Nursery Worker Job Description – Duties, Skills & Work Environment
Nursery Workers assist in the propagation, cultivation, maintenance and sale of plants in nurseries, garden centres, greenhouses, and horticulture facilities. Duties include potting seedlings, watering and fertilising plants, monitoring for pests and diseases, preparing orders, providing customer service, loading stock, maintaining equipment, and performing general nursery upkeep. The role requires physical outdoor work, horticultural knowledge, basic tools, protective equipment, and ongoing training in plant care and nursery operations.
Typical Tax Deductions Include:
- Professional memberships – Horticulture, nursery and garden industry associations
- Training, CPD & courses – Plant care, pest identification, propagation and horticulture studies
- Laptop/desktop (> $300 depreciated) – Used for ordering, training and stock management (must depreciate and apportion private use)
- Small tools – Secateurs, pruning tools, gloves and trowels if not supplied by the employer
- Reference materials – Plant guides, horticulture manuals and pest/disease identification books
- Software – Stock management applications and horticulture resources (work-use portion only)
- Home-office running expenses (approved method) – Administration, study or training completed from home
- Work-related travel – Travel between nursery sites, training venues and for picking up stock (non-reimbursed travel only)
- Stationery & planning materials – Notebooks, plant logs and stock sheets
- Professional insurance – Public liability insurance (contractors only)
- Marketing & website costs – For contractors selling horticultural services
- Tax agent & bookkeeping fees – Deductible
Non-Deductible Expenses Include:
- Outdoor clothing or boots worn for nursery work – Considered private
- Tools or PPE provided by the employer – Not deductible
- Plants or gardening supplies purchased for personal use – Private
- Home-office occupancy costs – Rent, mortgage interest and council rates are not deductible unless strict eligibility rules are met
- Travel: home ↔ regular nursery workplace – Private
- General gardening courses not directly linked to employment duties – Not deductible
- Equipment used partly for personal gardening – Must apportion or exclude private use
- 100% claims for laptop, phone or internet – Must apportion private use
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