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Elements and Performance Criteria

1. Provide continuous supply of sheep to shearers
   • Identify work health and safety hazards and report to the supervisor
   • Select and use suitable personal protective equipment
   • Apply animal welfare principles to the movement and penning of sheep
   • Pen sheep in their separate mobs as instructed
   • Secure gates to prevent sheep escaping on to the board
   • Monitor the speed of shearers and arrange numbers of sheep in catching pens so that shearers all complete shearing at or near mob cutout
   • Monitor sheep numbers in catching pens and fill pens as they empty to ensure continuous supply to shearers
   • Refill other pens as required
2. Keep mobs separate
   • Secure gates to prevent mixing of mobs
   • Fill pens with sheep from only one mob at any given time to avoid mixing mobs and wool types
   • Inform supervisor of mob cutout
   • Move sheep to other catching pens to ensure that mob cutout is simultaneous
   • Use safe workplace practices and observe animal welfare requirements with regard to livestock handling
3. Prevent contamination of wool
   • Arrange pen density at optimum numbers
   • Monitor pens to maintain sheep in standing position to avoid crushing, trampling or soiling of wool
   • Minimise and remove potential contaminants within pens
   • Follow enterprise biosecurity policies where required

Range Statement

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Performance Evidence

The candidate must be assessed on their ability to integrate and apply the performance requirements of this unit in a workplace setting. Performance must be demonstrated consistently over time and in a suitable range of contexts.

The candidate must provide evidence that they can:

identify hazards minimise risks and use safe work procedures

accept and interpret advice from the shed supervisor

observe differences between mobs of sheep

monitor shearers workflow and estimate rates for refilling the catching pens and for mob cutout

move sheep in a shed and pen them up

use the accepted communications signals in the shed when shearing and sheep movement is in full force

apply work health and safety in the context of own work

follow enterprise biosecurity policies where required

apply animal welfare practices in the context of own work

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Knowledge Evidence

The candidate must demonstrate knowledge of:

types of shearing sheds, boards and catching pens

types of gates and catches in shearing sheds

safe handling techniques for catching, dragging, and releasing sheep

animal welfare requirements in relation to sheep

features of sheep behaviour in the shearing sheds and yards

hazards associated with handling livestock

safety features of personal protective equipment and clothing, and when and how it should be used

relevant industry awards and conditions that relate to working conditions in the wool industry

relevant sections of State/Territory legislation, regulations and codes of practice with regard to work health and safety, animal welfare, and biosecurity as applied to working in the wool industry

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