Home Diversional Therapist Salary
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.
Roles that pay more than diversional therapist
The largest typical pay rise is $800 a year, moving into Recreation Officer.
- Recreation Officer+$800/yr
- Community Development Officer+$400/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. Recreation Officer pays a typical $800 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?
Recreation Officer pays a typical $800 a year more and draws on similar skills to diversional therapist.