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Defence Force Members - Other Ranks

ANZSCO ID 4411

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Overview

Snapshot

Employed
17,000
Future Growth
N/A
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
92%
Female Share
13%
Average age
27
About this data

Summary

Defence Force Members - Other Ranks provide specialised military services to the Australian and New Zealand Defence Forces.

Tasks

  • guarding airfields and other defence force bases

  • serving as an infantry soldier

  • erecting bridges, building field defences, constructing temporary roads, clearing minefields, repairing airfields and demolishing targets using explosives

  • crewing armoured fighting vehicles

  • operating artillery, ground and surface-based defence systems, shipboard weapons and other advanced specialist military weapons and equipment

  • providing firepower and ground-based air defence

  • establishing and maintaining command, control and communications equipment and facilities

  • conducting surveillance, reconnaissance and boarding operations

  • maintaining personal arms and ammunition

Characteristics

Job Type
Community And Personal Service Workers
Skill Level
Medium skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
4411 Defence Force Members - Other Ranks This occupation is Current selected
Unemployment Rate
Above average
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • Informal or on-the-job
Physical Demand
  • Sedentary
  • Light
  • Medium
  • Heavy
  • Very Heavy

Outlook

Employment Outlook

The NSC produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. However, projections data are not available for defence force occupations.

Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 94% of people employed as Defence Force Members - Other Ranks work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 28 percentage points above the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 50 hours per week in their main job. This is 6 hours more than the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Sources:Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average.

Industries

Main industries

1
Public Administration and Safety
99.0%
2
Education and Training
0.2%
3
Manufacturing
0.2%
4
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
0.1%
5
Other industries
0.4%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

27.7% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

9.8% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

35.9% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

6.5% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

6.4% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

0.3% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

8.6% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

4.7% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Defence Force Members - Other Ranks All Jobs Average
NSW 27.7 31.6
VIC 9.8 25.6
QLD 35.9 20.0
SA 6.5 7.0
WA 6.4 10.8
TAS 0.3 2.0
NT 8.6 1.0
ACT 4.7 1.9


  • Around 46% of Defence Force Members - Other Ranks live outside of capital cities, compared with the all jobs average of 38%.

    Queensland and the Northern Territory have a large share of employment relative to their population size.

    The regions with the largest share of workers are:

    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
27
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
13%
All Jobs Average is 48%

  • The median age of Defence Force Members - Other Ranks is 27 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 13% of the workforce. This is 35 percentage points below 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 Defence Force Members - Other Ranks All Jobs Average
15-19 8.2 5.0
20-24 28.5 9.3
25-34 37.9 22.9
35-44 14.6 22.0
45-54 8.5 21.6
55-59 1.7 9.0
60-64 0.3 6.0
65 and Over 0.2 4.2
Median Age 27 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 number of military and academic requirements need to be satisfied, including basic recruit training, to join the Australian Defence Force.

Visit

  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Tourism, Travel and Hospitality VET training pathways.

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 Defence Force Members - Other Ranks All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 2.2 10.1
Bachelor degree 5.6 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 10.8 11.6
Certificate III/IV 26.5 21.1
Year 12 40.6 18.1
Year 11 6.5 4.8
Year 10 and below 7.8 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

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Interests and demands

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Links and downloads

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