ANZSCO has been superseded and is no longer updated. Replacement OSCA content is now available and will expand as new data is released. Explore OSCA.

ANZSCO 272112

Drug and Alcohol Counsellors

Overview

Employed

2,500

Part-time share

42%

Female share

66%

Median weekly earnings

N/A

Median age

Annual employment growth

N/A

Summary

Drug and Alcohol Counsellors provide support and treatment for people with drug and alcohol dependency problems, develop strategies which assist them to set goals and affect and maintain change, and provide community education. They may work in call centres.

Tasks

Assesses client needs in relation to treatment for drug and alcohol abuse
Conducts counselling interviews with individuals, couples and family groups
Assists people in the understanding and adjustment of attitudes, expectations and behaviour
Presents alternative approaches and discusses potential for attitude and behavioural change
Consults with clients to develop rehabilitation plans taking account of vocational and social needs
May work in a call centre

ANZSCO Classification

Counsellors (2721)

Details

Hours worked

Important note: These data (on an ANZSCO basis) will not be updated again. The ANZSCO‑based occupation pages and download file will remain available but will no longer receive updates.
JSA will release new OSCA‑based occupation profiles in mid‑2026.

Source: ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.
Note: those who were classified as "Employed, away from work" at the time of the 2021 Census (accounting for approx. 8% of total employment), have been excluded from the "Average full-time hours worked per week" denominator.
Hours worked	Drug and Alcohol Counsellors	All Occupations
Share of workers who work full-time hours	58%	64%
Average full-time hours worked per week	39 hours	44 hours

Industries

Drug and Alcohol Counsellors work in industries like:

Important note: These data (on an ANZSCO basis) will not be updated again. The ANZSCO‑based occupation pages and download file will remain available but will no longer receive updates.
JSA will release new OSCA‑based occupation profiles in mid‑2026.

Source: ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.
Note: industries that comprise less than 5% of an occupation have been suppressed.

States and territories

New South Wales

22.2%

Victoria

34.1%

Queensland

16.0%

South Australia

5.4%

Western Australia

14.1%

Tasmania

2.8%

Northern Territory

3.1%

Australian Capital Territory

2.4%

Age and gender

Age and Gender Profile

Important note: These data (on an ANZSCO basis) will not be updated again. The ANZSCO‑based occupation pages and download file will remain available but will no longer receive updates.
JSA will release new OSCA‑based occupation profiles in mid‑2026.

Source: ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.
Age and Gender	Drug and Alcohol Counsellors	All Occupations
Median age	45 years	40 years
Female share of employment	66%	49%

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Occupation profiles data

This file contains data displayed on the Occupation Profile pages.

Use of data in this file must include the relevant attribution text provided.

ANZSCO Occupation data - February 2026.xlsx

ANZSCO Occupation data - February 2026.xlsx942146

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Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations

Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) is the skill-based classification system used to categorise occupations in the Australian and New Zealand labour markets. ANZSCO provides a basis for the standardised collection, analysis and dissemination of occupation data. Visit the ABS website to learn how ANZSCO works. Jobs and Skills Australia displays data for occupations that are defined by ANZSCO 2013 Version 1.3.

Occupation data

Important note

These data (on an ANZSCO basis) will not be updated again. The ANZSCO‑based occupation pages and download file will remain available but will no longer receive updates.

The ABS has temporarily suspend publishing Labour Force Survey occupation data while they make changes to the way they conduct the survey.

When they recommence publishing occupation data it will be based on the new Occupation Standard Classification of Australia (OSCA) basis.

JSA will release new OSCA‑based occupation profiles in mid‑2026. For more detail on this modernisation program see ABS LFS modernisation:
https://www.abs.gov.au/about/key-priorities/data-acquisition-modernisation-program/modernising-labour-force-survey

Employed

This is the number of people employed in an occupation as their main job.

Sources:

ANZSCO 4-digit occupations: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, February 2026, Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) trend data.
ANZSCO 6-digit occupations: ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.
Data for Senior Non-Commissioned Defence Force Officers (1392) and Defence Force Members - Other Ranks (4411): ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.

Please note ANZSCO 6-digit figures do not sum to match the total for their 4-digit parent as the figures come from different sources.

Part–time share

This is the proportion of people employed in an occupation who work part-time (those who usually work less than 35 hours a week) in all their jobs combined.

Sources:

ANZSCO 4–digit occupations: ABS, Labour Force Survey, 2025, four-quarter average data, customised report.
ANZSCO 6-digit occupations: ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence. Note: those who were classified as 'Employed, away from work' at the time of the 2021 Census (accounting for approx. 8% of total employment), have been excluded from the denominator.
Data for Senior Non-Commissioned Defence Force Officers (1392) and Defence Force Members - Other Ranks (4411): ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.

Please note data for some ANZSCO 4-digit occupations has been suppressed due to inherent volatility associated with small Labour Force Survey estimates.

Please note data for ANZSCO 6-digit occupations with less than 50 people employed have been suppressed to protect confidentiality and prevent identification of individuals.

Female share

This is the proportion of people employed in an occupation who are female.

Sources:

ANZSCO 4–digit occupations: ABS, Labour Force Survey, 2025, four-quarter average data, customised report.
ANZSCO 6-digit occupations: ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.
Data for Senior Non-Commissioned Defence Force Officers (1392) and Defence Force Members - Other Ranks (4411): ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.

Please note data for some ANZSCO 4-digit occupations has been suppressed due to inherent volatility associated with small Labour Force Survey estimates.

Please note data for ANZSCO 6-digit occupations with less than 50 people employed have been suppressed to protect confidentiality and prevent identification of individuals.

Median weekly earnings

Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

This is the median pay for full–time non–managerial employees paid at the adult rate before tax and salary sacrificed amounts. The full–time non–managerial employees paid at the adult rate population has been used because it excludes people paid unusually high or low amounts (for example managers, part–time employees and youths). This allows for more accurate comparison between occupations. These figures are a guide only and should not be used to determine a wage rate as they do not take into account years of experience or other factors may influence a person’s wage.

Please note median weekly earnings figures are not produced for the following occupations:

ANZSCO 6–digit occupations.
Senior Non-Commissioned Defence Force Officers (1392) and Defence Force Members - Other Ranks (4411).
ANZSCO 4–digit occupations where there is a relative standard error of 25% or higher.

Median age

This is the median age of all workers in an occupation.

Sources:

ANZSCO 4–digit occupations: ABS, Labour Force Survey, 2025, four-quarter average data, customised report.
ANZSCO 6-digit occupations: ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.
Data for Senior Non-Commissioned Defence Force Officers (1392) and Defence Force Members - Other Ranks (4411): ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.

Please note data for ANZSCO 6-digit occupations with less than 50 people employed have been suppressed to protect confidentiality and prevent identification of individuals.

Annual employment growth

This is the change in total employment over the past year.

Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, February 2026, Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) trend data.

Please note annual employment growth figures are not produced for the following occupations:

ANZSCO 6–digit occupations.
Senior Non-Commissioned Defence Force Officers (1392) and Defence Force Members - Other Ranks (4411).

Why aren’t OSCA data being used?

As our occupation profiles are based on the ABS Labour Force Survey and Census data, we are reliant on the ABS releasing these coded to OSCA. It is our understanding that ABS will commence using the OSCA classification for Labour Force Survey data in 2026.

Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA)

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Drug and Alcohol Counsellors

Overview

Summary

Tasks

ANZSCO Classification

Details

On this page

Hours worked

Industries

States and territories

Age and gender

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Data Error

Education

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Data Error

On this page

Occupation profiles data

Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations

Occupation data

Important note

Employed

Part–time share

Female share

Median weekly earnings

Median age

Annual employment growth

Why aren’t OSCA data being used?