School Work Experience With Animals Sydney

Written by the Birdsville team. Last updated October 2026.

Looking for school work experience with animals in Sydney? Birdsville and Petsville, at 684 Botany Road, Alexandria NSW 2015, offer school work experience placements for students in Years 9 to 12. Our program is ideal for students thinking about a future in an animal-related career, including zookeeping, animal care, animal welfare, veterinary work, vet nursing and boarding, as well as retail, sales and customer service.

As a small, locally owned business, we give students a hands-on, supportive place to learn. You’ll see the real day-to-day running of a specialist store caring for birds, reptiles, fish and small animals, and get involved in the work yourself.

How Do I Apply for School Work Experience at Birdsville and Petsville?

Work experience placements are arranged through your school. If you’d like to do your work experience with us, speak to your school’s careers adviser. They’ll contact us by phone on (02) 9669 1766 or by email at info@birdsville.net.au to organise your placement.

Placement length is flexible and can be arranged to suit your school’s requirements. Placements run Monday to Friday only, as we’re not able to offer work experience on weekends. Places also depend on our availability, so ask your careers adviser to contact us well in advance to confirm we can fit you in.

On your first day, bring any work placement or insurance paperwork from your school, ready for our team to sign.

Follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BirdsvilleRosebery/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/petsvillesydney/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@birdsvillepets) to get a feel for the team and what a placement with us looks like.

What You’ll Gain

Work experience at Birdsville and Petsville gives you the chance to:

Work hands-on with birds, reptiles, fish and small animals in a specialist retail setting
See a range of roles across animal care, animal welfare, retail and customer service
Take on supervised tasks suited to your skill level and confidence
Ask questions and learn about animals and possible career pathways
Build practical skills in animal handling, workplace communication and customer service
Explore future study, training and job opportunities in the animal industry

What to Expect

You’ll be involved in a wide range of daily tasks, from exciting animal interactions to the essential behind-the-scenes work that keeps every animal healthy. Duties may include:

Cleaning and maintaining enclosures, aquariums, workspaces and store areas, from windows to and animal displays.
Preparing and handing out food for a variety of birds, reptiles and small animals
Observing and recording animal behaviour
Helping customers and supporting sales
General administration and organisation
Stock control and inventory
Safe, supervised animal handling
Manufacture of animal grains/produce and bagging.
Building cages and or flat packing enclosures.

Every task matters here. Our animals rely on their daily care being done properly and on time, so we look for students who get stuck in, work efficiently and take pride in doing every job well, even the messy ones.

A Pathway Into the Animal Industry

Work experience with us can be the start of something bigger. We have a strong track record of team members going on to careers in zoos, including Taronga Zoo. To our knowledge, every team member who has worked their way up through Birdsville and then wanted a zoo career has made it, and we actively encourage that ambition. Our owner came to Birdsville from the zoo industry, where he worked as a keeper and in management, and he runs the store with many of the same routines and standards used in zoos.

When a role opens up, we also prefer to hire from within. Students who impress us during work experience, and later volunteer with us once they’re 16 or older (https://birdsville.net.au/animal-volunteer-sydney/), can put themselves in a great position for a casual or part-time job down the track.

What Should I Wear?

Wear enclosed, closed-toe shoes at all times, for your safety around our animals and enclosures. High heels, shorts and tracksuit pants aren’t suitable. Smart casual clothing works best, and expect your clothes to get a little dirty, as placements involve animal husbandry, cleaning enclosures, merchandising and store cleaning.

School Work Experience: Frequently Asked Questions

What year levels can do work experience at Birdsville?

We take school work experience students in Years 9 to 12. The program suits anyone considering a future in an animal-related field, from animal care, animal welfare and vet nursing through to zookeeping, boarding, retail and customer service. Placements are arranged through your school’s careers adviser and run Monday to Friday.

How do I apply for school work experience with animals?

Placements are arranged through your school, not directly by students. Speak to your school’s careers adviser, who will contact Birdsville by phone on (02) 9669 1766 or by email at info@birdsville.net.au to organise your placement. Ask them to get in touch well ahead of time, as places depend on our availability.

What animals will I work with during my placement?

You’ll get hands-on experience with birds, reptiles, fish and small animals, reflecting the full range of species we specialise in. All tasks are supervised and matched to your confidence and skill level, so you don’t need any previous animal handling experience. You’ll learn how each animal is fed, housed and cared for.

What tasks will I do during work experience?

Expect a real mix of animal care and retail work, including cleaning enclosures, preparing food, observing animal behaviour, helping customers and general store duties. The placement gives you a realistic look at working in the animal industry. You’ll be doing the work yourself, not just watching from the sidelines.

Can I do work experience on weekends?

No. Our school work experience placements run Monday to Friday only, and we’re not able to offer weekend placements. Placement length is flexible and can be set to suit your school’s requirements. Your careers adviser should contact us early to confirm dates, as places depend on our availability at the time.

Can work experience lead to a job at Birdsville?

It can be a great first step. We prefer to hire from within when the right role is available, and students who work hard and show real interest stand out. Once you’re 16, you can also volunteer with us to keep building experience, which puts you in a strong position for a casual or part-time role.

Want to Stay Involved?

Finished your placement and keen to keep going? Students aged 16 and over can apply to volunteer with us (https://birdsville.net.au/animal-volunteer-sydney/), or visit our Careers page [careers link] to see our current casual and part-time roles.

Visit us at 684 Botany Road, Alexandria NSW 2015, on the corner of Gardeners Road, servicing the Eastern Suburbs and Inner South Sydney, or call (02) 9669 1766.