Case for change

The skills standards to rescue large animals or groups of animals were recognised as a priority in the Animal Care and Management IRC Skills Forecast and Proposed Schedule of Work (see pages 29-30). The skills to rescue marine wildlife are quite different to the skills required to rescue animals on land, which were recently reviewed and developed as part of the Animal Incident Management Project. There are unique skills related to managing the safety and welfare of both people and animals involved, with minimal interference to wildlife.

The Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) approved the marine rescue part of this project after a case was made about the different skills required for animal rescue on sea versus land.

Download Project Proposal (see pages 29-30)

The exhibited animal care part of the project was approved by the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) out of the 2019-2022 Animal Care and Management IRC Skills Forecast and Proposed Schedule of Work (see pages 30-35).

Download Project Proposal (see pages 30-35)

Skills Impact and the Animal Care and Management Industry Reference Committee (IRC) will manage this project, consistent with the 2012 Standards for Training Package Development.

Project Plan

Just as specialist skills are needed for different kinds of exhibited animals, a level of expertise is required for the participation and/or management of marine wildlife events and emergency situations. The skills to rescue marine wildlife are quite different to the skills required to rescue animals on land, which were recently reviewed and developed as part of the Animal Incident Management Project. During this process, industry advised that specific skill standards were needed that relate to marine wildlife events such as entanglements, strandings and pollution events.

The marine environment can present a particular challenge to humans involved in an emergency management situation. At the same time, marine life requires particular conditions to be maintained during the response, to comply with animal welfare regulations, legislation and workplace standards.

Project Scope

This project will review and update the skills standards for working with exhibited animals and develop units of competency related to managing marine wildlife incidents. Units of competency within the existing Certificate III in Captive Animals and the Certificate IV in Captive Animals will be reviewed. Skills standards in marine wildlife management and response will also be defined and captured in units of competency.

Stakeholder Consultation Process

A list of key stakeholder organisations is being developed 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 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 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.

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, which is expected in February 2020, and again for validation of final drafts which is expected in July 2020. However, your feedback is welcomed at any time, and will help us in drafting the qualification and units. It is important that training provides a skilled and flexible workforce for the future. The qualification and units need to reflect real work experience. So if you work in the sector, Skills Impact would appreciate 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, Rebecca Ford on 03 9321 3526 or [email protected].

Subject Matter Experts

Subject Matter Experts will be drawn on throughout this project to help review and draft the revised units, skill set 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].

Development

Exhibited Animal Care

Those working in zoos, sanctuaries and wildlife parks need skills and knowledge in animal enrichment, nutrition, habitat design and behavioural conditioning, to support the mental and physical health of animals. Their job role also involves supporting scientific research and conservation through breeding programs and providing information and education programs to the public about environmental and animal conservation actions. Specialist skills are needed as job tasks vary depending on the size and type of the animal and how it interacts with its physical and social environment. As such, zoo keepers and animal carers need to understand and be skilled at providing enrichment to ensure the animal’s optimal psychological and physiological wellbeing. Behavioural conditioning is also important so that animals can be handled safely and with minimal stress during regular health assessments and veterinary checks.

Marine Wildlife Response

Just as specialist skills are needed for different kinds of exhibited animals, a level of expertise is required for the participation and management of marine wildlife events and emergency situations. Industry has advised that specific skill standards are needed to support marine wildlife incidents, such as entanglements, strandings and pollution events, to support the safety and welfare of the workers, volunteers and animals. The skills standards need to consider animal welfare regulations, legislation and workplace standards.

A project in Pet Care & Animal Training is also underway at the same time as this project and you may be interested in having input.

Proposed Qualification and Units for Development and Review

Feedback from Subject Matter Experts has identified a need for a unit of competency for assessing the welfare status of an animal and another to support the skills required to promote positive wellbeing for those working in animal care industries.

Units of competency within the existing Certificate III in Captive Animals and the Certificate IV in Captive Animals will be reviewed to ensure they are fit for purpose and meet current industry best-practice and regulations. Skills standards in marine wildlife management and response will be defined and captured in new units of competency.

• Review two qualifications (Certificate III in Captive Animals and the Certificate IV in Captive Animals)
• Consider the deletion of one qualification (the Certificate IV in Captive Animals)
• Review 19 captive animal units of competency
• Review 12 existing species specific units of competency
• Develop 5 new marine animal response units of competency
• Develop 2 new general animal studies units of competency to promote positive wellbeing for those working in animal care industries and to assess the welfare status of an animal
• Review 5 existing skill sets and develop 6 new skill sets
• Consider the deletion of one unit of competency (ACMCAN310 Assist with exhibit design and renovation planning), but include relevant aspects in ACMCAN304 Prepare and maintain animal housing and ACMCAN501 Contribute to enclosure and exhibit design or renovation projects (Certificate IV) as there is a lot of overlap. Feedback is needed as to whether this approach is acceptable to industry

Skills Impact is also seeking industry advice about qualification and unit titles to better reflect current industry terminology. More information to follow.

Consultation Workshops

Revised draft qualifications and units will be made available on this webpage for broad stakeholder consultation and feedback from mid-November to mid-December 2019 (under the ‘Drafts Available’ menu above). We welcome your feedback and advice on the draft skills standards during this time. Face-to-face consultation workshops will also take place across all states and territories, with a webinar planned for those unable to attend in person. Registrations for these workshops will open very soon. We encourage you to subscribe to the Skills Impact newsletter linked below to receive an alert of when registrations open and the drafts are available for feedback.

Drafts Available

Summary of consultation to date

The qualifications, skill sets and units for competency were drafted in consultation with Subject Matter Experts via face-to-face meetings, webinars and emails during August – October 2019. Thank you to all of those who provided their feedback during these activities. Consultation has focused on the practical and hands-on expertise required by zoo keepers, animal carers and marine wildlife responders. They were consulted to review the structure of the qualifications that align to job roles in these sectors and the content of units of competency.

For further details about the drivers, scope and timeline of the project, click on the green project stage arrows above.

A project in Pet Care & Animal Training is underway at the same time as this project and you may be interested in having input.

Validation

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 Animal Care and 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

The Certificate IV in Wildlife and Exhibited Animal Management is proposed to be replaced by the new draft Certificate IV in Animal Care Facility Management, which is being reviewed and developed as part of the Pet Care & Animal Training Project. Subject Matter Expert feedback prior to validation indicated support for this replacement, to reduce duplication of content that has been identified across the qualifications. Skill sets were revised and developed prior this stage to meet specific skill/knowledge gaps identified by this replacement. Feedback was invited on the proposal to replace the Certificate IV in Wildlife and Exhibited Animal Management with the new draft Certificate IV in Animal Care Facility Management. 

Some units were merged to reduce duplication of content. The newly developed ACMAIMXX5 Assist at wildlife events was revised to remove references to marine or aquatic settings to make this unit suitable for non-marine settings, following industry feedback about the need for these skills and knowledge, which was highlighted after recent bushfire and flood events across Australia. There was been strong industry support for the new cross-sector units: Assess the welfare status of an animal and Promote positive wellbeing in self and others in animal care workplaces. Assessment conditions for Promote positive wellbeing in self and others in animal care workplaces included the requirement for assessors to have evidence of undertaking a mental health first aid program or hold equivalent related qualifications.  

After additional consultation the 240 hours of work placement were removed from the Certificate III in Wildlife and Exhibited Animal Care and reference to this in two units.

More information on proposed changes is available below.  

Summary of consultation to date

The units and qualifications were developed with guidance from a group of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), with expertise in exhibited animal care, marine wildlife response, and promoting positive wellbeing (psychologists, counsellors, therapists and experienced senior veterinarians).

The broader industry were then consulted on the draft documents at two different stages – the ‘Drafts Available’ and ‘Validation’ stages. At the ‘Drafts Available” stage, 10 public consultation workshops held across Australia to include stakeholders from every state/territory during November-December 2019. One webinar was held for those who could not attend the face-to-face public consultation workshops. It should be noted that many stakeholders were affected at this time by the severe bushfires across Australia and could not attend the workshops because they were preparing to defend their properties/animals and/or evacuating animals from their sanctuaries. During the ‘Validation’ phase, stakeholders provided validation via phone, emails and surveys. Six validation webinars were then held with 21 SMEs to discuss and provide final validation of all training components.

One hundred and twenty stakeholders across various exhibited animal sub-sectors were actively involved throughout the project, including representatives from government departments, medical research facilities, zoos, aquariums, wildlife parks, and sanctuaries and wildlife rehabilitation/release carer networks.

A description of how feedback has been considered and applied at each of these stages can be downloaded below.

An additional round of feedback took place, following discussion and feedback from the IRC, as outlined at the top if this webpage. 

A Companion Volume Implementation Guide is also being produced to assist industry and registered training providers (RTOs) deliver the qualification, units and skill sets. It will contain key information to assist Registered Training Organisations delivering the qualification and units.

A project in Pet Care & Animal Training is underway at the same time as this project.

Validation Documents

Additional Consultation