OSCA 541331

Payroll Officer

Overview

  • Employed persons

    20,200

  • Employment status

    64.3% Full time

    35.7% Part time

  • Median age

    45 years

  • Employment by sex

    87.5% Female

    12.5% Male

    Highly female dominated

  • Indigenous employment share

    1.6%

  • Main employing industry

    Health Care and Social Assistance

Indicator Payroll Officer Total employment
Employed persons 20,200 12,049,400
Median age 45 years 40 years
Full-time share 64.3% 64.2%
Part-time share 35.7% 35.8%
Female employment share 87.5% 48.5%
Male employment share 12.5% 51.5%
Gender segregation intensity scale Highly female dominated Gender balanced
Indigenous employment share 1.6% 2.2%
Main employing industry Health Care and Social Assistance Health Care and Social Assistance
Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

Occupation overview

Payroll Officers collect, organise and enter information into payroll systems to calculate pay and deductions of employees.

What the occupation involves

  • Creates and maintains employee records
  • Processes payments to employees, including pay adjustments
  • Prepares separation certificates or transfers
  • Interprets and applies legislation, awards and enterprise agreements
  • Maintains records relating to leave taken, overtime, promotions, transfers and other variations to wages or salaries and employment arrangements

Common occupation titles

  • Payroll Clerk

Specialisations

No specialisations are listed for this occupation.

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

No licensing or registration requirements are listed for this occupation.

OSCA structure

Clerical and Administrative Workers (5)

Employment

On this page

    Industries

    Top 10 most common industries, 2021

    Payroll Officer Total employment
    Industry Share of occupation Industry Share of occupation
    Health Care and Social Assistance 14.9% Health Care and Social Assistance 14.5%
    Public Administration and Safety 13.9% Retail Trade 9.1%
    Construction 9.7% Construction 8.9%
    Administrative and Support Services 8.1% Education and Training 8.8%
    Manufacturing 6.9% Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 7.8%
    Retail Trade 6.8% Public Administration and Safety 6.6%
    Education and Training 6.2% Accommodation and Food Services 6.5%
    Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 6.2% Manufacturing 5.9%
    Transport, Postal and Warehousing 4.6% Transport, Postal and Warehousing 4.5%
    Financial and Insurance Services 2.9% 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

      30.0%

    • Victoria

      25.0%

    • Queensland

      20.5%

    • South Australia

      8.1%

    • Tasmania

      2.2%

    • Northern Territory

      1.1%

    • Australian Capital Territory

      2.2%

    Payroll Officer Total employment
    State / Territory Employment Share of occupation Employment Share of occupation
    New South Wales 6,100 30.0% 3,684,200 30.6%
    Victoria 5,100 25.0% 3,162,900 26.2%
    Queensland 4,100 20.5% 2,444,100 20.3%
    South Australia 1,600 8.1% 839,400 7.0%
    Western Australia 2,200 10.8% 1,306,200 10.8%
    Tasmania 440 2.2% 254,700 2.1%
    Northern Territory 230 1.1% 107,000 0.9%
    Australian Capital Territory 440 2.2% 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

    Payroll Officer

    Total employment

    Age group Payroll Officer Total employment
    15–24 years 4.4% 14.3%
    25–34 years 19.1% 22.7%
    35–44 years 25.5% 22.3%
    45–54 years 25.7% 20.4%
    55–64 years 20.2% 15.3%
    65–74 years 4.9% 4.3%
    75 years and over 0.3% 0.6%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.
    Sex Payroll Officer Total employment
    Female 87.5% 48.5%
    Male 12.5% 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

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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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