OSCA 411732

Youth Justice Worker

Overview

  • Employed persons

    3,700

  • Employment status

    67.4% Full time

    32.8% Part time

  • Median age

    35 years

  • Employment by sex

    61.1% Female

    39.0% Male

    Moderately female dominated

  • Indigenous employment share

    9.2%

  • Main employing industry

    Public Administration and Safety

Indicator Youth Justice Worker Total employment
Employed persons 3,700 12,049,400
Median age 35 years 40 years
Full-time share 67.4% 64.2%
Part-time share 32.8% 35.8%
Female employment share 61.1% 48.5%
Male employment share 39.0% 51.5%
Gender segregation intensity scale Moderately female dominated Gender balanced
Indigenous employment share 9.2% 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

Youth Justice Workers support young people in a correctional settings to improve their education and work skills, maintain family links, and assist them with integration into the community.

What the occupation involves

  • Assists with the implementation of education, rehabilitation and other programs to enable reintegration into the community
  • Engages individuals in education and recreational activities through active participation, encouragement and mentoring
  • Develops age-appropriate living and domestic skills, and helps establish healthy personal hygiene routines
  • Engages with young people, conducts risk assessments, undertakes searches and monitors behaviours
  • Helps develop positive family relationships, supports young people to be involved in their communities, and engages with employment services
  • Understands the youth justice system, relevant legislation, processes and procedures, and establishes and maintains positive and productive working arrangements with a range of stakeholders
  • Supervises detainees in transit between courts, prisons and other facilities

Common occupation titles

  • Youth Correctional Officer
  • Youth Custodial Officer
  • Youth Justice Officer

Specialisations

  • Youth Detention Worker

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

Skill level (education and experience level)

Skill level 2
equivalent to a Diploma or Advanced Diploma level qualification.

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

    Youth Justice Worker Total employment
    Industry Share of occupation Industry Share of occupation
    Public Administration and Safety 41.6% Health Care and Social Assistance 14.5%
    Health Care and Social Assistance 41.3% Retail Trade 9.1%
    Education and Training 7.1% Construction 8.9%
    Other Services 4.2% Education and Training 8.8%
    Administrative and Support Services 2.7% Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 7.8%
    Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 0.8% Public Administration and Safety 6.6%
    Arts and Recreation Services 0.5% Accommodation and Food Services 6.5%
    Accommodation and Food Services 0.2% Manufacturing 5.9%
    Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services <0.1% Transport, Postal and Warehousing 4.5%
    Transport, Postal and Warehousing <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

      21.7%

    • Victoria

      28.3%

    • Queensland

      22.0%

    • South Australia

      9.8%

    • Tasmania

      2.1%

    • Northern Territory

      4.9%

    • Australian Capital Territory

      1.0%

    Youth Justice Worker Total employment
    State / Territory Employment Share of occupation Employment Share of occupation
    New South Wales 800 21.7% 3,684,200 30.6%
    Victoria 1,000 28.3% 3,162,900 26.2%
    Queensland 810 22.0% 2,444,100 20.3%
    South Australia 360 9.8% 839,400 7.0%
    Western Australia 380 10.4% 1,306,200 10.8%
    Tasmania 80 2.1% 254,700 2.1%
    Northern Territory 180 4.9% 107,000 0.9%
    Australian Capital Territory 40 1.0% 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

    Youth Justice Worker

    Total employment

    Age group Youth Justice Worker Total employment
    15–24 years 12.5% 14.3%
    25–34 years 34.8% 22.7%
    35–44 years 24.3% 22.3%
    45–54 years 16.6% 20.4%
    55–64 years 9.9% 15.3%
    65–74 years 1.6% 4.3%
    75 years and over 0.1% 0.6%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.
    Sex Youth Justice Worker Total employment
    Female 61.1% 48.5%
    Male 39.0% 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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