Audiologists and Speech Pathologists

ANZSCO ID 2527

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
17,700
Future Growth
34.7%
Weekly Earnings
$1,654
Full-Time Share
57%
Female Share
93%
Average age
35

Summary

Audiologists and Speech Pathologists provide diagnostic assessment, treatment, rehabilitative services and management of human hearing defects, and communication and swallowing impairments.

Tasks

  • administering and interpreting a wide range of audiometric tests to determine hearing efficiency and locate sites of detected hearing problems

  • interpreting audiometric test results alongside other medical, social and behavioural diagnostic data

  • evaluating total response pattern and acoustic tests to distinguish between organic and non-organic hearing loss

  • planning, directing and participating in counselling, speech reading and other rehabilitation programs

  • prescribing appropriate hearing aids and instructing patients in use

  • administering tests and observing patients to determine nature and extent of disorders

  • planning and conducting programs of remedial exercise to correct disorders such as stuttering and abnormal articulation

  • administering individual and group therapy for rehabilitation of patients with communication problems caused by defective hearing, cerebral palsy, surgery and injury

  • advising on treatment for children with difficulties in learning to speak

  • counselling and guiding language-handicapped individuals, their families, teachers and employers

Characteristics

Job Type
Professionals
Skill Level
Very high skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
Unemployment Rate
Below average
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • University
Interests
  • Analytical
  • Creative
  • Helping
Physical Demand
  • Sedentary
  • Light

Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. The latest data are for the five years from November 2021 to November 2026. Over this period, the number of workers:

  • is expected to grow very strongly
  • is likely to reach 16,600 by 2026.
  • Source: Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.

    Notes: The number employed includes people who work in this occupation as their main job. People who work in more than one job are counted against the occupation they work the most hours in.

    Employment projections figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Calculations based on these rounded figures may result in differences to the numbers that are displayed on this page. Employment projections data (including occupations) can be downloaded from the Employment Projections page.

Projected Change
34.7%
(or 4,300 jobs)
From
12,300
in 2021
To
16,600
in 2026

Number of Workers

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2021 and Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.
Year Employment
2011 7,300
2012 8,500
2013 9,600
2014 6,000
2015 11,800
2016 8,700
2017 8,700
2018 11,400
2019 7,800
2020 14,100
2021 12,300
2026 16,600

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2021 and Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 57% of people employed as Audiologists and Speech Pathologists work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 9 percentage points below the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 41 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    More than a third of workers regularly work overtime or extra hours (either paid or unpaid).

    Median full-time earnings are $1,654 per week, this is higher than the all jobs median ($1,593):

    • 3 in 4 workers earn more than $1,346
    • 1 in 4 earn more than $1,720

    Median hourly earnings are $44, this is more than the all jobs median ($41 per hour).

    Sources: Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average. Overtime hours: ABS, Characteristics of Employment, 2021. Full-time median earnings and median hourly earnings: ABS, Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021. Compared to all jobs median.

Weekly Earnings (Before Tax)

Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Earnings Audiologists and Speech Pathologists All Jobs Average
Full-Time Earnings 1,654 1,593
Total Earnings 0 0

Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.


Industries

Main industries

1
Health Care and Social Assistance
93.4%
2
Education and Training
6.0%
3
Public Administration and Safety
1.3%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

29.6% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

27.2% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

20.5% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

7.9% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

10.7% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

2.1% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.6% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

1.4% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Audiologists and Speech Pathologists All Jobs Average
NSW 29.6 31.6
VIC 27.2 25.6
QLD 20.5 20.0
SA 7.9 7.0
WA 10.7 10.8
TAS 2.1 2.0
NT 0.6 1.0
ACT 1.4 1.9


  • Around 66% of Audiologists and Speech Pathologists live in capital cities, compared with the all jobs average of 62%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian states, territories and regions, in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
35
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
93%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Audiologists and Speech Pathologists is 35 years. This is younger than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 25 to 34 years.

    Females make up 93% of the workforce. This is 45 percentage points above the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Audiologists and Speech Pathologists All Jobs Average
15-19 0.1 5.0
20-24 9.6 9.3
25-34 40.3 22.9
35-44 26.2 22.0
45-54 14.9 21.6
55-59 5.0 9.0
60-64 2.7 6.0
65 and Over 1.3 4.2
Median Age 35 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

A masters degree in audiology is needed to work as an Audiologist. A bachelor or masters degree in speech-language pathology is needed to work as a Speech Pathologist.

Registration with Audiology Australia or Speech Pathology Australia is required.

Visit

  • Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
  • ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Audiologists and Speech Pathologists All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 39.5 10.1
Bachelor degree 58.9 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 0.7 11.6
Certificate III/IV 0.1 21.1
Year 12 0.8 18.1
Year 11 0.0 4.8
Year 10 and below 0.0 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.


Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Audiologists and Speech Pathologists who are caring and empathetic and can work well in a team, with the ability to communicate with a diverse range of people.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 64%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 61%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 61%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 59%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 59%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 59%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 57%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 57%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 57%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 55%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 54%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 54%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 52%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 52%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 50%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 50%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 48%

    Systems analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.

  • 43%

    Operations analysis

    Understanding needs and product requirements to create a design.

  • 43%

    Science

    Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

  • 41%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 81%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 71%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 68%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 66%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 66%

    Therapy and counselling

    Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.

  • 53%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 53%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 47%

    Sociology and anthropology

    Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

  • 44%

    Medicine and dentistry

    Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.

  • 44%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 40%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 37%

    Foreign language

    Foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

  • 37%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 32%

    Philosophy and theology

    Philosophical systems and religions, including their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and impact on society.

  • 27%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 25%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 24%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 22%

    Biology

    Plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, how they rely on and work with each other and the environment.

  • 18%

    History and archeology

    Events of the past, their causes, how we learn about them, and how they influence the way we live today.

  • 14%

    Engineering and technology

    Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 79%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 70%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 68%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 64%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 64%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 63%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 61%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 61%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 57%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 57%

    Originality

    Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.

  • 55%

    Brainstorming

    Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.

  • 55%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 55%

    Hearing sensitivity

    Tell the difference between sounds.

  • 54%

    Flexibility of closure

    See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.

  • 52%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 52%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 45%

    Auditory attention

    Pay attention to a certain sound when there are other distracting sounds.

  • 45%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 43%

    Perceptual speed

    Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • 41%

    Far vision

    See details that are far away.


Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 74%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 71%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 67%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 66%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 65%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 64%

    Training and teaching others

    Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.

  • 64%

    Helping and caring for others

    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.

  • 64%

    Coming up with systems and processes

    Deciding on goals and figuring out what you need to do to achieve them.

  • 62%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 62%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 61%

    Making sense of information and ideas

    Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.

  • 60%

    Thinking creatively

    Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.

  • 60%

    Collecting and organising information

    Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.

  • 60%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 59%

    Checking compliance with standards

    Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

  • 57%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

  • 55%

    Communicating with the public

    Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 52%

    Scheduling work and activities

    Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

  • 47%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

  • 44%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.


Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 95%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 86%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.

  • 62%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

  • 33%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 29%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 24%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 95%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 81%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 76%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 74%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 67%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.

  • 57%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.


Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:
  • 97%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 95%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 93%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 90%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 90%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 89%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 88%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 84%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 83%

    Physically close to people

    Work physically close to other people.

  • 76%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 75%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 74%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 74%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 73%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

  • 73%

    Spend time sitting

    Spend time sitting at work.

  • 66%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 65%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 62%

    Disease or infection

    Be exposed to disease or infections.

  • 54%

    Conflict situations

    Deal with conflict or disagreements.

  • 53%

    Angry or unpleasant people

    Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 29-1127.00 - Speech-Language Pathologists.


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