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Conservation and land management, and its related fields of lands, parks and wildlife, natural area restoration, conservation earthworks, and pest management, make up a key skill area within the AHC Training Package. This is one of the largest, most complex and diverse training packages in the Australian System, so it’s vital these skills are regularly reviewed and updated.Rapid technological advancements, changing markets and shifting climactic conditions are affecting the sector as a whole. Nationally approved training is vital in supporting industry as it responds to these trends, addressing skills needs and creating new job outcomes.
With these factors in mind, industry has recommend implementing a strategic approach to reviewing the AHC Training Package. This involves identifying and reviewing units by their sector classification rather than by their listing in qualifications. This approach should significantly increase the speed of review of all qualifications, units of competency and skill sets within the AHC Training Package, while minimising the burden of voluntary support on industry.The Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) approved this project out of the
Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management Industry Sector IRC Skills Forecast and Proposed Schedule of Work 2019-2022 (see pages 32-43).Skills Impact and the Amenity Horticulture, Landscaping, Conservation & Land Management Industry Reference Committee (IRC) will manage this project, consistent with the
2012 Standards for Training Package Development.
Download Project Proposal (see pages 32-43)
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Conservation and land management is a large and complex sector comprised of a number of sub-sectors, including lands, parks and wildlife; natural area restoration; conservation earthworks; and pest management. The work of conservation and land management is relevant to all Australians, but is also globally significant, as many of our plants and animals can’t be found anywhere else in the world (
Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife).Conservation and land management takes place in a range of geographically diverse locations, comprising national parks, nature reserves, council reserves, Indigenous protected areas, Commonwealth lands, private land and botanical gardens. Some of these sites are extremely remote and home to unique ecosystems. It’s important that those employed in the sector are equipped with skills and knowledge that are applicable to Australia’s varied geographical conditions. It’s also imperative they’re equipped with first-hand experience of ecology, flora and fauna to inform practices that may take place in a range of environments, some of them isolated.
In order to ensure qualifications are relevant to the specific and varied demands of this sector, this review will be informed by consultation with geographically and culturally diverse stakeholders. The project will also focus on how to better support skills in field work, particularly in the areas of flora, fauna and ecology.
Project Scope
The purpose of this project is to review units relating to conservation and land management, including the sub-sectors of lands, parks and wildlife; natural area restoration; conservation earthworks and pest management. Relevant units in fire, fauna and explosives will also be reviewed and up to ten new skill sets developed.
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Subscribe to the Skills Impact newsletter to keep informed about project updates and opportunities to provide input and feedback. Make sure to select ‘Agriculture, Horticulture, Conservation & Land Management’ as your industry of interest on the subscription form. |
Relevant Occupations
This project supports roles in a range of occupations related to conservation and land management. These include:
- Community Coordinator (Conservation)
- Conservation Earthmoving Operator
- Environmental Officer
- Indigenous Land Manager
- Indigenous Lands Worker
- Landcare Assistant or Supervisor
- Lands, Parks and Wildlife Officer or Supervisor
- Landcare Manager
- Natural Resource Manager
- National Parks Ranger
- Pest Management Assistant
- Pest Control Supervisor
- Revegetation Worker
- Soil Conservation Specialist
- Senior Conservation Worker
- Pest and Weed Manager
Timeline
June - July 2019
Initial scopingJuly - September 2019
Development of draft qualifications, skill sets and unitsNovember 2019 - January 2020
Drafts available for broad consultationMarch 2020
Validation of final draftsMarch - April 2020
Finalisation of Training Package componentsApril – June 2020
Independent Quality Assurance, and Edit and Equity review of Training Package componentsJune 2020
IRC consideration for sign-off and submission for endorsementProject Team
| Catherine Beven | Industry Skills Standards Specialist, Skills Impact [email protected] |
| William Henderson | Industry Skills Standards Specialist, Skills Impact [email protected] |
| Kate Vanson | Industry Engagement Manager, Skills Impact [email protected] |
| Ron Barrow | Industry Skills Standards Contractor |
Subject Matter Experts
Subject Matter Experts will be drawn on throughout this project to help review and draft the revised units, skill sets and qualifications.If you are interested in applying to be a subject matter expert and are able to volunteer your time to this project, please email details of your expertise to
[email protected]The Amenity Horticulture, Landscaping, Conservation & Land Management Industry Reference Committee (IRC) will oversee this project, as part of their responsibilities to support engagement with the sector, and to ensure projects meet industry stakeholder needs.
Opportunities for stakeholder input
Stakeholder input is appreciated throughout the duration of this project. The documents will be drafted in consultation with Subject Matter Experts and their networks. Opportunities to provide targeted feedback will occur when the draft materials are made available in November 2019, and again for validation of final drafts in January 2020. However, your feedback is welcomed at any time, and will help us in drafting the qualifications, skill set and units. It is important that training provides a skilled and flexible workforce for the future. As such the qualifications, skill sets and units need to reflect real work experience. So, if you work in the sector, Skills Impact would love your input and help. Please feel free to register your interest for project updates and consultation opportunities by following the newsletter subscription link below. Alternatively, please feel free to contact the project manager, William Henderson on 03 9321 3526 or
[email protected].
Stakeholder Consultation Process
A list of key stakeholder organisations has been identified for this project. Skills Impact will ensure contact is made with each of these organisations during the development of this project to seek their involvement and their views on the draft qualifications, skill sets and units.If you are aware of an organisation that you think should be involved, please contact the project team to ensure they are contacted by us.Of course, all and any interested industry participants are encouraged to engage in the consultation of this project, when the draft qualifications, skill sets and units are available for feedback via this webpage and workshops that take place around Australia. Consultation is not limited to the organisations on this list. This list simply helps us to identify those organisations that, because of their industry role, size or specialty, are likely to have a key interest in the development and outcomes of this project.
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All Australians benefit from the rehabilitation and conservation of our unique natural resources by those in the Conservation and Land Management industry. Consultation is underway to ensure the geographically and culturally diverse context of this work is reflected in national skills standards.Conservation and land management is a large and complex sector comprised of a number of sub-sectors, including lands, parks and wildlife; natural area restoration; conservation earthworks; and pest management. For this reason, the skills and knowledge required to work within conservation and land management is broad. The work activities are being reviewed to identify the shared skills standards. This information will help to update the national qualifications and units of competency that support job roles. They are being revised to support flexible career paths and provide an integrated approach to skills needs across the industry’s multiple but overlapping sub-sectors.
With ecosystems being so fragile and complicated, and the challenges they face diverse, today’s conservation and land management workers need to hone an impressive set of skills and build the knowledge to successfully face these challenges.Subject Matter Experts are being consulted to review the structure of the qualifications. A site visit to the City Council of Glenorchy in Hobart has also taken place, to see firsthand the work of conservation and land management workers in the field, to inform the writing of the qualifications and units of competency. This complements earlier work during the scoping stage when Skills Impact visited several other organisations.In total, 9 qualifications and 70 units are under review. Feedback so far suggests some qualifications may need to be merged into one qualification with a wider scope. Skills sets and specialisations within the qualifications may be developed to support the specific job roles. This will allow students to access units required for their purposes, tailored to suit different environments and tasks. It would also allow registered training organisations to put the qualification on scope and specialise it to tailor the needs of their local students.
Consultation Workshops – Registrations Open!
The draft qualifications and units will be made available on this webpage for broad stakeholder consultation and feedback in November (under the ‘Drafts Available’ menu above). We welcome your feedback and advice on the draft skills standards in this time. Face-to-face consultation workshops will also take place, with a webinar planned for those unable to attend in person. Registrations for these workshops are now open. Register for a workshop near you by clicking the corresponding link.
Face-to-face consultation workshops
Thursday 7 November, 9.30am – 12pm
Hobart –
register hereFriday 8 November, 9.30am – 12pm
Launceston –
register hereTuesday 12 November, 9.30am – 12pm
Adelaide –
register hereWednesday 13 November, 9.30am – 12pm
Perth –
register hereThursday 14 November, 9.30am – 12pm
Broome –
register hereTuesday 19 November, 9.30am – 12pm
Sydney –
register hereWednesday 20 November, 9.30am – 12pm
Brisbane –
register hereThursday 21 November, 9.30am – 12pm
Melbourne –
register hereTuesday 26 November, 9.30am – 12pm
Darwin –
register hereConsultation webinar
Thursday 28 November, 9am to 11am AEST –
webinar –
register hereFriday 29 November, 1pm to 3pm AEST –
webinar –
register here Register your interest in the project
Subscribe to the Skills Impact newsletter to keep informed about project updates and opportunities to provide input and feedback. Make sure to select ‘Agriculture, Horticulture, Conservation & Land Management’ as your industry of interest on the subscription form. |
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Conservation and land management is a large and complex sector that conserves Australia's unique natural resources for the benefit of everyone. This work is geographically and culturally diverse, comprising a number of sub-sectors, including lands, parks and wildlife; natural area restoration; conservation earthworks; and pest management.As part of this project, industry has identified the common skills needed across the sub-sectors. This has been captured in revised units of competency and qualifications, and the development of new units of competency.Thank you to those who provided feedback on the draft units of competency and skill sets that were made available on this webpage for feedback from 7 November 2019 – 2 February 2020. During this time, feedback was collected via the online feedback hub, nine face-to-face consultation workshops, two webinars, and email.
Key Changes
Changes to the documents included the amalgamation of the Certificate IIIs in Conservation Earthworks; Natural Area Restoration; Land, Parks and Wildlife; and Conservation and Land Management into a single new Certificate III in Conservation and Land Management, with streams of study for each sub-sector. There was also space for further streams if recommended, and a generalist qualification can still be attained.All units were updated to enhance their ecological aspects and to take into account changing environments, giving them flexibility for use in the future.Twelve additional new units were also added during this stage, to cover skills in marine, fire, natural area restoration, ecology, and sub-sectors, after industry input made the need for these skills apparent.Final drafts will be made available again for review and validation in March. A summary of the feedback and how it was addressed in the final drafts will also be available.
Qualifications
Feedback was particularly sought on the proposed amalgamation of the Certificate III level qualifications into one qualification. Advice was sought on which units from each of the sectors would be appropriate to bring into the proposed amalgamated qualification as electives.
| Qualification code and name | Proposed changes or rationale | Link |
| AHC10116 Certificate I in Conservation and Land Management | No current changes proposed, but under review. | View draft qualification |
| AHC21016 Certificate II in Conservation and Land Management | No current changes proposed, but under review. | View draft qualification |
| AHC3XXXX Certificate III in Conservation and Land Management | This qualification is the result of a proposed amalgamation of four Certificate III level qualifications. It includes streams of study to cover skills in conservation and land management; lands, parks and wildlife; natural area restoration; and conservation earthworks. View the qualifications proposed to be amalgamated below: | View draft qualification |
| AHC40916 Certificate IV in Conservation and Land Management | No current changes proposed, but under review. | View draft qualification |
| AHC51116 Diploma of Conservation and Land Management | No current changes proposed, but under review. | View draft qualification |
The draft documents can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format by
clicking here.
This qualification is proposed for deletion due to low enrolment numbers.
Units of Competency
Additional new drafts were developed in response to feedback received from industry during public consultation for the initial drafts. Units covering the marine, fire, natural area restoration and ecology sub-sectors were made available for review from mid-December 2019 to 2 February 2020. Another additional unit for conducting a site inspection for ecological restoration was available between February 21 and March 18.
The draft documents can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format by
clicking here.
These units have been developed to address skills gaps across a range of subsectors. Substantial feedback was encouraged to ensure they meet industry needs.
The draft documents can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format by
clicking here.
Changes have been made to the Elements, Knowledge Evidence and Performance Evidence of these units.
The draft documents can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format by
clicking here.
Changes have been made to the Elements, Knowledge Evidence and Performance Evidence of these units.
The draft documents can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format by
clicking here.
Changes have been made to the Elements, Knowledge Evidence and Performance Evidence of these units.
| AHCNRM301 Establish an Australian native stingless bee colony | View draft unit |
| AHCNRM401 Plan and implement a biosecurity program | View draft unit |
| AHCNRM501 Develop a coastal rehabilitation strategy | View draft unit |
| AHCNRM502 Develop a water quality monitoring program | View draft unit |
| AHCNRM503 Support the implementation of waterways strategies | View draft unit |
| AHCNRM504 Interpret and report on catchment hydrology | View draft unit |
| AHCNRM505 Provide technical advice on sustainable catchment management | View draft unit |
| AHCNRM506 Plan and monitor works projects in catchments and waterways | View draft unit |
| AHCNRM507 Manipulate and analyse data within geographic information systems | View draft unit |
| AHCNRM508 Investigate suspected breaches of natural resource management legislation | View draft unit |
| AHCNRM601 Review land management plans and strategies | View draft unit |
| AHCNRM602 Develop a monitoring, evaluation and reporting program | View draft unit |
| AHCNRM603 Implement a monitoring, evaluation and reporting program | View draft unit |
The draft documents can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format by
clicking here.
Changes have been made to the Elements, Knowledge Evidence and Performance Evidence of these units.
The draft documents can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format by
clicking here.
Changes have been made to the Elements, Knowledge Evidence and Performance Evidence of these units.
The draft documents can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format by
clicking here.
Changes have been made to the Elements, Knowledge Evidence and Performance Evidence of these units.
The draft documents can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format by
clicking here.
AHCEXP303 Prepare and use explosives is a previously deleted unit that may be brought back, as need for it has been identified. Changes have been made to the Elements, Knowledge Evidence and Performance Evidence of these units.
The draft documents can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format by
clicking here.
Changes have been made to the Elements, Knowledge Evidence and Performance Evidence of these units.
The draft documents can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format by
clicking here.
Summary of consultation to date
The draft qualifications and units have been drafted in consultation with Subject Matter Experts. They have considered feedback that was received out of Workforce Functional Analysis workshops in August. People working directly in the conservation and land management sectors participated and provided information on the skills and knowledge required for job roles and tasks. Site visits were undertaken to observe these job roles in workplaces, to see firsthand the work of conservation and land management workers in the field. This has informed the writing of the qualifications and units of competency.As part of broad industry feedback on the documents, feedback was invited on whether the draft units and qualifications reflect the current skills standards and practices of industry, and whether job functions are accurately described. In particular feedback was sought on terminology and whether it encompassed all different unit sectors, while not excluding a specific environment type.As part of industry consultation on the initial draft documents, the need for additional new units in marine, fire, natural area restoration and ecology sub-sectors became apparent. These were made available for review from mid-December 2019 until 2 February 2020. An additional new unit was made available for initial review and feedback between February 21 and March 18. It captures the skills and knowledge for conducting a site inspection and assessing the condition and recovery potential of the site’s native ecosystem. All additional units have now been updated and are available for further feedback as part of the Validation process.Thank you to those who provided feedback during these activities.
Register your interest in the project
Subscribe to the Skills Impact newsletter to keep informed about project updates and opportunities to provide input and feedback. Make sure to select ‘Agriculture, Horticulture, Conservation & Land Management’ as your industry of interest. |
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Conservation and land management is an essential sector for conserving Australia's unique natural environment. It is a large and complex sector, where work is performed across a number of sub-sectors, including lands, parks and wildlife; natural area restoration; conservation earthworks; and pest management. While job roles within these sub-sectors can vary based on the culturally and geographically diverse environments in which work takes place, common foundational skills are relevant to all sectors. With industry input, these skills have been captured in revised and new skills standards.Thank you to those who provided feedback on the final draft units, skill sets and qualifications that were made available on this webpage for feedback from 20 March – 19 April 2020. The final drafts will shortly progress through to the Finalisation stage of the project which includes quality assurance of the documents and review and feedback from the State/Territory Training Authorities. They will then be forwarded to the Amenity Horticulture, Landscaping, Conservation & Land Management Industry Reference Committee (IRC) for consideration and sign off, before being submitted to the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) to consider and approve for publication on training.gov.au.
Key Changes
Prior to validation, the drafts were revised so that the qualifications better reflect job functions and the range of tasks that conservation and land management workers are required to perform. This included:
- The amalgamation of the Certificate III level qualification into a single new Certificate III in Conservation and Land Management, with streams of study for each sub-sector while maintaining the possibility of a generalist qualification.
- The proposed deletion of the unit AHCNAR201 Carry out natural area restoration works, as industry feedback indicated it does not accurately describe current job roles. It it proposed to be replaced with the new unit AHCECR2XX Perform basic ecological restoration works, which includes the technical detail needed to support skills in ecology, including understanding of environments, how they function and how to conserve them.
- The development of 18 new units of competency including:
- Six marine units, to address the need for skills to perform conservation and land management activities in a marine environment
- Six new units in Natural Area Restoration (or Ecological Restoration), which address the need for fieldwork skills, particularly digital skills, site inspections, and skills in restoration, regeneration and reconstruction
- Four units to address skills for using new technology and processes developed in the area of Lands, Parks and Wildlife, including skills in data, biodiversity monitoring, using a GPS and operating a remotely piloted system
- New units for identifying flora and fauna, conducting ecological burning, and recognising landforms and soil types
- Two new skill sets to provide access to skills standards relating to the job task of seed processing and the basics of ranger work.
Summary of consultation to date
Thank you to those stakeholders who provided feedback on the drafts that were made available from 4 November 2019 to 31 January 2020, under the ‘Drafts Available’ stage. During this time, feedback was collected via the online feedback hub, nine national face-to-face consultation workshops, two webinars, by phone call and email. The units were drafted with guidance from Subject Matter Experts, made up of workplace experts and industry.During broad industry consultation on the initial draft documents it became apparent that there was need for additional new drafts to be developed. These were made available for review in mid-December 2019, until 2 February 2020. These units cover the marine, fire, natural area restoration and ecology sub-sectors. Another additional unit for skills in ecological restoration was made available from 21 February until March 18. All additional units have now been revised to incorporate industry feedback and are available for further feedback as part of the validation process.A description of how feedback has been considered and applied in these final drafts can be downloaded below. Please click the ‘Download Summary of Feedback, Responses and Actions’ button.
Qualifications & Skill Sets
Click here to download a zipped folder of all skill sets in this group. Units of Competency
Click here to download a zipped folder of all skill sets in this group.
Click here to download a zipped folder of all skill sets in this group.
Click here to download a zipped folder of all skill sets in this group.
Click here to download a zipped folder of all skill sets in this group.
Click here to download a zipped folder of all skill sets in this group.
Click here to download a zipped folder of all skill sets in this group.
Click here to download a zipped folder of all skill sets in this group.
Click here to download a zipped folder of all skill sets in this group.
Click here to download a zipped folder of all skill sets in this group. | AHCNAR201 Carry out natural area restoration works (replaced with AHCECR2XX Perform basic ecological restoration works) | View unit on training.gov.au |
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Subscribe to the Skills Impact newsletter to keep informed about project updates and opportunities to provide input and feedback. Make sure to select ‘Agriculture, Horticulture, Conservation & Land Management’ as your industry of interest. |
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Conservation and land management is a large and complex sector responsible for caring for Australia's unique flora and fauna, many of which are not found anywhere else in the world. While the skills needed for this work span a number of sub-sectors — including lands, parks and wildlife; natural area restoration; conservation earthworks; and pest management — common foundational skills are needed across job roles. It is important that those employed in the sector are equipped with the skills and knowledge applicable to all of the varied environments of this expansive country, some of which are extremely remote and home to unique ecosystems. Technological advancements, changing markets, and shifting climactic conditions presented a need for updated skills standards.
Industry stakeholders from across Australia were consulted as part of this project to review the national qualifications and skills standards for conservation and land management. Qualifications, skill sets and units of competency have been updated to address skills needs and promote flexible work pathways.Skills in ecology have been incorporated where applicable, so that graduates in any conservation and land management related sector finish their training with an understanding of how their work can impact the environment, and the skills and knowledge required to make this a positive impact. These changes will support future industry workers and leaders to have the skills and knowledge required to thrive within the sector.Consultation with industry experts and with the Consultation with the Amenity Horticulture, Landscaping, Conservation & Land Management IRC also identified a more suitable description of this sector to be Conservation and Ecosystem Management. As such, qualifications have been renamed to Conservation and Ecosystem Management.The qualifications, skill set and units were published on the training.gov.au website on 24 December 2020, within the
AHC Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management Training Package. They are available for use by registered training organisations (RTOs).Tein McDonald, conservation and land management expert and member of the Australian Association of Bush Regenerators said this about the project:
I'm grateful for the amount of consultation completed during this project and by the extension of the feedback periods. The updated and new units, skill sets and qualifications have been substantially improved and will play a pivotal role in the future of conservation and land management nationally.
Key Outcomes
- Four existing Certificate III level qualifications have been amalgamated into a single new Certificate III in Conservation and Ecosystem Management, with streams of study for each sub-sector, while maintaining the possibility of a generalist qualification.
- The Diploma and Certificates I, II, III, IV in Conservation and Land Management have been renamed to Conservation and Ecosystem Management.
- The unit AHCNAR201 Carry out natural area restoration works has been proposed for deletion, as industry feedback indicated it does not accurately describe current job roles. It is proposed to be replaced with the new unit AHCECR203 Perform basic ecological restoration works, which includes the technical detail needed to support skills in ecology, including understanding of environments, how they function and how to conserve them.
- Nineteen units of competency were developed, including:
- Six marine units, to address the need for skills to perform conservation and land management activities in a marine environment
- Six new units in Natural Area Restoration (or Ecological Restoration), which address the need for fieldwork skills, particularly digital skills, site inspections, and skills in restoration, regeneration and reconstruction
- Four units to address skills for using new technology and processes developed in the area of Lands, Parks and Wildlife, including skills in data, biodiversity monitoring, using a GPS and operating a remotely piloted system
- The unit described above (AHCECR203 Perform basic ecological restoration works), which will replace AHCNAR201 Carry out natural area restoration works
- New units for identifying flora and fauna, conducting ecological burning, and recognising landforms and soil types.
- Two new skill sets to provide access to skills standards relating to the job task of seed processing and the basics of ranger work.
Summary of consultation
The units and qualifications were developed with guidance from a group of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), made up of 25 industry experts from across the states and territories.
The broader industry were then consulted on the draft documents at two different stages – the ‘Drafts Available’ and ‘Validation’ stages.
Feedback was collected via the online feedback hub, ten consultation workshops, two webinars, phone calls and email. The SME working group met in person three times throughout the duration of the project, and were asked to review the feedback from both stages of feedback on the drafts. Various informal sub-groups of SMEs were established to help Skills Impact solve issues as they arose, for example the retention of an Explosive unit, or the creation of the new Level III Conservation focused burning unit.It should be noted that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the validation phase of the project, as experts could not convene in person to discuss their final issues and offer validation in person. To work around this, the validation period was extended by three weeks and experts who had differing views on matters were set up in conference calls to come to a final decision. The SME working group validated the documents either through online survey or email.
Thank you to the 152 experts from this exceptionally large and multifaceted field who provided feedback throughout the project. A summary of feedback and how it was been considered and applied at the ‘Drafts Available’ and ‘Validation’ stages can be downloaded below.
The
qualifications, skill sets and units were endorsed by the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (read the communique) and State and Territory Ministers after undergoing an edit and equity and independent quality assurance process and consideration by the State/Territory Training Authorities (STAs/TTAs). A Case for Endorsement was submitted alongside the draft qualifications, skill sets and units, including a rationale of why these changes are needed and evidence of industry support.
Click here to download the Case for EndorsementPlease find below links to the final documents, that are published on the
training.gov.au website.
Companion Volume Implementation GuideA Companion Volume Implementation Guide has also been produced to assist industry and registered training providers (RTOs) deliver the qualifications, skill sets and units. It contains key information to help trainers adapt to any new changes, as well as additional information about the impacts of regulation and licensing implications and workplace health and safety on their training.
Click here to download the Companion Volume Implementation Guide Part 1
Click here to download the Companion Volume Implementation Guide Part 2
Qualifications & Skill Sets
Units of Competency
