Hiring farmhands with dog skills: job brief, interviews and induction

Key facts

Hiring starting point

A complete role description, not only a request for good dogs

Essential distinction

Independent handler, supervised worker or trainee

Dog arrangement

Employer-supplied dogs versus required worker-owned dogs

Practical assessment

Relevant task, capable supervisor and an agreed lawful payment arrangement

First weeks

Property induction, task training and an identified supervisor

Define the work before writing the advertisement

List the ordinary livestock, dog, property and equipment tasks. Identify the stock, work setting, reporting line and expected responsibility. A role involving sheep in yards can require different experience from one involving cattle across paddocks. State what the employee needs to do independently and what the property can teach.

Use a short role brief before comparing candidates. For example: livestock and setting; core weekly duties; dog work; machinery or driving requirements; supervision; roster and location; accommodation; employment type; and dog arrangements. This is a structure for an employer to complete, not a claim that every farm role has identical requirements.

Make the dog arrangement explicit

Say whether property dogs are supplied, whether the worker must supply suitable dogs or whether handling will be introduced after training. If dogs are supplied, identify who teaches commands and work routines. If worker-owned dogs are proposed, ask about the individual animals’ demonstrated roles and management needs.

Agree kennelling, feed, transport, veterinary arrangements, days off and interaction with resident dogs. Permission to bring a personal dog is different from requiring an employee to supply a working dog. Do not leave that distinction to be resolved after relocation. Record the arrangement alongside the offer and identify who can authorise a later change.

Ask interview questions about observable work

Ask each applicant to describe a recent livestock task: what stock and terrain were involved, which dog they used, who gave instructions and what decisions they made. Follow up with a difficulty they encountered and when they sought assistance. These questions give context to a general claim of experience.

Useful prompts include: What work have you done without direct supervision? What changed when you handled an unfamiliar dog? What signs told you to stop or alter the task? Which property or machinery duties would you need help learning? Record answers against the role criteria. A well-known dog or an impressive clip is only part of the evidence for the person’s overall capability.

Plan a relevant and controlled practical assessment

Choose a task that reflects the vacancy and the applicant’s stated experience. Identify the dog, stock, supervisor, instructions and stopping point. Avoid turning an assessment into an unexpected demand to handle unfamiliar animals alone. Safe Work Australia’s animal-work guidance highlights livestock behaviour, handling facilities and worker competence as practical risk considerations.

Clarify payment before the exercise. Fair Work allows limited circumstances for an unpaid, directly supervised demonstration necessary to assess relevant skills; ordinary productive work or an extended assessment can require payment. The label trial does not settle the question. Use the official guidance for the proposed arrangement and keep the task and duration defined.

Check pay, coverage and the required-dog provision

Identify the applicable employment system and instrument, classification, employment type and expected hours before advertising a rate. Fair Work prohibits advertising rates below the relevant minimum entitlements. A broad title such as farmhand does not itself determine award coverage or the correct classification.

Where the Pastoral Award applies, clause 33.3 addresses a stationhand required by the employer to provide their own cattle or sheep dog for station purposes. It provides for a mutually agreed allowance per dog and relevant licence or registration costs for the period of use. Check those conditions and record the agreed arrangement; do not invent one standard dog rate for every farm or treat casual dog access as the same requirement.

Put the practical offer in writing

Confirm duties, location, reporting line, employment type, commencement, hours and the applicable pay arrangement. Describe accommodation, meals, transport and any proposed charges clearly enough for the applicant to compare them with the offer. Dog facilities and permission should be just as explicit.

Ask the selected applicant to confirm their understanding before travelling. Resolve differences between the advertisement, interview and offer while there is still time to adjust plans. Keep the role and recruitment notes as useful records, with references sought through an agreed process. The offer should reflect the actual job rather than promises made informally during the interview.

Induct the worker into this property

Safe Work Australia’s induction guidance covers workplace hazards, safe procedures, emergency arrangements and demonstrating understanding. Apply that to the actual property: livestock routes, yards and gates, dog facilities, vehicles, communications and the person responsible for instruction. An experienced worker still needs to learn unfamiliar systems.

Fair Work says employees must be paid for training required for their job. Nominate the supervisor and agree which tasks require direct oversight initially. Check understanding through explanation and demonstration, rather than only handing over a document. Retain the induction record and review it as duties change. Safe Work Australia provides national guidance; the relevant state or territory regulator is the route for workplace-specific regulatory advice.

Advertise the role and review the first weeks

Publish a clear vacancy with the work setting, essential experience, supervision offered and dog arrangement. Use the worker-availability board to find people describing their skills, and compare their evidence with the same role criteria. A reference page is background information; the actual advertisement supplies the current opportunity and conditions.

After commencement, review how the employee, dogs and property routines are working together. Discuss tasks that need more instruction and update responsibility when capability is demonstrated. Hiring is more useful when the agreed role carries through into supervision, rather than ending with an accepted offer. The links below let employers advertise work or browse available workers.

Common questions

Sources & further reading

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