Primary Products Quality Assurance Officer
What the work is
Develops, implements and oversees monitoring, testing and application of quality assurance programs within a primary production or processing enterprise. May monitor production requirements as they relate to food safety, biosecurity or quality assurance.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Develops, implements, audits and monitors quality assurance procedures at farms and primary product processing facilities to ensure compliance with standards
- Advises producers and processors on regulations related to grading, packing, processing and loading of products
- Ensures that hygiene standards are observed in storage, processing and packing facilities, and transport vehicles
- Informs producers and the general public of the health implications of diseases and impurities impacting primary products
- May monitor production requirements as they relate to food safety, biosecurity or quality assurance
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 311138, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.