Screenwriter
Screenwriters write the scripts that film, television and digital productions are built from, working out story, character and dialogue scene by scene.
- Median salary*
- $75,400
3.6%vs last year, before tax
- People employed*
- 2,500
0.0%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +18.2%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- automation risk
- Average hours*
- 40/wk
matches all-jobs average
- Shortage status
- Not in shortage
national
Screenwriters work on feature films, television series, streaming drama and online productions, either adapting existing material or inventing the story from scratch. What separates the job from novel writing or journalism is the script itself: everything is written to be performed, shot and budgeted, so page count, scene structure and production cost shape every draft. Most work freelance, moving between commissioned scripts, development deals and their own spec projects.
How much do screenwriters earn?
The median full-time salary for a screenwriter is $75,400 per annum, before tax, up $16,100 since 2018.
Screenwriters are usually paid per commission, per draft or as an option fee rather than a salary, so annual earnings depend on how many projects get funded and how long each one runs. Recommended rates published by the Australian Writers' Guild set benchmarks for members, and fees scale with the budget of the production and the writer's credits. Development work on a pitch or a spec script is often unpaid, which is why many writers hold other work alongside it.
What does a screenwriter 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.
- Developing story ideas, outlines and beat sheets before a draft begins
- Writing and rewriting scenes and dialogue through successive drafts
- Researching places, professions and periods so the detail rings true
- Taking notes from producers, directors and script editors, then working out which ones to act on
- Pitching scripts and series ideas to production companies, broadcasters and screen agencies
What skills do screenwriters need?
Employers look for content creation and writing, backed by Final Draft fluency and strong written communication.
Specialist skills
- Content creation and writing
Software and tools
- Final Draft
- Celtx
- WriterDuet
- Microsoft Word
- Scrivener
General skills
- Written communication
- Attention to detail
- Time and deadline management
- Problem solving
- People leadership
- Digital literacy
Is the job growing?
About 2,500 people work as screenwriters in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 18.2% over the decade to 2035. That's healthy, above-average growth, and the role should stay in solid demand.
How do you become a screenwriter?
Here's the path most screenwriters take, step by step.
- 1Learn the craft and finish scripts
Screenwriting degrees, AFTRS courses and shorter workshops teach structure and script format, but the scripts you complete matter more than the qualification. Formal study is common, with 52% of screenwriters holding a Bachelor degree.
- 2Get a short film made
A produced short is the standard calling card: it shows you can work with a director, a crew and a budget, and it can screen at festivals where producers and funding bodies see it.
- 3Start inside the industry
Many writers begin as script assistants, script coordinators or development staff at production companies, where they learn how notes, drafts and budgets actually move a project along.
- 4Find an agent and pitch
An agent submits your work to producers, broadcasters and screen agencies, and most of them prefer to read through one. Until then, pitch directly, enter competitions and apply to state and national development programs.
- 5Keep the practice going between commissions
Script editing, development work, advertising copy and games writing bring in income and keep you close to the people who commission scripts, which is how the next screen job usually arrives.
Ready to apply as a screenwriter?
Whether you're working toward becoming a screenwriter 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 screenwriter move to?
Moving into Film and Television Producer typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $20,800 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Film and Television Producer Screenwriters bring script knowledge and story assessment to producing, learning financing and production management. | +$20,800 | 32% | reskill |
| Journalist Screenwriters bring narrative structure and dialogue craft to journalism, adapting to reporting formats and daily deadlines. | +$14,100 | 50% | short course |
| Film and Television Director Screenwriters bring narrative vision and script understanding to directing, learning staging, camera and performance. | +$5,200 | 39% | reskill |
| Author Screenwriters bring characterisation and plot craft to authorship, adapting scripts into prose for publication. | +$2,600 | 47% | short course |
| Publishing Editor Screenwriters bring story judgement and script sense to editing, learning publishing workflows and house style. | −$10,400 | 54% | short course |
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 screenwriter?
The typical screenwriter is 42 years old; 55% are men, 60% work full-time, and full-timers average 40 hours a week.
- 42
- Median age
- 45%
- Female share
- 60%
- Full-time
- +0h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a screenwriter?
Screenwriting runs in cycles: concentrated drafting, then long stretches of pitching, waiting and unpaid development before the next commission. Deadlines are real once a production is moving, because cast, crew and budget wait on the script, and television work adds a writers' room with a shared schedule and daily collaboration. It suits people who can write alone for long hours, take notes on their own work without losing the story, and keep producing when a project stalls.
What people like
- A scene that reads the way you pictured it. Getting a scene onto the page exactly as you imagined it, and later hearing an actor deliver the lines, is the reward the whole job is built around.
- Working with a story team. In a writers' room you trade ideas with a showrunner and other writers all day, which is more social than most writing jobs and often the fastest way to learn structure.
- Learning a new world with each project. A commission can ask you to understand a police station, a mine site or a decade of history well enough to write it convincingly.
- Seeing the work reach an audience. A script can end up on a streaming service or a cinema screen, which few other kinds of writing manage.
What people find hard
- Irregular income. Fees arrive per commission or option, so a strong year can be followed by a lean one while projects sit in development.
- Notes from every direction. Scripts pass through producers, directors, broadcasters and script editors, and the draft you love is rarely the draft that gets made.
- Unpaid development time. Pitching and writing on spec take weeks with no guarantee of payment, let alone production.
- Long gaps between credits. Months can pass between one production finishing and the next starting, and that time goes into writing, pitching and reading.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ screenwriters?
Motion Picture and Video Production employs the largest share of screenwriters, followed by Television Broadcasting.
Top employing industries
- 1Motion Picture and Video Production
- 2Television Broadcasting
- 3Advertising Services
- 4Publishing
- 5Performing Arts
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 52% | |
|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate | 26% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 13% | |
| Other | 9% |
Will AI replace screenwriters?
Screenwriting sits in the middle of the AI range. Language models can draft scenes, suggest plot turns and tidy dialogue, and similar tools are used in some development offices for script analysis and coverage, which makes early drafting faster. What they don't do is hold a point of view, work a room with a director, or carry the responsibility a producer is commissioning, and that is what keeps the exposure moderate rather than high.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Drafting scenes and dialogueA model can turn out a passable scene, but the distinctive voice in the dialogue is the thing producers are buying.30%moderate
- Pitching, notes rounds and rewritesPitch meetings, writers' room arguments and rewriting to a producer's notes are conversations between people, and they decide whether the script gets made.30%low
- Breaking story and outliningAI can generate beat sheets and alternative plot directions in seconds, but choosing which story to tell and which scenes earn their place stays with the writer.25%moderate
- Script formatting and production draftsFinal Draft and similar programs already handle layout, revision colours and page counts, and AI features are folding more of that housekeeping into the tool.15%high
Moves least exposed to AI
These career moves from screenwriter work are rated low for AI exposure:
- Film and Television Director
Some skill overlap (39%), reskill to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
Common questions about becoming a screenwriter
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do screenwriters earn?
$75,400 per year before tax is the median for full-time screenwriters, but the figure hides how uneven the work is, because a year with a commissioned series looks nothing like a year of development and pitching. Freelance income arrives as draft fees and option payments, so planning for gaps between projects matters as much as the rate.
How do you become a screenwriter?
There is no single entry route: most screenwriters build a portfolio of finished scripts, often through a screenwriting degree or short course, then get a short film produced or win a place in a development program. Paid work typically starts in a writers' room, as a script assistant, or with a first commissioned draft.
Are screenwriters in demand?
Screenwriters are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 18.2% over the decade to 2035. That figure says nothing about how many productions get funded in a particular year, so credits, agent representation and industry relationships carry more weight in finding work than the headline number.
Will AI replace screenwriters?
AI tools can produce a competent scene draft, generate story options and summarise a script for coverage, which speeds up outlining and early drafting, and that is where most of the exposure sits. They don't hold a point of view, defend a choice in a room with a director, or take the credit a producer is paying for, so the craft and the working relationships still decide who gets commissioned.
What other jobs can screenwriters move into?
Journalists earn $14,100 more and share the research and narrative instincts, so the move runs in both directions, while authors earn $2,600 more and trade script structure for prose. Film and television producers earn $20,800 more, a step that applies the same story judgement to budgets and schedules. Most screenwriters work freelance rather than for one employer, and building your own slate of commissioned and original projects is where earnings tend to grow.
Do screenwriters work full time?
Not all of them: 60% work full time, averaging 40 hours a week, and the rest combine writing with teaching, script editing or copywriting while projects are in development.
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