Psychiatrists

ANZSCO ID 2534

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
5,100
Future Growth
5.2%
Weekly Earnings
$3,387
Full-Time Share
71%
Female Share
44%
Average age
47

Summary

Psychiatrists diagnose, assess, treat and prevent human mental, emotional and behavioural disorders. Psychiatric Registrars training as Psychiatrists are included here.

Specialisations: Adolescent Psychiatrist, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Child Psychiatrist, Forensic Psychiatrist, Geriatric Psychiatrist, Medical Psychotherapist.

Medical Practitioners need to undertake further training with the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists to become a Psychiatrist.

Tasks

  • assessing patients' mental and physical status to determine the nature and extent of mental, emotional and behavioural disorders

  • assessing patients' medical, psychiatric and psychological histories

  • examining patients to determine general physical condition

  • ordering laboratory tests, imaging, neuropsychological tests and other diagnostic procedures

  • examining the results of tests and examinations to determine the most appropriate forms of treatment

  • prescribing and administering medication, psychotherapy, and other physical treatments and rehabilitation programs

  • arranging admission to hospitals and providing in-patient treatment

  • consulting, supervising and working with other Medical Practitioners and Health Professionals

  • determining whether patients require involuntary treatment in accordance with relevant mental health acts

  • assisting courts and other statutory bodies in managing patients in legal and forensic settings

  • teaching medical students and registrars, and assessing their progress by administering tests

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

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 moderately
  • is likely to reach 5,900 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
5.2%
(or 300 jobs)
From
5,600
in 2021
To
5,900
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 2,600
2012 2,200
2013 2,700
2014 4,700
2015 5,100
2016 1,700
2017 5,400
2018 4,700
2019 3,400
2020 2,400
2021 5,600
2026 5,900

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 71% of people employed as Psychiatrists work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 5 percentage points above the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 45 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Median full-time earnings are $3,387 per week, this is much higher than weekly earnings for all jobs ($1,593).

    Sources: Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average. 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 Psychiatrists All Jobs Average
Full-Time Earnings 3,387 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
96.6%
2
Public Administration and Safety
3.4%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

29.1% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

29.9% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

18.9% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

7.9% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

9.6% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

2.2% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.6% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

1.7% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Psychiatrists All Jobs Average
NSW 29.1 31.6
VIC 29.9 25.6
QLD 18.9 20.0
SA 7.9 7.0
WA 9.6 10.8
TAS 2.2 2.0
NT 0.6 1.0
ACT 1.7 1.9



Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
47
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
44%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Psychiatrists is 47 years. This is higher than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 35 to 44 years.

    Females make up 44% of the workforce. This is 4 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 Psychiatrists All Jobs Average
15-19 0.0 5.0
20-24 0.3 9.3
25-34 14.4 22.9
35-44 27.9 22.0
45-54 23.7 21.6
55-59 10.7 9.0
60-64 9.1 6.0
65 and Over 14.0 4.2
Median Age 47 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

Medical Practitioners need to undertake further training with the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists to become a Psychiatrist.

Registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency 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 Psychiatrists All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 64.8 10.1
Bachelor degree 34.0 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 0.6 11.6
Certificate III/IV 0.1 21.1
Year 12 0.5 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 Psychiatrists who are caring, compassionate, empathetic and work well in a team.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 77%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 71%

    Active listening

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

  • 71%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 66%

    Critical thinking

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

  • 63%

    Active learning

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

  • 63%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 63%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 61%

    Complex problem solving

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

  • 61%

    Judgment and decision making

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

  • 59%

    Monitoring

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

  • 59%

    Science

    Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

  • 59%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 57%

    Learning strategies

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

  • 57%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 57%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 55%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 55%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 52%

    Systems evaluation

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

  • 50%

    Operations analysis

    Understanding needs and product requirements to create a design.

  • 48%

    Systems analysis

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


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 96%

    Therapy and counselling

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

  • 94%

    Psychology

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

  • 83%

    Medicine and dentistry

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

  • 72%

    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.

  • 70%

    Customer and personal service

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

  • 65%

    Biology

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

  • 64%

    Sociology and anthropology

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

  • 59%

    Philosophy and theology

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

  • 53%

    Computers and electronics

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

  • 53%

    Chemistry

    Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.

  • 49%

    Administration and management

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

  • 46%

    Law and government

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

  • 43%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 42%

    Clerical

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

  • 39%

    Personnel and human resources

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

  • 36%

    Public safety and security

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

  • 29%

    Geography

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

  • 27%

    Foreign language

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

  • 22%

    Economics and accounting

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


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 73%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 70%

    Problem spotting

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

  • 70%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 68%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 68%

    Inductive reasoning

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

  • 66%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 66%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 59%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 59%

    Sorting or ordering

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

  • 57%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 57%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 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).

  • 52%

    Originality

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

  • 46%

    Flexibility of closure

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

  • 43%

    Memorization

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

  • 43%

    Speed of recognition

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

  • 41%

    Mathematics

    Choose the right maths method or formula to solve a problem.

  • 41%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 39%

    Multitasking

    Do two or more things at the same time.


Activities

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

  • 87%

    Making decisions and solving problems

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

  • 84%

    Looking for changes over time

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

  • 84%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

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

  • 83%

    Helping and caring for others

    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.

  • 83%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 81%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 74%

    Making sense of information and ideas

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

  • 72%

    Training and teaching others

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

  • 71%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

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

  • 70%

    Communicating within a team

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

  • 70%

    Giving expert advice

    Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups.

  • 69%

    Thinking creatively

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

  • 67%

    Negotiating and resolving conflicts

    Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.

  • 67%

    Assessing and evaluating things

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

  • 67%

    Collecting and organising information

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

  • 63%

    Documenting or recording information

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

  • 62%

    Checking compliance with standards

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

  • 61%

    Planning and prioritising work

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

  • 61%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

  • 54%

    Leading and encouraging a team

    Encouraging and building trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.


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%

    Analytical

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

  • 81%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 62%

    Creative

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

  • 38%

    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.

  • 29%

    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.
  • 90%

    Achievement

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

  • 90%

    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.

  • 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%

    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.

  • 88%

    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%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 98%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 98%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 97%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 97%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 96%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 89%

    Contact with people

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

  • 88%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 88%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

  • 88%

    Unstructured work

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

  • 86%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 86%

    Angry or unpleasant people

    Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.

  • 83%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 82%

    Spend time sitting

    Spend time sitting at work.

  • 81%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 78%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 78%

    Consequence of error

    Work where mistakes have serious consequences.

  • 78%

    Conflict situations

    Deal with conflict or disagreements.

  • 76%

    Disease or infection

    Be exposed to disease or infections.

  • 76%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

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, 29-1066.00 - Psychiatrists.


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