Elements and Performance Criteria

The range statement relates to the Unit of Competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.
Standard precautions may include:
appropriate reprocessing of reusable equipment
aseptic technique
environmental controls (e.g. design and maintenance of premises and cleaning)
personal hygiene practices especially washing and drying hands (e.g. before and after animal contact)
safe handling and disposal of sharps and other clinical, related and general waste
surface cleaning and management of blood and bodily fluid spills
techniques to limit contamination
use of personal protective equipment.
Additional precautions may include:
additional use of personal protective equipment
dedicated equipment (e.g. to each animal or as appropriate to work function)
isolation/cohorting
restricted movement of animal, staff and visitors/customers
special ventilation requirements
use of a special facility.
Reporting and documentation may include:
animal health records
animal movement records:
exclusion and containment movements
isolation of new stock arrivals
movement of animals within and between facilities
incident reporting and documenting details of injuries or potential exposures to zoonotic pathogens
maintaining currency of infection control plans and incident response procedures
relevant federal, state and territory legislative reporting requirements for suspected infectious diseases.
Infection risks may include:
airborne transmission of respiratory secretions
animal waste and animal tissues
clinical, related and general waste
contact with blood and other body substances
droplet transmission of respiratory secretions
humans
other animals, insects and vermin
personal contact with infectious materials, substances and/or animals
sharps injury
stock, including food, due to contamination or passed 'used-by' dates.
Current notifiable diseases information may be accessed from:
relevant state or territory Departments of Primary Industries or equivalent websites.
Indicators of potential infectious disease signs may include:
infectious diseases:
bacteria
fungi
internal and external parasites
virus
zoonoses
infectious disease signs:
blisters, ulceration or erosions
dead animals
hair loss or skin disease
nervousness or other behaviour changes
profuse and bloody diarrhoea
rapid spread of signs and symptoms throughout facility
unexplained lethargy, listlessness or depression
unusually high numbers of sick animals
severe hacking cough.
Clean and contaminated zones may include:
clean zone:
storage areas for materials, equipment and medications
contaminated zones:
area used for items that have become contaminated during use.
Hazards to animal and human health from food sources may include:
animal movement and handling
shelf life of foodstuffs
manual handling and general food preparation, storage and distribution equipment
contamination of foodstuffs from vermin, bacteria, fungus, virus and other sources
organic and other dusts
excessive noise
possibility of zoonotic infection.
Rodent and vector control procedures may include:
rodent control:
eliminate nesting sites for rodents and birds
remove spilt or uneaten feed
sealed feed rooms
vector control:
animal care facility pen/cage/stall security
insect screening
pest control annual reduction program
remove mosquito breeding sites (e.g. sources of standing water)
remove access points for native animals (e.g. possums, macropods and reptiles).
Disposal of waste requirements may include:
disposal in accordance with:
Environmental Protection (Waste Management) policy and regulations
Australian and New Zealand Standards.
Infectious Disease Control Kit may include:
cap
gloves
goggles/face shield
ground sheet
overalls
sanitising wipes
shoe covers
surgical masks (p2/n95).

The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.
Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this Unit
The evidence required to demonstrate competency in this Unit must be relevant to workplace operations and satisfy all of the requirements of the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge and the range statement of this Unit. Assessors should ensure that candidates can:
comply with effective infection control guidelines to ensure the prevention of transmission of infections from animal to person, animal to animal and/or person to animal
identify and respond to infection risks
maintain personal protection
limit contamination and contribute towards incursion readiness processes
report suspicions of a notifiable disease or unusual disease signs
maintain documentation.
The skills and knowledge required to comply with infection control policies and procedures in animal work must be transferable to a range of work environments and contexts and include the ability to deal with unplanned events.
Context of and specific resources for assessment
Assessment of this Unit is to be practical in nature and will be most appropriately assessed in the industry sector in which candidates are working or in a situation that reproduces normal work conditions. Industry sectors can include veterinary practices, pet shops, breeding or boarding kennels and catteries, aviaries, companion animal training or grooming establishments, animal shelters, zoos, wildlife parks, mobile animal facilities, animal technology facilities or similar workplaces.
There must be access in either situation to a range of animals as well as relevant information, equipment and/or resources to enable one to demonstrate competence.
Method of assessment
To ensure consistency of performance, competency should be demonstrated, to industry defined standards, on more than one occasion over a period of time in order to cover a variety of circumstances and where possible, over a number of assessment activities.
The assessment strategy must include practical skills assessment. Suggested strategies for this Unit are:
written and/or oral assessment of candidate's required knowledge
observed, documented and first-hand testimonial evidence of candidate's application of practical tasks
simulation exercises that reproduce normal work conditions
third-party evidence
workplace documentation
portfolio.
This Unit may be assessed in a holistic way with other Units of Competency relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role.
Guidance information for assessment
Assessment methods should reflect workplace demands (e.g. literacy and numeracy demands) and the needs of particular target groups (e.g. people with disabilities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, people with a language background other than English, youth and people from low socioeconomic backgrounds).