OSCA 231231

Author

Overview

  • Employed persons

    4,200

  • Employment status

    47.0% Full time

    52.9% Part time

  • Median age

    48 years

  • Employment by sex

    63.4% Female

    36.5% Male

    Moderately female dominated

  • Indigenous employment share

    1.5%

  • Main employing industry

    Arts and Recreation Services

Indicator Author Total employment
Employed persons 4,200 12,049,400
Median age 48 years 40 years
Full-time share 47.0% 64.2%
Part-time share 52.9% 35.8%
Female employment share 63.4% 48.5%
Male employment share 36.5% 51.5%
Gender segregation intensity scale Moderately female dominated Gender balanced
Indigenous employment share 1.5% 2.2%
Main employing industry Arts and Recreation Services Health Care and Social Assistance
Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

Occupation overview

Authors produce literary or other written work for publication or performance.

What the occupation involves

  • Writes clear, engaging and concise content that communicates messages effectively
  • Conducts research on the subject matter, including reading books, articles and other resources, conducting interviews, and gathering data
  • Develops ideas and concepts for written work
  • Writes for different formats including print, digital and multimedia
  • Collaborates with other writers, editors, designers and publishers
  • Promotes their work and finds new clients or readers using social media or by networking with other writers and industry professionals

Common occupation titles

No alternative occupation titles are listed for this occupation.

Specialisations

  • Novelist
  • Playwright
  • Poet
  • Screenwriter
  • Script Writer

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

Employment

On this page

    Industries

    Top 10 most common industries, 2021

    Author Total employment
    Industry Share of occupation Industry Share of occupation
    Arts and Recreation Services 50.6% Health Care and Social Assistance 14.5%
    Information Media and Telecommunications 21.8% Retail Trade 9.1%
    Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 7.1% Construction 8.9%
    Education and Training 6.9% Education and Training 8.8%
    Public Administration and Safety 1.8% Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 7.8%
    Financial and Insurance Services 1.7% Public Administration and Safety 6.6%
    Health Care and Social Assistance 1.3% Accommodation and Food Services 6.5%
    Retail Trade 0.9% Manufacturing 5.9%
    Administrative and Support Services 0.8% Transport, Postal and Warehousing 4.5%
    Other Services 0.8% 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

      35.6%

    • Victoria

      30.3%

    • Queensland

      15.4%

    • South Australia

      5.5%

    • Tasmania

      2.7%

    • Northern Territory

      0.4%

    • Australian Capital Territory

      2.8%

    Author Total employment
    State / Territory Employment Share of occupation Employment Share of occupation
    New South Wales 1,500 35.6% 3,684,200 30.6%
    Victoria 1,300 30.3% 3,162,900 26.2%
    Queensland 650 15.4% 2,444,100 20.3%
    South Australia 230 5.5% 839,400 7.0%
    Western Australia 310 7.4% 1,306,200 10.8%
    Tasmania 110 2.7% 254,700 2.1%
    Northern Territory 20 0.4% 107,000 0.9%
    Australian Capital Territory 120 2.8% 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

    Author

    Total employment

    Age group Author Total employment
    15–24 years 3.6% 14.3%
    25–34 years 15.2% 22.7%
    35–44 years 23.3% 22.3%
    45–54 years 22.3% 20.4%
    55–64 years 19.3% 15.3%
    65–74 years 11.8% 4.3%
    75 years and over 4.6% 0.6%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.
    Sex Author Total employment
    Female 63.4% 48.5%
    Male 36.5% 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.

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