Facility Technician

The Garvan Institute of Medical Research; Moss Vale; On-site; AUD 30,000 - 50,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Training and development

Flexible work arrangements

Parental leave

Health insurance discounts

Lifestyle discounts

Job summary

The Garvan Institute of Medical Research invites applications for a Facility Technician at the Australian BioResources Facility in Moss Vale. The role supports animal care staff by cleaning cages, preparing consumables, and maintaining hygiene across animal rooms and reception areas.

Training will be provided to ensure high standards of work and safety. Your responsibilities include operating cage washers, autoclaves, and water pouch machines, delivering equipment, and assisting with general

Qualifications

• No formal qualifications are required; on-the-job training provided.
• Experience cleaning to a high standard and following instructions is essential.
• Good fitness for lifting and manual tasks.
• Strong commitment to animal welfare and safe work practices.

Responsibilities

• Wash cages, trolleys and protective clothing using cage and tunnel washers.
• Prepare clean boxes, bedding and consumables for autoclaving.
• Supply clean boxes and equipment to animal rooms as needed.
• Prepare water pouches for animal rooms with the water pouch machine.
• Assist with fumigation preparation in the fumigation lock.
• Deliver equipment and materials to animal holding areas and labs.
• Keep staff areas and corridors clean and hygienic.
• Operate forklift/pallet jack when required.
• Maintain PPE usage and safety procedures at all times.

Skills

Cleaning to high standard

Following instructions

Physical fitness

Animal welfare

Teamwork

Communication

Reliability

Scheduling

Education

No qualifications required

Tools

Autoclaves

Cage wash equipment

Job description

The Australian BioResources Facility, owned and operated by the Garvan, breeds high-quality laboratory mice for Garvan's medical research programmes. This facility, based in Moss Vale in the Southern Highlands, uses advanced technology to provide an optimal environment for the production of high-quality animals for medical research.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The primary function of Facility Technician is to provide support to animal care staff looking after animals used in medical research. This involves cleaning and re‑filling caging, and sterilising other equipment and consumables to ensure there is a continuous supply of clean materials to animal rooms. In addition, cleaning of the support areas such as staff room, administration area and change rooms may be required. These vital tasks contribute indirectly to the high standards of hygiene required for ABR.

Salary: Up to $35.85/hour + 12% super | Employment Type: Casual

SNAPSHOT OF BENEFITS

• Ample opportunities for on‑going training and development
• Stimulating, diverse and highly international research environment
• Flexible work arrangements e.g. start / finish times
• 18 weeks paid parental leave for both parents including paid superannuation
• A range of additional leave types to meet your personal needs including cultural leave, conference leave, community service and study leave
• Discounted Health Insurance
• Lifestyle discounts with our community partners

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Washing cages, trolleys and protective clothing. This involves the operation of high‑tech equipment including cage washer and tunnel washer.
• Preparation of clean boxes, bedding and consumables for autoclaving. This involves the use of high‑tech equipment – autoclaves.
• Filling and supply of clean boxes and associated equipment for animal rooms.
• Preparation of water pouches for animal rooms. This involves the operation of the water pouch machine.
• Preparation of equipment and materials for fumigation within the fumigation lock.
• Delivery of other equipment and materials to animal holding areas, laboratories and associated work areas.
• General cleaning and room hygiene, including staff room, administration rooms, staff change rooms and access corridors.
• Collection of food and bedding from stores area and transportation to animal facility.
• Operation of forklift and pallet jack may be required.
• Compactting of water pouches and other materials.
• Consistently use and maintain personal protective equipment (PPE) in accordance with workplace safety procedures to ensure personal and team safety.

All staff are required to comply with Garvan's workplace polices (as amended from time to time) and especially Garvan's Work Health & Safety (WHS) Policy, including working in accordance with the WHS management system at all times, as safety is Garvan's number one priority. All staff have a responsibility to:

• Take reasonable care for the health & safety of self and others at Garvan/ABR.
• Cooperate with Garvan policy and/or management directives to ensure a safe working environment.
• Identify all hazards associated with work tasks and complete risk assessments and safe work procedures.
• Immediately notify supervisors of both actual & potential hazards.
• Immediately report to their supervisor/manager all injuries/illnesses.
• Observe and practice the correct safe work procedures.
• Wear or use safety equipment as specified ie PPE.
• Participate in safety training.
• Follow health and safety instructions.
• Keep work areas clean and tidy.

Depending on the level of your role within the organisation, additional health and safety responsibilities may also apply.

The Work Health & Safety (WHS) Duties, Roles & Responsibilities document should be used as a guide to determine your full WHS responsibilities at Garvan.

ABOUT YOU

Formal Qualifications No qualifications are required. On the job training will be provided

• Experience in cleaning to a high standard
• Ability to follow instructions in using and cleaning high tech equipment such as autoclaves.
• Must have a good level of fitness, including ability to lift and perform general manual labour.
• Possess a strong commitment to animal welfare.
• The ability to work individually or as a member of a team.
• The ability to follow instructions and work according to a schedule.
• Strong customer focus and commitment to quality.
• Good communication skills.
• Reliability and patience.

• Desirable Experience or understanding of working within a clean room facility.
• Experience in cleaning commercial buildings.
• Experience in the operation of cage wash equipment and autoclaves.
• Possess a current driver's licence.

ABOUT GARVAN

Garvan Institute of Medical Research is an independent Medical Research Institute (MRI) in Sydney, delivering scientific and clinical impact on a global basis and in partnership with organisations that share our vision. We are proud to be one of Australia's largest and most highly regarded MRI's. Our vision is global leadership in discoveries to impact and our enduring purpose is to impact human health, by harnessing information encoded in our genome. We seek to see our world-class discovery research achieve life-changing impacts, not only for individual patients with rare diseases, but for the many thousands affected by complex, common disease. Garvan promotes a diverse workplace and is committed to the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging. We are always looking for culture ‘add’, not culture ‘fit’ and are building diverse teams with great sets of complementary styles and skills to help deliver our important work effectively.