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Diversional Therapist salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a diversional therapist is $74,600 per annum, before tax, up $15,500 since 2018.
- Pay depends more on the employer and setting than on the title: aged care providers, hospitals and community organisations each set their own rates, and enterprise agreements in larger providers cover most of the workforce.
- Experience and qualifications move it too, and coordinating a facility's activity program usually pays more than delivering sessions.
- Casual and part-time arrangements are common, so weekly earnings can be well below the annual figure.
The median salary rose by $15,500 between 2018 and 2024; the dashed line shows a projection to 2028 based on the real ABS Wage Price Index growth rate, not a role-specific forecast.
Roles that pay more than diversional therapist
The largest typical pay rise is $21,300 a year, moving into Community Development Officer.
- Community Development Officer+$21,300/yr
- Recreation Officer+$800/yr
How to negotiate a higher diversional therapist salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time diversional therapist salary is $74,600; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Lead with what's scarce, not just tenure. Skills like Patient care and support and Care planning and coordination tend to command a premium over general diversional therapist experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- Bring a real alternative to the table. Community Development Officer pays a typical $21,300 a year more and draws on similar skills, even mentioning you're weighing it up is a legitimate data point in a pay conversation.
- Time it deliberately. Reviews, the end of a project you delivered, or taking on responsibility beyond your job description are stronger moments to ask than an arbitrary date on the calendar.
- Ask for a number, not a raise. "Based on the market rate and [specific contribution], I'd like to move to X" gets a clearer answer than "I think I deserve more."
Diversional Therapist salary questions
How much do diversional therapists earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a diversional therapist is $74,600 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is diversional therapist pay rising or falling?
The median diversional therapist salary is up $15,500 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.
What pays more than diversional therapist?
Community Development Officer pays a typical $21,300 a year more and draws on similar skills to diversional therapist.
Related salaries
- Recreation Officer salary
- Community Development Officer salary
- Aged Care Worker salary
- Disability Support Worker salary
- Assistant in Nursing salary
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker salary
Pay advice
- How to ask for a pay rise, and back it up with real numbersWhat national wage growth looks like right now, how to work out a figure for your own role, wording you can adapt for the conversation, and what to do if the answer is no.
- The average salary in Australia (2026)Full-time adults in Australia averaged $2,083.70 a week in May 2026. Several measures get called the average salary, and this explains which one fits your situation.
- Overtime pay, time in lieu and what your award saysOvertime rates come from your award or agreement, not one national rule. How rates work, what happens on a salary, and how time off in lieu works.