Border Enforcement Operations Officer
What the work is
Applies customs and border protection controls such as inspecting goods for prohibited items or removing unlawful non-citizens, at air and sea terminals, wharves, depots, warehouses, specialised examination facilities, storage and disposal locations, immigration detention facilities, and in the maritime domain.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Inspects and searches vehicles, vessels and aircraft for prohibited items
- Conducts interviews and gathers information from individuals to assess their immigration status, and identifies and removes unlawful non-citizens from the country
- Applies customs and border protection controls in accordance with relevant legislation and policies to support the legal movement of passengers and cargo
- Processes and records information related to customs and border protection activities
- May monitor and patrol the maritime domain to detect and prevent illegal activities
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a fictional international airport arrivals hall and the freight inspection shed behind it. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A mismatch in the paperwork leads you to the one container that needed opening
- A tired traveller leaves feeling they were treated fairly and quickly
- A shift where the team works through a long line of flights without a hiccup
Hard days
- Early mornings and night flights when your body clock has given up
- A traveller who is upset, rude or just very, very tired
- Doing a careful check on something that turns out to be completely fine
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 451931, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.