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Upon completion of your Initial Employment Training, your first posting will likely be to one of the primary posting locations below, where you enhance your skills received through formal training.
Primary posting locations include:
<ul>
<li>Darwin, NT</li>
<li>Brisbane, QLD</li>
<li>Ipswich, QLD</li>
<li>Townsville, QLD</li></ul>
There may be opportunities to post to other locations based on service need, career development needs and individual preferences.
You may also have the opportunity to deploy overseas on operations during your career.

You will be paid while you train, and on completion of your Initial Military Training and Employment Training, you’ll earn at least:

Training

Your starting salary

Trained

Your salary once trained

In the Army you'll get paid a good salary from day one regardless of your age, experience or qualifications; and your pay increases as you progress through training. In addition to your salary you'll receive a variety of allowances, extra pay for relevant qualifications – plus 16.4% superannuation, a far higher rate than you're likely to find in the civilian world.

General Entry: Non-Technical

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Take control of heavy military machinery and accomplish construction projects in various terrains and conditions to support Army capability.
What You&rsquo;ll Do
As a Plant Operator, you&rsquo;ll be part of a highly capable team responsible for operating and maintaining heavy machinery, playing a vital role in military construction projects. Whether you&rsquo;re paving airfields, clearing explosive hazards, or providing much-needed disaster relief, you&rsquo;ll have all the tools you need at your disposal to accomplish the mission.
Not only will you be in the driver&rsquo;s seat, you&rsquo;ll also learn the engineering foundations to make technical decisions and give advice on all aspects of construction on the ground. 
Key tasks include:

<ul>
 <li>Constructing, maintaining, and repairing infrastructure, including roads, ports, and airfields</li>
 <li>Operating and maintaining heavy plant equipment, such as forklifts (on-road and off-road), loaders, excavators, rollers, graders, dozers and cranes</li>
 <li>Undertaking environmental work, such as soil testing and draining</li>
 <li>Installing infrastructure services, like water and electricity</li>
</ul>
Self-motivation and resilience are key in this role as there will be times where you will be required to operate machinery for long periods and work autonomously in challenging conditions. 
When you&rsquo;re not working on site, you&rsquo;ll have plenty of opportunities to work close to the action. You could be working with Combat Engineers, Infantry and Cavalry units to construct field defences and obstacles, or even logistic forces to build temporary camps.
Training and Progression
You don&rsquo;t need any prior experience to join. You&rsquo;ll learn everything you need to know through your Initial Employment Training (IET). Upon completion, your first posting will likely be to Darwin, Townsville, Brisbane or Ipswich.
During your training you&rsquo;ll learn how to operate and maintain machinery and equipment, civil construction principles as well as military skills such as camouflaging a vehicle, transporting dangerous goods and Army combat and communication. 
Early on in your career you&rsquo;ll get comprehensive training to specialise in one or more areas:

<ul>
 <li>Heavy Rigid or Heavy Combination Drivers Code </li>
 <li>Soils Technician </li>
 <li>Dogging Operations and Mobile Slewing Crane</li>
</ul>
Throughout your career you&rsquo;ll have opportunities to acquire transferrable construction licenses including your White Card, High Risk Work License, Medium-Rigid and Heavy-Rigid Vehicle Licenses. You&rsquo;ll also gain highly sought after construction and project management skills with opportunities to earn various civil and building construction qualifications.
Additional Information
If you&rsquo;re mechanically minded and don&rsquo;t mind getting your hands dirty, this is the role for you. You&rsquo;ll get the opportunity to work with some of the latest industry standard gear, as well as highly specialised military equipment you won't find anywhere else.
You&rsquo;ll gain the satisfaction of knowing the work you do will make a real difference in people's lives. Due to the diversity of work, over the course of your career you&rsquo;ll have opportunities to help communities in need &ndash; such as remote Aboriginal communities &ndash; and you&rsquo;ll assist with disaster relief efforts.
In-service Information
This role is known as Operator Plant within the Army.
Employment Category Number (ECN): 270
Employment Category: Combat Support

Be the expert on the ground. Load, drive and maintain specialised vehicles and military machinery in this hands-on role.

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Plant Operator

Benefits you won't see anywhere else

You’ll enjoy the following:

Great salary from day one, which increases with experience

Generous superannuation of 16.4% – a huge 4.9% over the Australian standard

Help to buy a home, a subsidised home loan or rent allowance

Free medical and dental for you, and subsidised healthcare for you and your family

Fully paid training

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