The members of SCAA are shearing contractors who are keen to hear from anyone looking for wool harvesting and shearing work, from very experienced to those who have no experience, looking for a working holiday opportunity.

If you are looking for training and gaining some experience to greatly improve your chances of obtaining employment, submit your interest via this form to learn more about wool harvesting work throughout Australia.

The South Australian government also lists seasonal work via https://www.seasonaljobs.sa.gov.au/

Although shearing happens all year round in Australia, demands for new entrants is seasonal, and it is unlikely that you will be contacted outside the months of May-October. You might like to submit your details inside that timeframe for the best opportunity for work.

Duties & Tasks of a Shearer

• Take sheep from catching pens and hold them firmly while shearing fleece in one piece.
• Select shearing combs to suit the type of sheep and wool.
• Ensure the wool is harvested with the least possible stress on the sheep and in accordance with strict animal welfare guidelines.
• Return shorn sheep to let-out pens for counting and checking.
• Shear stud animals with hand shears or special combs clean and sharpen combs and cutters.
• Identify sheep with specific characteristics, such as black spots, as requested by the wool classer.

Duties & Tasks of a Wool Classer Wool classers:

• Classify and prepare wool according to various characteristics (including length, colour, evenness, vegetable matter content, wool type and strength).
• Ensure wool is prepared to industry-agreed standards.
• Advise on sheep classing and selection.
• Instruct and supervise shed staff involved in wool handling.
• Instruct wool pressers and supervise the pressing, weighing and branding of bales of wool.
• Maintain and supervise records documenting the commercial lines and characteristics of wool.
• Refer to laboratory test results of mobs or lines of wool.
• Liaise with woolbrokers, contractors, consultants and wool growers.
• Implement and document quality management systems.
• Prepare pre-sale documents that describe wool qualities.

Few jobs are as physically demanding as shearing sheep. Few trades burn so many calories, and few workers work up such large appetites.

The job of Cook for a crew of shearers typically starts at 5.00 am most days, five days a week for most of the year, sometimes toiling in primitive kitchens, often in remote districts of Australia's sheep belt, far from towns and supermarkets. Hot morning tea, choice of meals for lunch, afternoon tea and three-course dinner in the evening leaves the Cook finishing their duties at approx. 8.00 pm.

Duties & Tasks of a Rouseabout/Shearing Shed Hand Shearing shed hands: 

• Assist station hands to pen sheep for shearing.
• Pick up the fleece after it has been removed from the sheep and throw it onto a large table for 'skirting' (process to remove stained or coloured pieces and skin from the wool).
• Remove inferior and stained wool from fleeces as directed by a wool classer.
• Grade wool that has been skirted off fleeces.
• Roll the fleece into bundles and pass it to a wool classer for classing.
• Sweep the shed floor around the shearing and wool handling areas to help keep the fleeces clean and to avoid contamination.
• Identify and remove belly wool from the shearing area and place it in relevant packs.

A wool presser transfers the fleeces and other wool types into wool presses to form solid bales. They weigh the bales; brand the completed wool bale with the farm brand, a description of the wool, the wool classer's stencil and a bale number; and keep records of all bales completed.