Home Sterilisation Technician Resume template
Sterilisation Technician resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what sterilisation technicians actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most sterilisation technicians should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Sterilisation Technician with hands on experience reprocessing reusable surgical instruments in a hospital central sterilising department. Works to validated procedures and infection control standards across decontamination, inspection, assembly, sterilisation and load traceability. Reliable under high turnover pressure, with the documentation habits that let every tray be traced back to the patient.
Key skills
- Infection control and hygiene practice
- Instrument inspection, function testing and assembly to set lists
- Washer-disinfector operation and load configuration
- Steam autoclave operation and cycle monitoring
- Ultrasonic cleaning of fine and cannulated instruments
- Instrument tracking system use (T-DOC)
- Biological indicator incubation and reading
- Chemical and physical indicator interpretation
- Load documentation and instrument traceability
- Inventory management and stock rotation for instrument trays
- Regulatory compliance with AS 5369 and AS/NZS 4187
- Process improvement at the bench and in workflow
Experience: example bullet points
- Sorted and reprocessed used instrument sets returned from theatres and clinics, keeping the decontamination flow moving through the washer-disinfectors without hold ups at peak turnover.
- Inspected instruments for damage, residual soil and function before assembly, removing items that failed checks and tagging them for repair or replacement rather than returning them to circulation.
- Assembled, wrapped and sterilised instrument trays against set lists, checking contents and counts before each load went into the autoclave.
- Monitored sterilisation indicators and ran biological indicator tests, recording results so every load could be traced to the patient.
- Reduced turnaround on priority emergency trays from overnight to the same shift by reorganising the urgent queue at the decontamination bench.
- Trained new starters on the reprocessing workflow and load documentation, which cut the number of incomplete records picked up at audit.
Education
Certificate III in Sterilisation Services (HLT37015) is the common entry pathway, usually completed while working in a central sterilising department, with hospital competency sign off on the job. Some technicians build on it with a Certificate IV or a diploma in sterilisation or health services assistance.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- HLT37015 Certificate III in Sterilisation Services
- AS 5369
- AS/NZS 4187
- AS/NZS 4815
- central sterilising department (CSSD)
- sterile services
- infection control
- washer-disinfector
- steam autoclave
- ultrasonic cleaner
- T-DOC instrument tracking
- biological indicators
- chemical indicators
- load release
- instrument traceability
- thermal disinfection
- ACORN standards
- GENCA guidelines
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.