Industries · Horticulture
Horticulture
Recruitment.
Nursery hands, pickers, packers and growers for Victorian nurseries, farms and packhouses, plus paid horticulture traineeships through Future1st, our group training organisation.
Trusted by leading Australian employers
Reliable hands for
every growing season.
Nursery hands, harvest crews, propagation staff and machinery operators, matched to your crop, your site and your season.
Nursery hands
Potting, pruning, order picking and dispatch for wholesale and retail nurseries, from casual cover to full-time trainees.
Pickers & packers
Harvest crews and packhouse staff for fruit, vegetable and flower growers, scaled up and down with your season.
Greenhouse & propagation
Propagation, tissue culture and plant-health roles for glasshouses and production nurseries.
Machinery & irrigation
Tractor, forklift and irrigation operators who keep the farm, nursery or packhouse moving.
Hire the way your season runs.
Licensed labour hire provider under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic)- Workers paid to the Horticulture Award 2020
Future1st GTO · Horticulture traineeships
Grow your own qualified
nursery hands.
Future1st is our group training organisation, and part of the Chandler Holdings group. It employs the trainee, manages their pay and training, and places them with you while they complete a Certificate III in Horticulture.
For nurseries and growers
Host a trainee, without the paperwork.
- Future1st employs the trainee; you host and train them on site
- Payroll, super and the training plan are handled for you
- Regular check-ins and mentoring through the traineeship
- A pipeline of qualified nursery hands for your business
For future trainees
Start a career in horticulture.
- Paid, full-time work: 38 hours a week, Monday to Friday
- A nationally recognised Certificate III in Horticulture
- A 12-month accredited TAFE course, delivered online
- Hands-on learning: potting, propagation, plant health and dispatch
Certificate III
in Horticulture, nationally recognised
12 months
accredited TAFE course, online
Full-time
38 paid hours a week
2 open now
traineeships on our job board
How we keep your site compliant.
Horticulture work is covered by the Horticulture Award 2020. Since April 2022, pieceworkers must be paid at least the minimum hourly rate for their classification, however much they pick. We pay every worker to the award and keep the records to show it.
We’re a licensed provider under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic), which covers labour hire supplied to Victorian farms, nurseries and packhouses. We check every worker’s right to work before placement.
Inductions cover hazardous manual handling, heat and sun exposure, and site hygiene and biosecurity. For packhouses certified to Freshcare or HARPS, we brief workers on your food safety rules before day one, and chemical work only goes to workers holding the right permit.
Horticulture terms explainedPiece rate · Propagation · Tissue culture · Packhouse · Freshcare · HARPS
- Piece rate
- Pay based on how much is picked or packed rather than hours worked. Under the Horticulture Award it can never fall below the minimum hourly rate.
- Propagation
- Growing new plants from seeds, cuttings or divisions.
- Tissue culture
- Growing plants from small pieces of plant tissue in a sterile laboratory, to produce many identical, disease-free plants.
- Packhouse
- Where harvested produce is washed, graded, packed and cooled for dispatch.
- Freshcare
- An Australian on-farm food safety and quality certification for fresh produce.
- HARPS
- Harmonised Australian Retailer Produce Scheme: a food safety standard many major supermarkets require from produce suppliers.
Looking for
horticulture work.
Pick up shifts that suit your time and location, and manage everything from the Chandler app.
Horticulture Traineeship
$23.10/hrPiedmont, VIC
Apply now: Horticulture Traineeship
Nursery Hand Traineeship
$22/hrWong Park, VIC
Apply now: Nursery Hand Traineeship
Nursery Hands
$30/hr + superPakenham
Apply now: Nursery Hands
20 roles open on the job board, updated daily.
Shifts that suit your time and location- Competitive pay rates
- Consultants on call 24/7
- 50+ work locations
- Manage it all in the Chandler app
Questions we get asked.
Can’t see yours? Call (03) 9656 9777, any time.
Do pieceworkers have a minimum wage in horticulture?
Yes. Under the Horticulture Award 2020, pieceworkers have been guaranteed at least the minimum hourly rate for their classification since April 2022. We pay to the award on every placement.
What is a group training organisation (GTO)?
A GTO employs apprentices and trainees and places them with host businesses. The GTO pays the trainee and manages their training contract, while the host provides on-the-job training. Future1st is the GTO in the Chandler Holdings group.
How does a horticulture traineeship work?
The trainee is employed full-time by Future1st and works at a host nursery or grower while completing a Certificate III in Horticulture over about 12 months, with the course delivered online and the practical skills learned on site.
Can you supply seasonal workers at short notice?
Yes. Harvest windows are short, and once your account is set up you can order staff by phone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, scaling crews up and down with the season.
General information only, current at October 2026. Sources: Fair Work Ombudsman, Labour Hire Authority, WorkSafe Victoria, Agriculture Victoria.
Ready when you are