Queensland Member Regional Update | July 2025 New

Date: 29-Jul-2025

This update is a simple appeal to you to help promote an important project for our industry. You will have previously read about our successful application for a Queensland Government funded Irrigation Efficiency and Practical Skills Micro-credential.

The course content has been completed and delivered twice now with extremely positive feedback. It takes approximately 8 hours over two 4-hour blocks, facilitated online over Microsoft Teams by our senior trainer, Stuart Alexander. The content sits in our new Learner Management System, Ammonite. It is incredibly user friendly and has been appreciated by all, including plenty of people who describe themselves as “not keen” on computers.

“This course has extended my knowledge on the irrigation industry and given me new skills to use in the real world.”

“A great course for anyone looking to better understand the irrigation industry or widen their knowledge on irrigation.”

We made an application for the grant and developed all the content based on feedback from members. It includes some ambitious targets - we have to get 144 students over 12 deliveries. To date it’s been a little disappointing - we filled the first couple of courses, had a few dropouts last week, and don’t have strong enrolments yet for upcoming courses. Some cancellations are inevitable but it also means losing an opportunity for someone else who might be interested, so we will be tightening up our payment policies etc. very soon if the trend continues.

It is heavily subsidised, costing just $110 including GST per student and is an amazing opportunity for newer staff to obtain quality training without having to leave work. There was a bit of earlier confusion around eligibility - to be clear we can’t offer it to state government departments or agencies, but local councils are eligible.

We need your help to get to those targets! The Micro-credential program is unique to Queensland and our aim is to deliver a great result for this one and then keep applying for new subsidised courses annually. We will put the call out for ideas later in the year, but you are welcome to reach out in the meantime with suggestions for topics which are suitable for this format.

For simplicity, click here to go directly to the registration page where you’ll see a table with all of the dates.
Below is the course content in some detail to help you decide who might be best suited for it.
Finally, if you are only limited to a particular date and you find the course has reached maximum numbers when you try to book, please email training@irrigation.org.au and we’ll put you on a standby list in case of cancellations.

1. Irrigation Systems & Equipment

Water sources and usage
Irrigation systems
Learn irrigation terms
Download irrigation terms
Irrigation system components
Basic irrigation installation
Irrigation safety
Legislation

2. Design

Sprinkler spacing and layout
Precipitation rate
Sprinkler layout
Sprinkler efficiency
Evaporation
Sprinkler system design
Sprinkler layout - pipe sizing

3. Practical Task 1

The “bucket test” to determine flow rates
Measure and record

4. Soils

Soil and plant basics
Soil structure and texture
Effect of dispersible soils under irrigation
Evapotranspiration, field capacity, infiltration rate, readily available water, holding capacity

5. Practical Task 2