inspection shed at a fictional regional airport and a nearby farming district. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- You stop a pest at the border before it reaches a single farm
- A farmer rings to say your advice saved a season's crop
- A lab result comes back and confirms your hunch from the paddock
Hard days
- A traveller who is tired and angry about having their bag searched
- A producer who believes your rules are costing them money
- Early starts, long drives and standing in the weather to look at crops or animals
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 311134, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.