Occupational Therapist
Occupational therapists help people build or regain the skills they need for everyday activities, from getting dressed to returning to work.
- Median salary
- $99,500
4.4%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 35,600
3.5%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +33.1%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Low
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 40/wk
matches all-jobs average
- Shortage status
- In shortage
national
Occupational therapists assess how a person's physical, cognitive or psychosocial abilities affect what they can manage day to day, then work with them on practical strategies, equipment or changes to their environment. Where physiotherapy focuses on restoring movement and strength, occupational therapy focuses on what someone can actually do once they leave the clinic, whether that is showering independently or returning to a classroom. Most work in hospitals, aged care, disability services, schools or private practice, and registration with the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia is required to practise.
How much do occupational therapists earn?
The median full-time salary for an occupational therapist is $99,500 per annum, before tax, up $21,000 since 2018.
Pay depends heavily on where the job sits: public hospital and health service roles follow state awards and enterprise agreements with set increments, while private practice and NDIS-funded work varies with caseload and how the practice bills. Senior clinical roles, team leadership and specialisations such as hand therapy or paediatrics tend to attract higher rates, and rural and remote positions often carry allowances or other incentives. Part-time work is common in this field, so a full-time figure is not what every occupational therapist takes home.
What does an occupational therapist do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Assessing how someone really manages a task such as showering, cooking or getting dressed, in their own home or on the ward
- Working out practical fixes, from a grab rail in the bathroom to a different way of holding a pen at school
- Teaching a family member or carer to support someone safely without taking the task over
- Fitting and adjusting equipment such as wheelchairs, seating and aids, then checking months later that it still works
- Writing progress notes and funding reports for schemes such as the NDIS, which take a steady share of the week
What skills do occupational therapists need?
Employers look for clinical assessment and treatment, care planning and coordination, patient care and support, backed by Standardised Assessment of Occupational Function (SAOF) fluency and strong problem solving.
Specialist skills
- Clinical assessment and treatment
- Care planning and coordination
- Patient care and support
- Health education and advice
Software and tools
- Standardised Assessment of Occupational Function (SAOF)
- Electronic Health Records (EHR)
- Adaptive equipment and assistive devices
- Occupational therapy software (e.g., Citrix, SNOMED)
General skills
- Problem solving
- Written communication
- Stakeholder management
- Attention to detail
Is the job growing?
About 35,600 people work as occupational therapists in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 33.1% over the decade to 2035. That's very strong growth. Few roles in Australia are expanding this fast, and it points to solid demand for years to come.
How do you become an occupational therapist?
Here's the path most occupational therapists take, step by step.
- 1Complete an accredited degree
The standard route is a four-year Bachelor of Occupational Therapy, or a two-year Master of Occupational Therapy if you already hold a related degree. The course has to be accredited by the Occupational Therapy Council of Australia for registration to follow.
- 2Register with AHPRA
You cannot work as an occupational therapist without registration through the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia, which also sets English language requirements and asks for a criminal history check.
- 3Start in a structured new-graduate program
There is no compulsory internship year, but most new graduates begin in a hospital, aged care or disability service role with supervision and a graded caseload, which builds confidence quickly.
- 4Choose an area and build on it
Paediatrics, hand therapy, mental health, neurological rehabilitation and workplace injury each use their own assessment tools, and short courses in an area make you more employable in it.
- 5Keep your registration current
Registration is renewed each year with continuing professional development and recency of practice requirements, so the qualifications you hold keep mattering as the evidence changes.
Ready to apply as an occupational therapist?
Whether you're working toward becoming an occupational therapist or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can an occupational therapist move to?
Moving into University Lecturer typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $52,500 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| University Lecturer Occupational therapists with clinical and research experience can move into university lecturing, requiring further postgraduate study.Known move | +$52,500 | 3% | requalify |
| Work Health and Safety Officer Occupational therapists bring functional assessment and return-to-work knowledge to work health and safety, needing a short course.Known move | +$19,300 | 16% | short course |
| Play Therapist Occupational therapists use play-based intervention and child development knowledge in play therapy, requiring a short course.Known move | −$16,300 | 60% | short course |
| Art Therapist Occupational therapists bring therapeutic activity analysis and client-centred goal setting to art therapy, needing minimal further training.Known move | −$21,500 | 70% | minimal |
| Injury Management Coordinator Occupational therapists apply injury rehabilitation and workplace assessment skills to injury management coordination, adding a short course. | −$39,700 | 17% | short course |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as an occupational therapist?
The typical occupational therapist is 33 years old; 92% are women, 63% work full-time, and full-timers average 40 hours a week.
- 33
- Median age
- 92%
- Female share
- 63%
- Full-time
- +0h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being an occupational therapist?
The work runs on appointments, so most days are back-to-back sessions with notes left over at the end, and a caseload can span a hospital ward, a school and someone's living room in the same week. Progress is often slow and the paperwork is heavy, but the job suits people who like solving practical problems with a person rather than for them. New graduates commonly start in hospitals, aged care or disability services before narrowing into an area such as paediatrics or hand therapy.
What people like
- Watching function come back. Someone who could not dress themselves in March is doing up their own buttons by spring, and the plan you wrote is part of how that happened.
- The problems are practical and varied. Every client brings a different home, job and set of goals, so one week might involve a classroom, a factory floor and a kitchen bench.
- Long relationships with clients and families. Rehabilitation runs over months, which means you get to know the family, adjust the plan as things change and see the result at the end.
- Room to specialise. Paediatrics, hand therapy, neuro rehab and mental health are genuinely different jobs, and further training lets an occupational therapist move between them.
What people find hard
- Documentation follows you home. Funding bodies and hospitals both want detailed reports, and many therapists finish notes after hours or squeeze them between appointments.
- Appointments come back to back. A full caseload can mean six or seven sessions in a day with little gap, and a cancellation or an overrun reshuffles the whole diary.
- Progress can be slow. Recovery from a stroke or a serious injury takes months, and some clients plateau or are discharged before the goals on the plan have been met.
- Funding limits what you can offer. Session numbers under schemes such as the NDIS are capped, so the plan you would write is not always the plan that gets funded.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ occupational therapists?
Health Care and Social Assistance employs the largest share of occupational therapists.
Top employing industries
- 1Health Care and Social Assistance
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 71% | |
|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate | 26.5% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 0.8% | |
| Year 12 or below | 0.7% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 0.2% |
Will AI replace occupational therapists?
Occupational therapy sits at the low end of AI exposure. Software already scores standardised assessments, drafts report templates and manages diaries, but the judgement that matters happens in a bathroom, a classroom or on a factory floor, where someone's actual ability to do a task is the evidence. Equipment fitting and hands-on retraining keep the role tied to being physically present.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Assessing how someone performs daily tasksAssessment scoring and report writing can be partly automated, but watching whether a client can safely step into a shower is done in person.30%moderate
- Running therapy sessions and equipment trialsChoosing and adjusting a wheelchair or seating system depends on trying it with that person's body, posture and home layout.30%low
- Writing funding and progress reportsTemplates now pull assessment scores into draft reports for the NDIS or aged care, though the clinical reasoning and recommendations stay with the therapist.20%high
- Coordinating with families, schools and care teamsAgreeing classroom adjustments with a teacher or a morning routine with a family relies on trust and negotiation that software cannot carry.20%low
Common questions about becoming an occupational therapist
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do occupational therapists earn?
Occupational therapists earn $99,500 per annum, before tax, at the median for full-time work across all settings. Public hospital roles follow state award scales with set increments, while private practice and NDIS-funded work varies with caseload and billing arrangements.
How do you become an occupational therapist?
You complete an accredited occupational therapy degree, either a four-year bachelor or a two-year master's for graduates of a related field, then register with the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia through AHPRA. Registration is what allows you to practise, and it carries English language and criminal history requirements.
Are occupational therapists in demand?
Occupational therapists are currently in shortage nationally, and employment is projected to grow 33.1% over the decade to 2035. Aged care, disability services and rehabilitation are the areas hiring most steadily, and the qualification is recognised across states and territories.
Will AI replace occupational therapists?
Occupational therapy sits at the low end of AI exposure. Software scores standardised assessments, drafts report templates and manages diaries, but observing how someone moves in their own bathroom and adjusting equipment by hand are not tasks a screen can take over.
What else can an occupational therapist do?
Some move into work health and safety, where functional assessment and return-to-work knowledge carry over and pay is $19,300 more. Others take the therapeutic side further into art therapy or play therapy, where pay is $21,500 less and $16,300 less. Many eventually run their own practice or contract as a sole provider under the NDIS, which is often where earnings grow.
What is the difference between occupational therapy and physiotherapy?
Physiotherapists work mainly on movement, strength and physical function, often through exercise and manual therapy. Occupational therapists start from the activities a person needs or wants to do and use whatever mix of retraining, equipment and environment change gets them there.
Related roles
- Work Health and Safety Officer
- Injury Management Coordinator
- Art Therapist
- Play Therapist
- University Lecturer
- Disability Support Worker
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