Audiologist
Audiologists test hearing and balance, work out what is going wrong, and fit the hearing aids and other devices that help people communicate day to day.
- Median salary
- $104,200
4.4%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 2,600
4.0%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +32.7%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Low
- 3 out of 10
- Average hours
- 40/wk
matches all-jobs average
- Shortage status
- In shortage
national
- Audiologists work in private hearing clinics, hospital audiology departments, community health services and aged care, and the caseload changes with the setting.
- An audiometrist tests hearing and fits devices too, but only an audiologist holds a university qualification and can diagnose the full range of hearing and balance conditions.
- To practise you finish a two-year master's degree in audiology and then certify with Audiology Australia or the Australian College of Audiology, since the profession is not registered through AHPRA.
How much do audiologists earn?
The median full-time salary for an audiologist is $104,200 per annum, before tax, up $22,000 since 2018.
Where you work moves your pay more than your years of experience do, because private clinics that sell hearing aids often add commission or bonuses to a base salary while hospital and community health roles pay fixed bands. Ask how any bonus is worked out and whether super and device-fitting incentives are included in the figure you are quoted, since two offers with the same headline salary can leave very different amounts in your account.
What does an audiologist 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.
- Testing hearing and balance, then explaining what the results mean to someone who is anxious about losing it
- Programming and fine-tuning a hearing aid in the room, adjusting to the client's feedback until speech comes through clearly
- Seeing a newborn who did not pass the hearing screen and talking the parents through what happens next
- Working with cochlear implant recipients through fitting, mapping and the months of rehabilitation that follow
- Writing assessment reports and conferring with the GP or ENT specialist who referred the client
What skills do audiologists need?
Employers look for clinical assessment and treatment, patient care and support, health education and advice, backed by Audiometer fluency and strong written communication.
Specialist skills
- Clinical assessment and treatment
- Patient care and support
- Health education and advice
- Care planning and coordination
Software and tools
- Audiometer
- Hearing Aid Programming Software
- Tympanometer
- Otoscope
- Clinical Assessment Records (paper/digital)
General skills
- Written communication
- Attention to detail
- Problem solving
Is the job growing?
About 2,600 people work as audiologists in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 32.7% 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 audiologist?
Here's the path most audiologists take, step by step.
- 1Start with an undergraduate degree
Most audiologists begin with a bachelor degree in science, health science or a related area, choosing the anatomy, psychology and statistics subjects that master's programs expect. Any of several degrees can lead there, so check the prerequisites of the courses you are aiming for before you pick.
- 2Complete an accredited master's degree in audiology
The master's is a two-year degree and the qualification Audiology Australia accredits, so confirm your course appears on its list. Places are limited, which means strong undergraduate marks and an early application.
- 3Work through your clinical placements
Placements in clinics, hospitals, schools and paediatric services are where you run appointments yourself: taking a case history, testing, fitting and writing up. You will see adults, children and complicated cases across the placements, and supervisors sign off on your competence as you go.
- 4Certify with Audiology Australia or the Australian College of Audiology
After graduating you apply for provisional then full membership with one of the two professional bodies. Employers and Medicare look for that certification, so keep your membership current and log the continuing education hours both bodies require.
Study routes we have checked
Qualifications that are a recognised way into this role, and what else you need.
- Master of Audiology
A recognised route into this role
Complete an accredited audiology programme and meet professional certification and employer requirements, including any supervised practice. This is not an Ahpra registration claim. This catalogue groups awards: verify the chosen provider, programme and intake; the family-level link is not confirmation that every offering is approved.
- Master of Clinical Audiology
A recognised route into this role
Complete an accredited audiology program and its clinical placements. Professional recognition and any further supervised practice depend on the professional body and the employer; the degree alone does not confer them.
Ready to apply as an audiologist?
Whether you're working toward becoming an audiologist 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 audiologist move to?
We don't list lateral moves for audiologists: leaving means a full new qualification rather than a career move, and the realistic routes in are covered under how to become one.
Who works as an audiologist?
The typical audiologist is 37 years old; 77% are women, 63% work full-time, and full-timers average 40 hours a week.
- 37
- Median age
- 77%
- Female share
- 63%
- Full-time
- +0h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being an audiologist?
Your week is a series of appointments, usually 45 to 60 minutes each, so the pace is set by the people in front of you and the notes you write between them. The testing is the technical half and often the easier one; telling a parent or a farmer that the hearing has changed, and that a device will not bring it back to normal, takes more out of you. Age-related hearing loss fills a general clinic's diary, while hospitals and paediatric services bring the complex cases. Progress comes over repeat visits rather than in a single appointment, and the work rewards patience more than speed.
What people like
- A result you can see within the hour. Fitting a device and then watching a client follow a conversation with their grandchild is a quick, concrete payoff, and it is what most people in the field name when asked why they stayed.
- One client at a time. The diary can be full, but you are dealing with a single person and their family instead of a ward or a queue, and you decide how long the appointment needs.
- Room to specialise without starting again. Paediatrics, cochlear implants, vestibular testing and rehabilitation are all open to you with some experience behind you, and shifting between them does not usually mean another degree.
- Work that is not hard on your body. The job is seated, indoors and mostly daytime, which makes it a realistic option if you want a long clinical career without shift work or heavy physical demands.
What people find hard
- Results that are never quite finished. Hearing aids help a great deal but rarely restore normal hearing, and some clients come back frustrated because the device cannot do what they hoped it would.
- Paperwork around every appointment. Reports to GPs, Medicare claims and private health paperwork arrive with each client, and in a busy clinic that time eats into your day.
- Hard conversations, repeatedly. You will be the person who tells someone the loss is permanent, or that their child needs surgery, and those conversations do not get easier with practice.
- Sales targets in some private clinics. Where hearing aids are the product, you may be set targets or nudged to offer an upgrade a client does not need, and that sits badly with a lot of clinicians.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ audiologists?
Health Care and Social Assistance employs the largest share of audiologists, followed by Manufacturing.
Top employing industries
- 1Health Care and Social Assistance
- 2Manufacturing
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Postgraduate | 87.6% | |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor degree | 8.3% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 1.7% | |
| Year 12 or below | 1.4% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 0.8% |
Will AI replace audiologists?
Low exposure. Unlikely. AI will change some of the work around this job, not the job itself.
Audiology has low exposure overall, because the technology handles pieces of the testing, not the whole appointment. Automated audiometry can play the tones and record responses, and fitting software suggests a starting prescription, but a person still decides how to test someone who is confused or unwell, judges when a result does not fit the case history, and sits with a family through a diagnosis of permanent hearing loss. If you are entering the field now, learn the testing and fitting software properly and invest in your communication skills, since that is the part employers cannot replace with a system.
How a typical week splits
- Reports, claims and record keeping20% of the week
Drafting letters to GPs and processing Medicare and private health claims is largely administrative, and parts of it are already automated or generated for you to check.
- Hearing and balance testing30% of the week
Automated audiometry can run a standard test, but you choose which tests to use and whether an odd result fits the picture you have.
- Hearing aid programming and fine-tuning25% of the week
The software proposes a prescription from the audiogram, and you adjust it against what the client says they hear in the room.
- Counselling and rehabilitation25% of the week
Explaining a diagnosis, coaching a new user through their first weeks and working with families is conversation and judgement that no tool takes over.
How we work this out
We break each job into its main tasks, estimate the share of a typical week each one takes, and judge how far current AI and automation tools reach into it. The score out of 10 starts from the job's overall rating (low is 1 to 3, moderate 4 to 6, high 7 to 10) and the task split places it within that range. Source: Career Tips analysis of each role's main tasks.
Common questions about becoming an audiologist
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do audiologists earn?
Audiologists earn a median of $104,200 per year before tax for full-time work. Private clinics that fit hearing aids often pay a base plus commission, while hospital and government roles pay set bands, so two jobs with the same title can pay quite differently.
How do you become an audiologist?
You finish an undergraduate degree, then an accredited two-year master's in audiology, then certify with Audiology Australia or the Australian College of Audiology. Places in the master's programs are limited, so check each course's prerequisites and minimum marks well before applications close.
Are audiologists in demand in Australia?
Audiologists are currently in shortage nationally, and employment is projected to grow 32.7% over the decade to 2035. About 2,600 people work in the field, so ask about waiting lists and unfilled positions in the area you want to live in.
Will AI replace audiologists?
The testing equipment and fitting software get smarter every year, but they still need someone to decide what to test, interpret a result that does not fit the picture, and explain the diagnosis to a family. Learning the software your clinic uses, and getting good at those conversations, is where your value sits.
What can an audiologist move into?
Audiometry and audiology share the testing and device-fitting work, and audiologists earn $28,800 more than audiometrists, though crossing from audiometry into audiology means completing the master's degree and certification first. Audiologists also move into paediatric services, cochlear implant teams and rehabilitation roles. Setting up your own clinic is a further step, and it means funding equipment, handling Medicare and private health claims, and carrying the cost of stock yourself.
Can you become an audiologist if you already have a degree in another field?
Yes, and many students come to the master's that way. You will usually need to complete prerequisite subjects such as anatomy, psychology and statistics first, sometimes through a bridging semester, so check the requirements of each program about a year ahead.
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