Magistrates

ANZSCO ID 271212

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
420
Future Growth
N/A
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
88%
Female Share
39%
Average age
58

Summary

Magistrates hear criminal matters to determine whether defendants will be committed for trial, and adjudicate minor criminal offences without a jury.

Also known as: Chamber Magistrate.

Specialisations: Children's Court Magistrate, Industrial Court Magistrate, Licensing Court Magistrate.

Magistrates are usually appointed by a State or Federal Governor or Attorney-General. People who have a law degree and have been licensed to practise law for a minimum of eight years are eligible for consideration.

Tasks

  • Hears and evaluates arguments and evidence in civil and criminal summary matters.

  • Decides penalties and sentences within statutory limits, such as fines, bonds and detention, awards damages in civil matters, and issues court orders.

Characteristics

Job Type
Professionals
Skill Level
Very high skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
Unemployment Rate
n/a
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • University
Interests
  • Administrative
  • Enterprising
  • Helping
Physical Demand
  • Sedentary

Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. Employment projections data are only produced for occupations at the broad four digit Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) level. While data are not available for this occupation, projections data are available for the parent occupation, Judicial and Other Legal Professionals, under the outlook section.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 88% of people employed as Magistrates work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 22 percentage points above the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 44 hours per week in their main job. This is the same as the all jobs average.

    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
98.8%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

28.3% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

25.4% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

20.0% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

8.7% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

12.8% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

2.9% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.0% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

1.9% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Magistrates All Jobs Average
NSW 28.3 31.6
VIC 25.4 25.6
QLD 20.0 20.0
SA 8.7 7.0
WA 12.8 10.8
TAS 2.9 2.0
NT 0.0 1.0
ACT 1.9 1.9


  • Around 71% of Magistrates 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
58
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
39%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Magistrates is 58 years. This is higher than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 45 to 54 years.

    Females make up 39% of the workforce. This is 9 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 Magistrates All Jobs Average
15-19 0.0 5.0
20-24 0.0 9.3
25-34 0.0 22.9
35-44 5.7 22.0
45-54 27.8 21.6
55-59 24.6 9.0
60-64 23.7 6.0
65 and Over 18.2 4.2
Median Age 58 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

Magistrates are usually appointed by a State or Federal Governor or Attorney-General. People who have a law degree and have been licensed to practise law for a minimum of eight years are eligible for consideration.

Registration or licencing may be required.

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  • 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 Magistrates All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 22.9 10.1
Bachelor degree 75.1 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 1.2 11.6
Certificate III/IV 0.0 21.1
Year 12 0.7 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

We're working on this content

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 84%

    Active listening

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

  • 80%

    Critical thinking

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

  • 77%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 73%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 73%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 71%

    Judgment and decision making

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

  • 70%

    Active learning

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

  • 68%

    Complex problem solving

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

  • 59%

    Monitoring

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

  • 59%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 59%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 59%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 54%

    Time management

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

  • 48%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 48%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 48%

    Systems analysis

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

  • 48%

    Systems evaluation

    Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

  • 46%

    Learning strategies

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

  • 45%

    Management of personnel resources

    Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.

  • 43%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 85%

    Law and government

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

  • 76%

    English language

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

  • 74%

    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.

  • 57%

    Public safety and security

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

  • 56%

    Administration and management

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

  • 54%

    Therapy and counselling

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

  • 53%

    Sociology and anthropology

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

  • 52%

    Clerical

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

  • 51%

    Computers and electronics

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

  • 50%

    Education and training

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

  • 50%

    Philosophy and theology

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

  • 49%

    Personnel and human resources

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

  • 39%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 35%

    Communications and media

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

  • 34%

    History and archeology

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

  • 31%

    Medicine and dentistry

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

  • 30%

    Economics and accounting

    Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.

  • 27%

    Geography

    Describing land, sea, and air, including their physical characteristics, locations, how they work together, and the location of plant, animal, and human life.

  • 19%

    Telecommunications

    Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 75%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 75%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 73%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 71%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 71%

    Inductive reasoning

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

  • 71%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 66%

    Near vision

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

  • 63%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 59%

    Problem spotting

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

  • 55%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 54%

    Sorting or ordering

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

  • 54%

    Brainstorming

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

  • 48%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 48%

    Memorization

    Remember things like words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.

  • 48%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 45%

    Originality

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

  • 43%

    Flexibility of closure

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

  • 43%

    Speed of recognition

    Quickly make sense of and organize things you can see like letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • 37%

    Multitasking

    Do two or more things at the same time.

  • 37%

    Perceptual speed

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


Activities

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

  • 89%

    Making decisions and solving problems

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

  • 86%

    Checking compliance with standards

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

  • 85%

    Working with the public

    Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.

  • 85%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 85%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

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

  • 79%

    Looking for changes over time

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

  • 78%

    Negotiating and resolving conflicts

    Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.

  • 74%

    Collecting and organising information

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

  • 69%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

  • 68%

    Making sense of information and ideas

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

  • 67%

    Assessing and evaluating things

    Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.

  • 67%

    Communicating with the public

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

  • 65%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 62%

    Planning and prioritising work

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

  • 58%

    Thinking creatively

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

  • 56%

    Documenting or recording information

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

  • 56%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

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

  • 53%

    Communicating within a team

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

  • 48%

    Working with computers

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

  • 48%

    Scheduling work and activities

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


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.

  • 100%

    Enterprising

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

  • 81%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 57%

    Administrative

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

  • 52%

    Analytical

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

  • 29%

    Creative

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

  • 19%

    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.
  • 100%

    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.

  • 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.

  • 90%

    Achievement

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

  • 90%

    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.

  • 90%

    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.

  • 62%

    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:
  • 100%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 100%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 99%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 99%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 97%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 97%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 95%

    Spend time sitting

    Spend time sitting at work.

  • 95%

    Contact with people

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

  • 95%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 92%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 91%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 90%

    Conflict situations

    Deal with conflict or disagreements.

  • 90%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

  • 89%

    Unstructured work

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

  • 84%

    Angry or unpleasant people

    Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.

  • 78%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 78%

    Public speaking

    Talk to a group of people.

  • 76%

    Consequence of error

    Work where mistakes have serious consequences.

  • 75%

    Repeating same tasks

    Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.

  • 71%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

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, 23-1023.00 - Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates.


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