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Orthotists and Prosthetists

ANZSCO ID 251912

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Overview

Snapshot

Employed
410
Future Growth
N/A
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
76%
Female Share
43%
Average age
37
About this data

Summary

Orthotists or Prosthetists design, build, fit and repair splints, braces, callipers, artificial limbs and related appliances to restore function or compensate for muscular and skeletal disabilities.

Tasks

  • Examines the patient and takes the necessary measurements to create an artificial limb, brace, splint or other related appliance.

  • Reads prescriptions for limbs and other related devices.

  • Makes a plaster cast of the limb or abnormality.

  • Designs limbs or related appliances.

  • Makes the device or limb and supervises its construction or selects a commercially-made product and adjusts it to fit the patient.

  • Fits the device or limb to the patient.

  • Instructs the patient on the use and care of the device or limb.

  • Carries out repairs and follow-ups with the patient to evaluate the effectiveness of an artificial limb or device.

Characteristics

Job Type
Professionals
Skill Level
Very high skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
2519 Other Health Diagnostic & Promotion Professionals
Unemployment Rate
n/a
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • University
Interests
  • Practical
  • Analytical
  • Helping
Physical Demand
  • Medium

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, Other Health Diagnostic & Promotion Professionals, under the outlook section.

Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 76% of people employed as Orthotists and Prosthetists work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 10 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
Health Care and Social Assistance
74.2%
2
Manufacturing
14.3%
3
Public Administration and Safety
2.2%
4
Wholesale Trade
1.7%
5
Other industries
1.4%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

21.4% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

40.5% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

17.2% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

8.7% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

7.5% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

2.9% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.7% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

1.0% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Orthotists and Prosthetists All Jobs Average
NSW 21.4 31.6
VIC 40.5 25.6
QLD 17.2 20.0
SA 8.7 7.0
WA 7.5 10.8
TAS 2.9 2.0
NT 0.7 1.0
ACT 1.0 1.9


  • Around 72% of Orthotists and Prosthetists live in capital cities, compared with the all jobs average of 62%.

    Victoria has a large share of employment relative to its population size.

    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
37
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
43%
All Jobs Average is 48%

  • The median age of Orthotists and Prosthetists is 37 years. This is similar to the all jobs average of 40 years.

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

    Females make up 43% of the workforce. This is 5 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 Orthotists and Prosthetists All Jobs Average
15-19 0.0 5.0
20-24 6.4 9.3
25-34 34.1 22.9
35-44 23.6 22.0
45-54 16.0 21.6
55-59 12.2 9.0
60-64 3.6 6.0
65 and Over 4.1 4.2
Median Age 37 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 university degree in applied science or health science majoring in prosthetics or orthotics is needed to work as an Orthotist or Prosthetist. Some workers have a postgraduate qualification.

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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 Orthotists and Prosthetists All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 27.1 10.1
Bachelor degree 53.6 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 9.6 11.6
Certificate III/IV 3.4 21.1
Year 12 2.6 18.1
Year 11 1.0 4.8
Year 10 and below 2.6 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 Other Health Diagnostic & Promotion Professionals 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.

  • 63%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 59%

    Active listening

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

  • 59%

    Active learning

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

  • 59%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 57%

    Critical thinking

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

  • 57%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 55%

    Complex problem solving

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

  • 55%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 52%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 52%

    Monitoring

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

  • 52%

    Operations analysis

    Understanding needs and product requirements to create a design.

  • 52%

    Learning strategies

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

  • 50%

    Judgment and decision making

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

  • 50%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 50%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 46%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 46%

    Quality control analysis

    Doing tests and checking products, services, or processes to make sure they are working properly.

  • 46%

    Time management

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

  • 43%

    Management of personnel resources

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

  • 37%

    Operation monitoring

    Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 75%

    Customer and personal service

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

  • 65%

    Psychology

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

  • 63%

    Mechanical

    Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

  • 62%

    Production and processing

    Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.

  • 62%

    Engineering and technology

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

  • 60%

    Medicine and dentistry

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

  • 59%

    Sales and marketing

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

  • 58%

    Administration and management

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

  • 58%

    Education and training

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

  • 55%

    English language

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

  • 55%

    Technical design

    Design techniques, tools, and principles used to make detailed technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

  • 53%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 53%

    Clerical

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

  • 52%

    Therapy and counselling

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

  • 52%

    Computers and electronics

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

  • 51%

    Chemistry

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

  • 51%

    Personnel and human resources

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

  • 48%

    Physics

    The physical laws of matter, motion and energy, and how they interact through space and time.

  • 42%

    Biology

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

  • 41%

    Law and government

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

Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 66%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 66%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 63%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 61%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 59%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 57%

    Inductive reasoning

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

  • 57%

    Problem spotting

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

  • 57%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 57%

    Visualization

    Imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

  • 55%

    Near vision

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

  • 55%

    Sorting or ordering

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

  • 54%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 52%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 50%

    Finger dexterity

    Put together small parts with your fingers.

  • 50%

    Originality

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

  • 48%

    Brainstorming

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

  • 45%

    Far vision

    See details that are far away.

  • 45%

    Manual dexterity

    Quickly move your hand to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.

  • 43%

    Arm-hand steadiness

    Keep your hand or arm steady.

  • 41%

    Multilimb coordination

    Use your arms and/or legs at the same time while sitting, standing, or lying down.

Activities

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

  • 77%

    Helping and caring for others

    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.

  • 77%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

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

  • 73%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 71%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 70%

    Making decisions and solving problems

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

  • 70%

    Thinking creatively

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

  • 70%

    Planning and prioritising work

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

  • 69%

    Working with the public

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

  • 66%

    Communicating with the public

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

  • 65%

    Communicating within a team

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

  • 65%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

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

  • 64%

    Looking for changes over time

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

  • 61%

    Documenting or recording information

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

  • 61%

    Collecting and organising information

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

  • 59%

    Assessing and evaluating things

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

  • 58%

    Scheduling work and activities

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

  • 58%

    Checking for errors or defects

    Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.

  • 58%

    Coordinating the work of a team

    Getting members of a group to work together to finish a task.

  • 57%

    Checking compliance with standards

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

  • 46%

    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.

  • 71%

    Practical

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

  • 67%

    Analytical

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

  • 33%

    Creative

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

  • 29%

    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.

Values

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

  • 86%

    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.

  • 86%

    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.

  • 81%

    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.

  • 76%

    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.

  • 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.

Demands

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

  • 100%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 96%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 95%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 95%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 92%

    Contact with people

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

  • 92%

    Dangerous equipment

    Work near dangerous equipment like saws, machinery with open moving parts, or moving traffic.

  • 92%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 91%

    Wear common protective or safety equipment

    Wear equipment like safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets.

  • 91%

    Physically close to people

    Work physically close to other people.

  • 90%

    Exposure to contaminants

    Be exposed to pollutants, gases, dust or odours.

  • 90%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 90%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 89%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 89%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 88%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 88%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 84%

    Unstructured work

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

  • 83%

    Disease or infection

    Be exposed to disease or infections.

  • 83%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

  • 82%

    Loud or uncomfortable sounds

    Be exposed to noises and sounds that are distracting or uncomfortable.

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, 29-2091.00 - Orthotists and Prosthetists.

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