Modification History
Not applicable.
Unit Descriptor
Unit descriptor
This unit of competency specifies the outcomes required to recognise unusual disease or plant pest signs during day-to-day work and take appropriate reporting action.
Application of the Unit
Application of the unit
The work in this unit is typically performed by those who have daily contact with plants, birds, animals or fish. It would usually be carried out in conjunction with routine animal or plant husbandry tasks.
Licensing/Regulatory Information
Not applicable.
Pre-Requisites
Not applicable.
Employability Skills Information
Employability Skills
The required outcomes described in this unit of competency contain applicable facets of Employability Skills.
Elements and Performance Criteria Pre-Content
Elements describe the essential outcomes of a unit of competency.
Performance criteria describe the required performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. Where bold italicised text is used, further information is detailed in the required skills and knowledge and/or the range statement. Assessment of performance is to be consistent with the evidence guide.
Elements and Performance Criteria
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Elements and Performance Criteria |
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Element |
Performance Criteria |
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1 |
1 Identify signs of unusual disease or a plant pest. |
1.1 |
Signs of disease or a plant pest are identified. |
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1.2 |
Signs of disease or a plant pest are compared with own experience of common endemic disease or a plant pest in the species. |
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1.3 |
Where signs indicate an unusual disease or a plant pest , severity and extent of problem in the species are assessed. |
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1.4 |
Where signs indicate an unusual disease or a plant pest, immediate advice is sought from supervisors, professionals or appropriate authorities. |
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2 |
2 Report signs of unusual disease or a plant pest. |
2.1 |
Signs of unusual disease or a plant pest are reported immediately to appropriate authorities . |
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2.2 |
Biosecurity measures are implemented according to enterprise biosecurity plans and instructions from appropriate authority. |
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Required Skills and Knowledge
This section describes the essential skills and knowledge and their level, required for this unit.
Required skills include :
observing
recognising unusual disease or plant pest signs.
Required knowledge includes :
required procedures to follow in notifying appropriate authorities
where to access additional reliable information or personnel.
Evidence Guide
Overview of assessment
Assessment for this unit of competency may be undertaken on or off the job. The unit could be assessed on its own or in combination with other units of competency relevant to the job function, such as RTE4409A Carry out field surveillance for a specific emergency disease or plant pest .
Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit
The critical requirements for this unit of competency as a whole are listed below.
Assessment must confirm one's ability to:
identify unusual disease or pest signs within one's own experience
notify appropriate authorities where appropriate
implement appropriate biosecurity measures.
Context and specific resources for assessment
For valid assessment, one must have opportunities to participate in a range of exercises, case studies and other real and simulated practical and knowledge assessments that demonstrate the skills and knowledge required to identify and report unusual disease or plant pest signs.
The candidate must also have access to resources such as photographs of signs of emergency and endemic diseases and of plant pests.
Guidance information for assessment
To ensure consistency in one's performance, competency should be demonstrated on more than one occasion over a period of time in order to cover a variety of circumstances, cases and responsibilities, and where possible, over a number of assessment activities.
The skills and knowledge required to identify and report unusual disease or plant pest signs must be transferable to a range of work environments and contexts, including the ability to deal with unplanned events. For example, this could include a range of diseases for a particular species or a variety of pests.
Range Statement
RANGE STATEMENT
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 in the performance criteria is detailed below. Add any 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.
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Signs of disease or a plant pest may include: |
abnormality clinical signs decline and dieback insect damage or presence of insects mortalities and mode of death presence of highly specific vectors results of post-mortem examinations unexplained levels of morbidity or mortality in populations. |
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Unusual diseases or plant pests may include: |
disease that is classified as an emergency disease disease that presents in an unusual, uncommon or atypical form plant pest species, biotype or strain of invertebrate pest or pathogen injurious to plants or plant health. |
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Appropriate authorities may include: |
national disease watch hotlines property owner or manager regulatory officers from state and territory departments of Primary Industries, Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. |
Unit Sector(s)
Not applicable.
