OSCA 221231

Communications Officer (Public Relations)

Overview

  • Employed persons

    22,900

  • Employment status

    73.5% Full time

    26.5% Part time

  • Median age

    36 years

  • Employment by sex

    73.9% Female

    26.1% Male

    Moderately female dominated

  • Indigenous employment share

    1.3%

  • Main employing industry

    Public Administration and Safety

Indicator Communications Officer (Public Relations) Total employment
Employed persons 22,900 12,049,400
Median age 36 years 40 years
Full-time share 73.5% 64.2%
Part-time share 26.5% 35.8%
Female employment share 73.9% 48.5%
Male employment share 26.1% 51.5%
Gender segregation intensity scale Moderately female dominated Gender balanced
Indigenous employment share 1.3% 2.2%
Main employing industry Public Administration and Safety Health Care and Social Assistance
Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

Occupation overview

Communications Officers (Public Relations) plan, develop, implement and evaluate information and communication strategies that create an understanding and a favourable view of an organisation, its goods and services, and its role in the community.

What the occupation involves

  • Plans and organises publicity campaigns and communication strategies
  • Advises executives on the public relations implications of their policies, programs and practices
  • Prepares and controls the issue of news and press releases
  • Undertakes and commissions public opinion research, analyses the findings, and plans public relations and promotional campaigns
  • Organises special events, seminars, entertainment, competitions and social functions to promote goodwill and favourable publicity
  • Represents organisations and arranges executive interviews with publicity media
  • Attends business, social and other functions to promote the organisation
  • Commissions and obtains photographs and other illustrative material
  • Selects, appraises and revises material submitted by publicity writers, photographers, illustrators and others to create favourable publicity

Common occupation titles

  • Public Relations Professional

Specialisations

  • Media Adviser
  • Promotions Coordinator
  • Public Affairs Officer
  • Public Relations Consultant
  • Public Relations Officer
  • Social Media Specialist (Public Relations)

Note: Specialisations are examples of roles in within this occupation and are not separate OSCA occupations.

Skill level (education and experience level)

Skill level 1
equivalent to a university level qualification (Bachelor degree or higher).

Note: While skill levels are described using formal education levels, some people use a combination of informal learning, on-the-job training and personal experience to achieve an equivalent level.

Licensing or registration requirements

No licensing or registration requirements are listed for this occupation.

OSCA structure

Professionals (2)

Employment

On this page

    Industries

    Top 10 most common industries, 2021

    Communications Officer (Public Relations) Total employment
    Industry Share of occupation Industry Share of occupation
    Public Administration and Safety 26.3% Health Care and Social Assistance 14.5%
    Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 18.7% Retail Trade 9.1%
    Education and Training 9.4% Construction 8.9%
    Health Care and Social Assistance 8.6% Education and Training 8.8%
    Information Media and Telecommunications 4.9% Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 7.8%
    Other Services 4.8% Public Administration and Safety 6.6%
    Financial and Insurance Services 3.9% Accommodation and Food Services 6.5%
    Arts and Recreation Services 3.8% Manufacturing 5.9%
    Retail Trade 3.7% Transport, Postal and Warehousing 4.5%
    Transport, Postal and Warehousing 2.1% Financial and Insurance Services 3.7%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    States and territories

    Employment distribution by states and territories, 2021

    • New South Wales

      32.6%

    • Victoria

      28.1%

    • Queensland

      16.4%

    • South Australia

      5.4%

    • Tasmania

      1.8%

    • Northern Territory

      0.8%

    • Australian Capital Territory

      6.4%

    Communications Officer (Public Relations) Total employment
    State / Territory Employment Share of occupation Employment Share of occupation
    New South Wales 7,500 32.6% 3,684,200 30.6%
    Victoria 6,400 28.1% 3,162,900 26.2%
    Queensland 3,700 16.4% 2,444,100 20.3%
    South Australia 1,200 5.4% 839,400 7.0%
    Western Australia 1,900 8.5% 1,306,200 10.8%
    Tasmania 410 1.8% 254,700 2.1%
    Northern Territory 190 0.8% 107,000 0.9%
    Australian Capital Territory 1,500 6.4% 248,600 2.1%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    Age and sex

    Employment distibution by age group and sex, 2021

    Communications Officer (Public Relations)

    Total employment

    Age group Communications Officer (Public Relations) Total employment
    15–24 years 10.4% 14.3%
    25–34 years 35.8% 22.7%
    35–44 years 26.8% 22.3%
    45–54 years 17.5% 20.4%
    55–64 years 7.7% 15.3%
    65–74 years 1.6% 4.3%
    75 years and over 0.2% 0.6%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.
    Sex Communications Officer (Public Relations) Total employment
    Female 73.9% 48.5%
    Male 26.1% 51.5%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    On this page

      OSCA occupation profiles data

      This file contains data available from the OSCA Occupation Profile page.

      Use of this data must include the relevant attribution text provided.

      OSCA Occupation data - 2021 Census.xlsx

      xlsx 1236447

      Download

      Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA)

      Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA) is the skill-based classification used to categorise occupations across the Australian labour market. OSCA is used to define occupations across all official occupational statistics. OSCA replaces the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).

      Each job is classified to one, and only one, group of jobs at each level of the classification with no overlaps. This prevents the accidental double-counting of roles within the Australian labour market. For more information about OSCA, visit the What is OSCA information page, or the ABS website.

      Find out more

      What is OSCA   OSCA content updates