CQU Bachelor of Business graduate Mark Shield is Australia's only referee at the FIFA World Cup, and the youngest of the 23 referees chosen for the largest event on the planet.

He officiated in the Group H 2-all draw between Tunisia and Saudia Arabia on June 15 in Munich.

Once based at CQU Rockhampton in the early 1990s, Mr Shield is now 32-years-old and the FIFA website lists his occupation as a company director in Brisbane.

He was also the youngest referee at the FIFA World Cup in Japan-Korea iin 2002, where he officiated in a match between Belgium and Tunisia.

Mr Shield has been an international referee since 1997 (New Zealand versus Norway) and officiates regularly for Australia's national competition. He has refereed more than 40 international matches.

Mr Shield's first appointment to the national referees list was while a student at CQU (his first fitness test was conducted on the CQU oval).

His father is a graduate in Engineering from CQU's predecessor institution - Capricornia Institute of Advance Education.