OSCA 261136

School Counsellor

Overview

  • Employed persons

    4,100

  • Employment status

    53.4% Full time

    46.5% Part time

  • Median age

    42 years

  • Employment by sex

    79.7% Female

    20.3% Male

    Highly female dominated

  • Indigenous employment share

    4.6%

  • Main employing industry

    Education and Training

Indicator School Counsellor Total employment
Employed persons 4,100 12,049,400
Median age 42 years 40 years
Full-time share 53.4% 64.2%
Part-time share 46.5% 35.8%
Female employment share 79.7% 48.5%
Male employment share 20.3% 51.5%
Gender segregation intensity scale Highly female dominated Gender balanced
Indigenous employment share 4.6% 2.2%
Main employing industry Education and Training Health Care and Social Assistance
Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

Occupation overview

School Counsellors provide information and assistance to students, parents and teachers about a wide range of matters, such as students' personal problems, learning difficulties and special requirements.

What the occupation involves

  • Conducts individual and group counselling sessions with students to address academic, emotional and social concerns to enhance student wellbeing, and create a supportive and nurturing learning environment
  • Develops and implements counselling and educational programs to promote students' mental health, resilience and wellbeing
  • Collaborates with teachers and parents to identify and address issues that may impact students' wellbeing
  • Analyses student behaviour, especially those with learning difficulties, and assists parents and teachers in managing their needs

Common occupation titles

  • Student Wellbeing Officer

Specialisations

No specialisations are listed for this occupation.

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

    School Counsellor Total employment
    Industry Share of occupation Industry Share of occupation
    Education and Training 81.0% Health Care and Social Assistance 14.5%
    Health Care and Social Assistance 10.7% Retail Trade 9.1%
    Other Services 1.5% Construction 8.9%
    Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 1.3% Education and Training 8.8%
    Public Administration and Safety 1.2% Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 7.8%
    Administrative and Support Services 1.1% Public Administration and Safety 6.6%
    Accommodation and Food Services 0.8% Accommodation and Food Services 6.5%
    Arts and Recreation Services 0.7% Manufacturing 5.9%
    Financial and Insurance Services 0.2% Transport, Postal and Warehousing 4.5%
    Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services <0.1% 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

      31.0%

    • Victoria

      29.0%

    • Queensland

      17.7%

    • South Australia

      10.4%

    • Tasmania

      2.0%

    • Northern Territory

      2.1%

    • Australian Capital Territory

      1.6%

    School Counsellor Total employment
    State / Territory Employment Share of occupation Employment Share of occupation
    New South Wales 1,300 31.0% 3,684,200 30.6%
    Victoria 1,200 29.0% 3,162,900 26.2%
    Queensland 730 17.7% 2,444,100 20.3%
    South Australia 430 10.4% 839,400 7.0%
    Western Australia 250 6.0% 1,306,200 10.8%
    Tasmania 80 2.0% 254,700 2.1%
    Northern Territory 90 2.1% 107,000 0.9%
    Australian Capital Territory 70 1.6% 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

    School Counsellor

    Total employment

    Age group School Counsellor Total employment
    15–24 years 7.6% 14.3%
    25–34 years 24.6% 22.7%
    35–44 years 25.1% 22.3%
    45–54 years 22.9% 20.4%
    55–64 years 13.8% 15.3%
    65–74 years 5.5% 4.3%
    75 years and over 0.6% 0.6%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.
    Sex School Counsellor Total employment
    Female 79.7% 48.5%
    Male 20.3% 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

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      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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