Sheep shearing jobs in Australia: shed teams, seasons and Pastoral Award pay

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How a shearing team works

A team brings together shearers, wool handlers known as rouseabouts, a presser, a wool classer and sometimes a cook. Shearers use mechanical handpieces while the others pick up fleeces, throw them onto the table, skirt the edges and keep the press fed.

A standard shearing day is eight hours split into four two-hour runs with set breaks. Teams travel from station to station following contracts arranged by a shearing contractor, sometimes driving several hours between properties.

Wool-growing regions

Large flocks graze the New South Wales tablelands, western Victoria, the Western Australian wheatbelt, South Australia and the Tasmanian Midlands. Pastoral stations in the inland can run tens of thousands of sheep on a single property.

Shearing seasons

Shearing happens year round but peaks twice: in spring, from August to November, and in autumn, from February to May. Crutching, which removes wool around the tail to reduce flystrike, is scheduled between the main shearings.

Life on a station

Teams often stay in shearers' quarters on the station, with a shared kitchen. Isolation is real: patchy phone coverage, shops dozens of kilometres away and early starts to make the most of cooler morning hours.

Evenings are quiet, and many teams cook together after the last run. Packing enough food, a first aid kit and offline entertainment makes long stints on remote properties far more comfortable.

Who can join a team?

Australian citizens, permanent residents and New Zealanders work freely, and many New Zealand shearers cross the Tasman each season. International candidates can use the Working Holiday visa subclass 417 or the Work and Holiday visa subclass 462.

Immediate processing of animal products, including shearing, and caring for livestock are listed among specified work activities. Done for 88 days in regional Australia they unlock a second 417 year, except for UK citizens, exempt since July 2024.

Starting as a rouseabout

Without experience, the way in is almost always as a rouseabout. The job demands speed, stamina and a good eye for sorting wool types. Short shearer and wool handler training courses are run by the wool industry in several states.

Shearing is a scarce skill

Professional shearers routinely shear more than 150 sheep a day, a pace reached only after several seasons. Learners build up by shearing a few sheep per run under supervision, which limits early income but leads to high earnings later.

The work exposes people to back strain, cuts and hot sheds. Reputable contractors insist on warm-ups, back support harnesses and regular breaks, and check handpieces and overhead gear before every run to reduce injuries.

Pay under the Pastoral Award

Shearers are paid per piece, per 100 sheep. According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, the rate was 347.39 Australian dollars per 100 flock sheep from 1 July 2022, and it is raised each 1 July following the annual wage review.

On public holidays, all shearers receive double the piecework rate. Wool handlers and pressers are generally paid daily or weekly rates under the award's tables, with a 25 per cent casual loading for casual engagements.

The found deduction

When the employer provides meals and accommodation, it may deduct a daily found amount: 34.95 dollars per day under the rates applying from July 2022. The deduction must be shown clearly on every payslip issued to the shearer.

Steps to join a team

Hiring mostly runs through shearing contractors and word of mouth. A reputation for reliability spreads quickly in this small industry and opens the door to the best teams and longest runs of work.

1. Get a visa with work rights and a Tax File Number.
2. Take a short wool handling or shearing course if possible.
3. Check Harvest Trail and shearing contractors' job ads.
4. Be ready for long drives between stations.
5. Agree in writing on rates, found deduction and travel between sheds.
6. Keep payslips and a contractor letter for the visa.

Common mistakes

Shearing is one of the most physically demanding farm jobs. Newcomers often underestimate its demands or accept vague financial arrangements they later regret.

• Starting without physical preparation or back care.
• Accepting cash in hand without a payslip.
• Not checking the found deduction before signing on.
• Arriving without a car when teams change stations frequently.
• Expecting a new rouseabout to earn as much as an experienced shearer.

Frequently asked questions

These answers cover the questions most often asked by international candidates drawn to shearing and woolshed work in Australia.

Can women work in shearing teams?

Yes, women are well represented among wool handlers and classers and increasingly among shearers. Selection rests on reliability, speed and physical stamina, whatever the worker's gender, and good rouseabouts are always in demand.

How long does it take to become a shearer?

It usually takes several seasons of supervised practice to reach a professional pace. Many start as rouseabouts, watch the shearers, then practise on a few sheep at the end of runs with the contractor's agreement.

Does crutching count as specified work?

Crutching is part of shearing and livestock care carried out on regional stations, so it normally counts as specified work, provided it is paid in line with the Pastoral Award and supported by payslips.

Are meals provided on stations?

Often, a cook travels with large teams and the employer supplies meals and housing in return for the found deduction. In small teams, workers cook for themselves in the shearers' quarters with supplies bought in town.

Is there work for experienced wool classers?

Yes, registered wool classers are needed in every large shed to grade fleeces and prepare bales for sale. The role requires an industry-recognised classing qualification, and classers are paid at higher rates than wool handlers under the award.