Counsellor
Counsellors talk with people through emotional, behavioural or relationship difficulties and help them find their own way of coping and moving forward.
- Median salary
- $112,000
3.7%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 40,100
1.8%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +23.4%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Low
- 2 out of 10
- Average hours
- 41/wk
+1h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- Not in shortage
national
- Counsellors work with individuals, couples and families, using structured conversation to help someone understand a problem and find practical ways of dealing with it.
- They see clients in community health centres, schools, hospitals, workplaces and private practice.
- Counsellors are not registered with AHPRA; most are accredited with a body such as PACFA or the Australian Counselling Association, and the work covers support and coping, not the diagnosis or clinical treatment of mental illness.
How much do counsellors earn?
The median full-time salary for a counsellor is $112,000 per annum, before tax, up $23,100 since 2018.
What you earn is decided mostly by whether you are salaried or in private practice. Salaried roles in community health, schools and employee assistance programs follow an award or enterprise agreement, with steps for experience and higher rates for supervisory work, while private practice means setting your own fee per session and carrying room hire, insurance and supervision costs yourself. Ask an employer whether clinical admin time is paid, whether supervision is funded, and whether the salary covers a full-time caseload.
What does a counsellor 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.
- Running sessions with individuals, couples or families, holding the structure of the hour while the conversation goes where it needs to
- Taking an intake history and asking about risk in the first meeting, to see what the person needs and whether counselling is the right service for them
- Writing session notes, safety plans and referral letters between appointments, which often happens at the end of the day
- Meeting a supervisor to talk through difficult cases, which accreditation requires you to keep up
- Changing tack when a client's situation shifts, or referring them on when another service would help more
What skills do counsellors need?
Employers look for counselling and support work, pastoral care and wellbeing, regulatory compliance, backed by Client management software (e.g. Casenotes, Psychology Tools) fluency and strong client relationships and advisory.
Specialist skills
- Counselling and support work
- Pastoral care and wellbeing
- Regulatory compliance
Software and tools
- Client management software (e.g. Casenotes, Psychology Tools)
- Video conferencing platforms
- Assessment questionnaires and psychometric tools
- Clinical supervision notes
- Secure email and file storage systems
General skills
- Client relationships and advisory
- Empathy and interpersonal care
- Written communication
- Problem solving
- Stakeholder management
Is the job growing?
About 40,100 people work as counsellors in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 23.4% 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 counsellor?
Here's the path most counsellors take, step by step.
- 1Choose a course that includes supervised client hours
The Diploma of Counselling is the quickest entry point, but most counsellors hold a bachelor degree, and a postgraduate qualification is common for people moving across from health, teaching or welfare work. Look for a course accredited by PACFA or the Australian Counselling Association, because a qualification from a provider those bodies don't recognise makes the next step harder.
- 2Get accredited with a professional body
Counselling has no national registration in Australia, so accreditation is what employers, insurers and private clients check. PACFA and the Australian Counselling Association each set their own requirements, usually a recognised qualification plus a period of supervised client work, so read the current rules before you enrol.
- 3Log your supervised practice
New counsellors see clients under supervision, often through a placement at a community health service, a school or an employee assistance program. Those hours count toward accreditation, and supervision continues for as long as you practise.
- 4Pick a setting and build from there
Community health, schools, alcohol and drug services, and grief or relationship agencies all hire counsellors, and each gives you a different caseload. Employers usually want a couple of years of supervised practice before they will take you on as a senior counsellor or team leader.
Study routes we have checked
Qualifications that are a recognised way into this role, and what else you need.
- Diploma of Counselling
A recognised route into this role
Defined, supported counselling roles in established agencies; the source does not establish independent practice. Check employer and professional association requirements.
- Master of Counselling
A recognised route into this role
A recognised route into counselling. Professional body membership and ongoing supervision expectations vary, and some employers ask for an accredited program.
- Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy
A recognised route into this role
A recognised postgraduate route; professional association membership usually also depends on accreditation of the course and supervised practice hours. Check employer and association requirements.
Ready to apply as a counsellor?
Whether you're working toward becoming a counsellor 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 counsellor move to?
Moving into Psychologist typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $2,600 a year more on average.
- PsychologistRecorded move$114,600+$2,600
- Social WorkerRecorded move$112,900+$900
- Family Dispute Resolution PractitionerSuggested move$98,800−$13,200
- MediatorSuggested move$96,200−$15,800
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
Psychologist Counsellors bring interviewing and therapeutic skills to psychology, but full registration requires a psychology degree and endorsement.Known move | +$2,600 | 15% | requalify |
Social Worker Counsellors bring client assessment and therapeutic listening to social work, but a social work degree and registration are required.Known move | +$900 | 50% | requalify |
Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner Counsellors bring family dynamics and communication skills to dispute resolution, though accreditation requires further specialised study. | −$13,200 | 47% | reskill |
Mediator Counsellors bring listening, neutrality and conflict resolution to mediation, with a short course adding accreditation. | −$15,800 | 53% | short course |
Behaviour Support Practitioner Counsellors bring behavioural assessment and support planning to disability practice, with further study needed for the practitioner role. | −$23,600 | 43% | reskill |
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 counsellor?
The typical counsellor is 44 years old; 79% are women, 49% work full-time, and full-timers average 41 hours a week.
- 44
- Median age
- 79%
- Female share
- 49%
- Full-time
- +1h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a counsellor?
Your day is a series of booked hours, and the work is staying present in each one without carrying it into the next. People bring you grief, relationship breakdowns, suicidal thoughts and histories of abuse, and you sit with that while staying steady yourself. Between clients there are notes, calls and referrals, so even a short day can feel full. If slow progress and long silences don't unsettle you, you'll probably find the work absorbing; if you need quick, visible results, the pace is hard to sustain.
What people like
- Watching a client turn a corner. Someone who arrived unable to leave the house starts catching the bus again, or a couple stops arguing long enough to hear each other. Progress is slow and rarely straight, but you are often in the room when it turns.
- No two hours look alike. One session is a teenager refusing school, the next is a couple separating, the next is a retired tradesman who won't see his GP. The variety keeps the thinking fresh.
- Supervision is built into the work. Regular supervision is a condition of accreditation, so you have somewhere to take the cases that stay with you and an experienced person to ask about them.
- You can move between settings. Schools, community health, employee assistance programs, addiction services and private practice all hire counsellors, and each gives you a different client group to learn from.
What people find hard
- Admin time isn't always paid. Employers differ on whether notes, calls and referral letters count as paid hours, and in private practice none of it does. Ask how clinical admin hours are counted in any role you're considering.
- You hold other people's distress. You hear about trauma, suicide and violence, and you can't fix most of what brought someone to you. Supervision and firm boundaries help, but the accumulation is real.
- Progress is hard to measure. A client can improve without you noticing, and some don't improve at all. If you need measurable outcomes to feel useful, this work asks a lot of you.
- Waiting lists you can't clear. Community and school services often carry long lists, so people arrive months after they first asked for help while you manage demand you can't meet.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ counsellors?
Health Care and Social Assistance employs the largest share of counsellors, followed by Education and Training.
Top employing industries
- 1Health Care and Social Assistance
- 2Education and Training
- 3Public Administration and Safety
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Postgraduate | 38.7% | |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor degree | 34.2% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 13.2% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 6% | |
| Year 12 or below | 6% |
Will AI replace counsellors?
Low exposure. Unlikely. AI will change some of the work around this job, not the job itself.
Counselling sits at the low end of AI exposure because the job is a relationship: someone brings distress into a room and gets a human response, and software can't stand in for that. Technology does reach the edges, with transcription tools drafting notes, digital questionnaires flagging risk and booking systems handling appointments. Starting now, get comfortable with those tools and spend your training on the clinical skills they can't replicate, particularly assessment and note writing.
How a typical week splits
None of the main tasks in this job.
- Session notes and case records25% of the week
Dictation software can turn a spoken summary into a draft note, and you check the wording and clinical detail before it goes in the file.
- Intake forms and standard questionnaires15% of the week
Online forms handle the usual depression and anxiety measures and flag answers that need attention before the first appointment.
- Sessions with clients45% of the week
The hour depends on reading the room, following the person's lead and deciding what to pick up, which no tool does.
- Referrals, bookings and agency liaison15% of the week
Chasing a housing service or a GP still takes phone calls and judgement about who can actually help this 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.
Common questions about becoming a counsellor
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do counsellors earn in Australia?
The median is $112,000 per year before tax. That covers full-time salaried work across health, education and community services; private practitioners set their own fees, so their income follows how many clients they see and how full their week is.
How do you become a counsellor?
Most counsellors complete a diploma or degree in counselling that includes supervised client hours, then apply for accreditation with PACFA or the Australian Counselling Association. Coming from nursing, teaching or community services, a postgraduate course is usually quicker, and your existing work can count toward placement hours.
Are counsellors in demand?
Counsellors are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 23.4% over the decade to 2035. The openings are spread across schools, community health and employee assistance programs, so widen your search beyond private practice if you are looking for a first role.
Could AI replace counsellors?
The work that depends on a live relationship holds up: reading a client's mood, deciding what to follow and holding a boundary are yours to do. Tools help around the edges, especially turning a session into a written record and handling standard questionnaires. If you're training now, get good at writing clear case notes and learn whatever record-keeping system you're given.
Do you need to be registered to work as a counsellor?
Counselling is not a registered profession in Australia, so there is no AHPRA register to join. Employers and private clients look for accreditation instead, and Medicare doesn't rebate a counsellor's sessions on their own, which is why so many counsellor roles sit in community health, schools and employee assistance programs.
What jobs can counsellors move into?
Counsellors who want broader clinical scope move into social work or psychology, and each means starting a degree and registration over again. Mediation is quicker, with a short course adding accreditation to skills you already use, and private practice is the move for counsellors who want to own the business, which means paying for your own rooms, insurance and supervision.
Related roles
- Social Worker
- Psychologist
- Mediator
- Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner
- Behaviour Support Practitioner
- Youth Worker
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
- Stress leave is really sick leave, and how to use itStress leave in Australia is taken as paid sick leave. What to tell your employer, what evidence they can ask for, and what to do if it runs out.
- 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.