Business Analyst
Business analysts pin down what an organisation needs from a system or a process, then set out the requirements clearly enough for the people who will build it.
- Median salary
- $140,200
4.0%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 20,300
2.5%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +25.9%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- 5 out of 10
- Average hours
- 41/wk
+1h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- Not in shortage
national
- Business analysts work inside change and technology projects, usually for banks, insurers, government agencies, consultancies and professional services firms.
- The role is easy to mix up with project management: a project manager owns the budget and the timeline, while a business analyst owns what the solution has to do.
- There is no registration or licence to get, and while a degree in business, commerce or information systems is the common background, some analysts arrive through a diploma or an internal move from testing or support.
How much do business analysts earn?
The median full-time salary for a business analyst is $140,200 per annum, before tax, up $29,300 since 2018.
Your rate moves with the sector and the contract type, since banks, insurers and large consultancies usually pay above government agencies, and a day rate can look generous until you allow for unpaid gaps between engagements. Seniority and a specialisation in a platform or an industry lift an offer further. Ask an employer how the package is put together, including whether super is included or paid in addition and how much of a bonus depends on project outcomes.
What does a business analyst 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.
- Interviewing stakeholders and running workshops to find where a process breaks down and what a good outcome would look like
- Turning business needs into written requirements, user stories and process maps that developers can build from
- Mapping current and future-state processes so everyone can see how the work will flow once the change lands
- Keeping the project team and business sponsors aligned as scope shifts, which often means rewriting requirements more than once
- Running user acceptance testing during rollout to confirm the solution works and has not broken anything else
What skills do business analysts need?
Employers look for business requirements analysis, process improvement, data analysis, backed by Jira fluency and strong stakeholder management.
Specialist skills
- Business requirements analysis
- Process improvement
- Data analysis
Software and tools
- Jira
- Confluence
- Visio
- SQL
- Excel
General skills
- Stakeholder management
- Written communication
- Problem solving
Is the job growing?
About 20,300 people work as business analysts in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 25.9% 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 a business analyst?
Here's the path most business analysts take, step by step.
- 1Study business, commerce or information systems
A bachelor degree is the most common background in the field, with 48% of business analysts holding one. A diploma in business or IT is a realistic alternative, especially if you move across from an operational role where you already know how the work runs.
- 2Build the tools alongside your study
SQL, Excel, Jira and Confluence appear in most job ads, and you can practise process mapping in Visio or a free diagramming tool. A sample requirements document or process map gives you something concrete to walk an interviewer through.
- 3Get in through an adjacent role
Plenty of analysts start in testing, IT support, operations, finance or customer service and move across internally when a project needs someone who knows the business. Graduate programs at banks, insurers, consultancies and government agencies are the other main way in, and they are competitive.
- 4Add a certification once you have delivery experience to point to
The International Institute of Business Analysis offers certifications from entry level upward, and some employers will fund them. They carry more weight when you can show a project where you put the method into practice.
Study routes we have checked
Qualifications that are a recognised way into this role, and what else you need.
- Master of Business Information Systems
A recognised route into this role
Complete the analysis and systems coursework and build practical experience with requirements and stakeholders. Employer requirements vary.
- Master of Business
A step towards this role
A general business qualification supports analyst work; employers look for analytical, systems and stakeholder skills and relevant experience.
- Master of Information Systems
A step towards this role
Provides analysis and requirements skills. Business analyst roles usually also look for experience in the relevant industry.
Ready to apply as a business analyst?
Whether you're working toward becoming a business analyst 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 a business analyst move to?
Moving into IT Project Manager typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $31,900 a year more on average.
- IT Project ManagerRecorded move$172,100+$31,900
- Management ConsultantRecorded move$127,100−$13,100
- Organisational Development ConsultantRecorded move$127,100−$13,100
- Systems AnalystRecorded move$106,600−$33,600
Thick lines are moves people were recorded making in Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility (income tax records, 2011-12 to 2020-21). Thin lines are moves we suggest from skill overlap and entry requirements.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
IT Project Manager Business analysts bring requirements gathering and stakeholder coordination to IT project management, with extra study in project delivery.Known move | +$31,900 | 12% | reskill |
Management Consultant Business analysts bring structured problem solving and process analysis to management consulting, though a new qualification is required.Known move | −$13,100 | 26% | requalify |
Organisational Development Consultant Business analysts bring organisational analysis and change support to organisational development consulting, with a short course to add HR expertise.Known move | −$13,100 | 47% | short course |
Product Manager Business analysts bring user needs analysis and requirements prioritisation to product management, with a short course in product practice. | −$20,700 | 50% | short course |
Systems Analyst Systems analysts share the business analyst's requirements and process modelling skills, needing little retraining to specialise in system design.Known move | −$33,600 | 67% | minimal |
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 a business analyst?
The typical business analyst is 41 years old; 64% are men, 90% work full-time, and full-timers average 41 hours a week.
- 41
- Median age
- 36%
- Female share
- 90%
- Full-time
- +1h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a business analyst?
Your week divides between people and paperwork: workshops and one-on-one interviews to find out how a process really works, then long stretches at a desk turning what you heard into requirements, process maps and user stories. Deadlines tighten when scope shifts late, and you are often the one explaining to a frustrated manager why a change now costs far more than it would have three months ago. If you enjoy asking questions, untangling a messy process and getting a straight answer out of people who disagree, there is plenty of that here. If you would rather build the thing than describe it, the documentation can feel like a long detour.
What people like
- You watch the fix land. You spend weeks on a problem, then see a team build what you specified and a slow process get quicker because of it.
- The questions are the work. Much of your value comes from asking people what they actually do, which regularly turns up a problem nobody had named.
- Skills that travel between industries. Banks, hospitals, insurers and government agencies all run change projects, so you can switch sectors without starting your career again.
- Visible rungs above you. Senior analyst, lead analyst and product owner roles come within reach once you have a few projects behind you, and contract rates climb with experience.
What people find hard
- Requirements keep moving. Scope changes after sign-off, and the document you finished last month no longer describes what is being built.
- Your progress depends on other people. You cannot finish a requirement alone; if the subject matter expert is flat out, your work stops until they are free.
- The calendar fills with meetings. Workshops, stand-ups and steering committees take up hours that you then have to make back at your desk.
- Good documentation goes unnoticed. A clear specification gets no credit until something is missing from it, and then it is the first thing anyone looks for.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ business analysts?
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services employs the largest share of business analysts, followed by Financial and Insurance Services.
Top employing industries
- 1Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
- 2Financial and Insurance Services
- 3Public Administration and Safety
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 47.7% | |
|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate | 31.7% | |
| Year 12 or below | 7.9% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 7.5% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 2.9% |
Will AI replace business analysts?
Moderate exposure. Not replaced, but changed. AI is taking on some tasks and the rest of the job shifts around them.
Moderate exposure overall: AI tools now draft user stories, summarise stakeholder interviews and turn system logs into process maps, which cuts the time spent producing documents. Judgement stays with you, because working out which departments need the change and settling disagreement between them is not something a model can do. Employers increasingly expect fluency with the analysis features inside Jira, Confluence and BI platforms, so learn them early.
How a typical week splits
- Writing requirements, user stories and specifications25% of the week
A model will produce a usable first draft of a user story from your interview notes, so your time goes into correcting the detail it guessed wrong.
- Pulling and interpreting data25% of the week
SQL and BI tools write queries faster than you can, but you still have to know which question is worth asking and whether the answer makes sense.
- Mapping current and future-state processes20% of the week
Process mining can rebuild a workflow from system logs, but someone has to check it against the steps people do outside the system.
- Running workshops and interviewing stakeholders30% of the week
Reading the room, following up on a vague answer and getting two rival managers to agree is work that happens in person.
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.
Moves least exposed to AI
These career moves from business analyst work are rated low for AI exposure:
- Management Consultant
Some skill overlap (26%), requalify to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
Common questions about becoming a business analyst
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do business analysts earn?
$140,200 per year before tax is the median for full-time business analysts. Sector and contract type move that figure most, so ask whether super is included and whether a bonus is guaranteed or tied to project outcomes. Treat it as a benchmark for comparing offers, not a starting salary.
How do you become a business analyst?
Most people arrive with a degree in business, commerce or IT, then add SQL, process mapping and workshop skills before they apply. If you are already employed, volunteer to gather requirements on a project in your current workplace, because interviewers rate that experience above another short course.
Are business analysts in demand?
Business analysts are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 25.9% over the decade to 2035. The skills apply across almost every industry, so widen your search beyond technology employers: banks, insurers, hospitals and government agencies all hire analysts.
Will AI replace business analysts?
AI is taking over the drafting, not the deciding. Expect to spend less time writing documents from scratch and more time checking what a model produced and testing it against how the business actually works. Learn the analysis features inside the tools your employer already uses, because fluency with them is now assumed.
What can a business analyst move into?
Systems analyst is the closest sideways step, since the requirements and process modelling skills carry straight over and pay is $33,600 less. Moving into IT project management takes extra study in delivery methods and pays $31,900 more, while product management suits analysts who want to own a product's direction once they learn product practice. Some experienced analysts go independent as contractors or consultants, which pays by the day and leaves you finding your own work, insurance and time off.
Do you need a degree to be a business analyst?
No, though it is the most common background: 48% of business analysts hold a bachelor degree. A diploma plus a few years in an operational or testing role can also get you there, because employers look for evidence that you have gathered requirements on a real project.
Related roles
- IT Project Manager
- Systems Analyst
- Management Consultant
- Organisational Development Consultant
- Product Manager
- Software Engineer
Not sure this is you? Take the career quiz and get a ranked shortlist of roles that fit how you like to work.
Career advice
- How to change careers, and which moves are realisticData on 1,573 career moves across 350 Australian occupations shows 63.3% need no more than a short course, though skill overlap alone won't tell you which ones. Six worked examples, and how to check your own move.
- Skills to put on your resume (with skills finder)A resume skills section built for the job you're applying for. Search your occupation to see the specialist skills, tools and general skills it calls for, with worked examples and what to write if you have no work history yet.
- How to prepare for a job interviewWhat to work through before a job interview: a prep sheet built from the job ad, the stories that cover most questions, and the questions an interviewer can't lawfully ask in Australia.