Ministers of Religion

ANZSCO ID 2722

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
22,500
Future Growth
1.4%
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
64%
Female Share
29%
Average age
49

Summary

Ministers of Religion perform spiritual functions associated with beliefs and practices of religious faiths, and provide motivation, guidance and training in religious life for the people of congregations and parishes, and the wider community.

Specialisations: Aboriginal Ceremonial Celebrant, Chaplain, Imam, Monk, Priest, Rabbi, Salvation Army Officer.

Entry requirements for Ministers of Religion vary depending on the religion or denomination. University and Vocational Education and Training (VET) are both common study pathways.

Tasks

  • preparing and conducting services of public worship and acknowledgments of faith

  • preparing and delivering sermons, homilies and special talks, and planning music for services

  • participating in the social and welfare activities of communities, encouraging people to be aware of their responsibilities, and organising participation in community projects

  • conducting classes of religious instruction, and supervising prayer and discussion groups, retreats and seminars

  • conducting premarital and family counselling and referring people to professional service agencies where necessary

  • performing marriages, funerals and special memorial services according to tradition and ecclesiastical and civil law

  • visiting members of the community in their homes, hospitals and other institutions to provide advice and religious comfort

  • keeping records as required by the church and civil law

Characteristics

Job Type
Professionals
Skill Level
Very high skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
Unemployment Rate
Below average
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • University
  • Vocational Education and Training (VET)
  • Informal or on-the-job
Interests
  • Creative
  • Enterprising
  • 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 in this occupation is likely to remain stable.

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
1.4%
(or 300 jobs)
From
22,500
in 2021
To
22,800
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 11,600
2012 16,000
2013 19,300
2014 17,000
2015 16,000
2016 20,700
2017 18,700
2018 16,200
2019 21,100
2020 18,400
2021 22,500
2026 22,800

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 70% of people employed as Ministers of Religion work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 4 percentage points above the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 48 hours per week in their main job. This is 4 hours more than the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

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

    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.


Industries

Main industries

1
Other Services
77.5%
2
Education and Training
12.4%
3
Health Care and Social Assistance
6.9%
4
Public Administration and Safety
2.8%
5
Other industries
0.5%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

34.1% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

22.3% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

20.4% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

7.5% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

11.2% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

2.1% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.8% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

1.7% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Ministers of Religion All Jobs Average
NSW 34.1 31.6
VIC 22.3 25.6
QLD 20.4 20.0
SA 7.5 7.0
WA 11.2 10.8
TAS 2.1 2.0
NT 0.8 1.0
ACT 1.7 1.9



Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
49
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
29%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Ministers of Religion is 49 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 29% of the workforce. This is 19 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 Ministers of Religion All Jobs Average
15-19 0.2 5.0
20-24 2.6 9.3
25-34 14.0 22.9
35-44 21.1 22.0
45-54 24.9 21.6
55-59 12.8 9.0
60-64 12.0 6.0
65 and Over 12.2 4.2
Median Age 49 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

Entry requirements for Ministers of Religion vary depending on the religion or denomination. University and Vocational Education and Training (VET) are both common study pathways.

Visit

  • Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
  • ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Community Services 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 Ministers of Religion All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 29.2 10.1
Bachelor degree 40.1 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 16.9 11.6
Certificate III/IV 5.6 21.1
Year 12 5.3 18.1
Year 11 0.7 4.8
Year 10 and below 2.1 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 Ministers of Religion 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.

  • 77%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 68%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 68%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 64%

    Active listening

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

  • 63%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 63%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 61%

    Learning strategies

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

  • 61%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 59%

    Active learning

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

  • 59%

    Critical thinking

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

  • 59%

    Monitoring

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

  • 57%

    Judgment and decision making

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

  • 57%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 55%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 55%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 55%

    Systems evaluation

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

  • 55%

    Management of personnel resources

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

  • 54%

    Complex problem solving

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

  • 52%

    Time management

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

  • 45%

    Management of material resources

    Providing the right equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do work.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 94%

    Philosophy and theology

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

  • 76%

    Therapy and counselling

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

  • 70%

    Education and training

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

  • 70%

    English language

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

  • 68%

    Psychology

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

  • 59%

    Administration and management

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

  • 59%

    Customer and personal service

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

  • 59%

    History and archeology

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

  • 58%

    Personnel and human resources

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

  • 57%

    Sociology and anthropology

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

  • 52%

    Computers and electronics

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

  • 50%

    Communications and media

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

  • 49%

    Sales and marketing

    Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

  • 44%

    Clerical

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

  • 44%

    Law and government

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

  • 38%

    Geography

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

  • 34%

    Public safety and security

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

  • 34%

    Fine arts

    Compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

  • 33%

    Economics and accounting

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

  • 21%

    Telecommunications

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


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 79%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 70%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 66%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 64%

    Problem spotting

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

  • 63%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 61%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 61%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 57%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 55%

    Brainstorming

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

  • 55%

    Inductive reasoning

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

  • 55%

    Memorization

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

  • 54%

    Originality

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

  • 54%

    Sorting or ordering

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

  • 54%

    Near vision

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

  • 50%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 45%

    Far vision

    See details that are far away.

  • 45%

    Multitasking

    Do two or more things at the same time.

  • 43%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 43%

    Speed of recognition

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

  • 39%

    Flexibility of closure

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


Activities

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

  • 78%

    Planning and prioritising work

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

  • 77%

    Negotiating and resolving conflicts

    Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.

  • 72%

    Communicating with the public

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

  • 72%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 70%

    Helping and caring for others

    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.

  • 65%

    Making decisions and solving problems

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

  • 63%

    Thinking creatively

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

  • 59%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 59%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

  • 58%

    Guiding and directing staff

    Guiding and directing staff, including setting and monitoring performance standards.

  • 57%

    Working with the public

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

  • 57%

    Assessing and evaluating things

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

  • 56%

    Communicating within a team

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

  • 56%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

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

  • 54%

    Training and teaching others

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

  • 53%

    Giving expert advice

    Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups.

  • 51%

    Coming up with systems and processes

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

  • 49%

    Looking for changes over time

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

  • 41%

    Leading and encouraging a team

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

  • 35%

    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.

  • 100%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 67%

    Creative

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

  • 67%

    Enterprising

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

  • 38%

    Administrative

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

  • 29%

    Analytical

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

  • 14%

    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%

    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%

    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.

  • 76%

    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.

  • 71%

    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.

  • 48%

    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:
  • 96%

    Contact with people

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

  • 96%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 95%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 94%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 94%

    Unstructured work

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

  • 93%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 93%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 93%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 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.

  • 89%

    Public speaking

    Talk to a group of people.

  • 88%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 85%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 77%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

  • 75%

    Spend time sitting

    Spend time sitting at work.

  • 71%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 66%

    In an enclosed vehicle or equipment

    Work in a closed vehicle (e.g., car).

  • 66%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 65%

    Conflict situations

    Deal with conflict or disagreements.

  • 64%

    Physically close to people

    Work physically close to other 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, 21-2011.00 - Clergy.


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