OSCA 461231

Body Artist

Overview

  • Employed persons

    3,700

  • Employment status

    48.9% Full time

    51.2% Part time

  • Median age

    31 years

  • Employment by sex

    49.5% Female

    50.4% Male

    Gender balanced

  • Indigenous employment share

    2.6%

  • Main employing industry

    Other Services

Indicator Body Artist Total employment
Employed persons 3,700 12,049,400
Median age 31 years 40 years
Full-time share 48.9% 64.2%
Part-time share 51.2% 35.8%
Female employment share 49.5% 48.5%
Male employment share 50.4% 51.5%
Gender segregation intensity scale Gender balanced Gender balanced
Indigenous employment share 2.6% 2.2%
Main employing industry Other Services Health Care and Social Assistance
Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

Occupation overview

Body Artists decorate, adorn or modify the human body permanently or temporarily using a range of techniques such as tattooing, piercing and skin modification.

What the occupation involves

  • Consults with clients to determine their desired body art design
  • Prepares clients' skin for the chosen body art technique
  • Applies permanent tattoos by inserting ink under layers of skin
  • Paints or dyes skin to create temporary body art designs
  • Pierces skin to implant jewellery and other biocompatible materials
  • Modifies the shape of the skin through cutting, branding, manipulating, stretching and scarring techniques
  • Uses scalpel, heat and restraining techniques to create patterns in the skin

Common occupation titles

No alternative occupation titles are listed for this occupation.

Specialisations

  • Body Piercer
  • Tattooist

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

Skill level (education and experience level)

Skill level 4
equivalent to a lower‑level Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification (Certificate II or III).

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

Registration or licensing may be required.

OSCA structure

Employment

On this page

    Industries

    Top 10 most common industries, 2021

    Body Artist Total employment
    Industry Share of occupation Industry Share of occupation
    Other Services 90.6% Health Care and Social Assistance 14.5%
    Retail Trade 4.0% Retail Trade 9.1%
    Arts and Recreation Services 2.4% Construction 8.9%
    Health Care and Social Assistance 0.4% Education and Training 8.8%
    Accommodation and Food Services 0.3% Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 7.8%
    Construction 0.1% Public Administration and Safety 6.6%
    Administrative and Support Services 0.0% Accommodation and Food Services 6.5%
    Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 0.0% Manufacturing 5.9%
    Education and Training 0.0% Transport, Postal and Warehousing 4.5%
    Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services 0.0% 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

      19.9%

    • Victoria

      26.3%

    • Queensland

      28.5%

    • South Australia

      9.0%

    • Tasmania

      2.2%

    • Northern Territory

      0.4%

    • Australian Capital Territory

      1.3%

    Body Artist Total employment
    State / Territory Employment Share of occupation Employment Share of occupation
    New South Wales 730 19.9% 3,684,200 30.6%
    Victoria 970 26.3% 3,162,900 26.2%
    Queensland 1,100 28.5% 2,444,100 20.3%
    South Australia 330 9.0% 839,400 7.0%
    Western Australia 440 11.9% 1,306,200 10.8%
    Tasmania 80 2.2% 254,700 2.1%
    Northern Territory 20 0.4% 107,000 0.9%
    Australian Capital Territory 50 1.3% 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

    Body Artist

    Total employment

    Age group Body Artist Total employment
    15–24 years 15.7% 14.3%
    25–34 years 47.1% 22.7%
    35–44 years 24.5% 22.3%
    45–54 years 8.7% 20.4%
    55–64 years 3.1% 15.3%
    65–74 years 0.8% 4.3%
    75 years and over 0.0% 0.6%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.
    Sex Body Artist Total employment
    Female 49.5% 48.5%
    Male 50.4% 51.5%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

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      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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