AI Jobs in Australia: 200,000 New Roles Predicted by 2030

AI jobs in Australia are poised for unprecedented growth, with projections indicating that up to 200,000 new AI-related roles will emerge by 2030. This represents a required workforce expansion of 500% from current levels, highlighting the extraordinary pace of AI adoption across the country’s economy.

The transformation is already underway, with Australia’s AI workforce growing significantly from approximately 800 workers in 2014 to over 33,000 professionals by 2023. Additionally, CSIRO estimates the nation will need up to 161,000 new specialist AI workers by the end of this decade. This rapid expansion of AI jobs in Australia reflects both the technology’s increasing integration into business operations and its potential economic impact.

While AI promises substantial economic benefits—potentially contributing $115 billion to Australia’s economy, with 70% of the benefits stemming from productivity gains—it also presents significant challenges. By 2030, approximately one-tenth of Australian workers could see more than 40% of their task hours automated, while two-thirds might experience 20% to 40% automation of their work tasks. Consequently, about 1.3 million workers may need to transition into different lines of work.

This article examines how AI will transform Australian occupations, its impact on various demographics, the necessary reskilling initiatives required, emerging AI jobs, and the unexpected influence of AI across diverse sectors.

How AI Will Reshape Occupations by 2030

The impact of artificial intelligence on Australia’s workforce is expected to be profound by 2030, reshaping occupations across every industry sector. Recent analysis indicates that between 3.5 million and 6.5 million full-time equivalent positions could be affected by automation technologies, with varying levels of disruption across different sectors.

1.3 Million Workers May Need to Transition

McKinsey’s research indicates that up to 1.3 million workers—approximately 9% of Australia’s total workforce—may need to transition into new occupations by 2030. This transition rate exceeds typical employment churn, as workers will need to move into completely different occupations rather than similar roles at different businesses. The disruption will vary substantially across industries, ranging from 16% of jobs in education to 33% in the transport sector. Moreover, regional variations are expected, with city centres dominated by professional services facing about 21% disruption, compared to over 30% in mining regions like the Pilbara.

Furthermore, between half and 80% of displaced workers may need to retrain for completely new occupations, depending on the pace of automation. This represents a significant shift in Australia’s labour market that will require substantial reskilling initiatives.

40% Task Automation for 10% of Workforce

By 2030, approximately one-tenth of Australian workers could see more than 40% of their task hours automated, according to recent projections. Furthermore, nearly two-thirds of workers might experience 20% to 40% of their task hours being automated. The Australian Public Service Review identified that employees currently spend up to 40% of their time on tasks that could be automated.

The technical potential for automation is striking—62% of current work hours could already be automated with today’s AI, potentially rising to 79–98% by 2030. However, a more realistic midpoint scenario suggests that about one-quarter of work hours will be automated by this time.

Notably, automation’s impact will be uneven across demographic groups:

• Higher-wage roles face 1.8 times greater automation risk than those in the lowest wage quintile
• Workers without bachelor’s degrees are 1.8 times more likely to experience occupational transitions
• Roles requiring relatively lower education and training are particularly vulnerable

Task-Level Impact vs Full Job Displacement

Despite concerns about widespread job loss, evidence suggests AI will primarily reshape tasks within jobs rather than eliminate entire occupations. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, approximately 27% of firms using AI report replacing worker tasks; yet, only 5% experience employment changes due to AI adoption. Indeed, among businesses that change their employment levels due to AI, slightly more report increases than decreases.

This pattern aligns with the International Labour Organisation’s finding that only 2.3% of jobs worldwide can be fully automated today, whereas AI could potentially boost this to 13%. In fact, approximately 6 out of 10 occupations have automatable components (about 30% of tasks), but complete job elimination remains relatively rare.

The fundamental transformation will occur in how jobs are performed. People at work will spend over 60% more time using technological skills and over 40% more time using social and emotional skills. Demand will increase for workers in unpredictable, interactive roles such as nursing, care work, and sales. Still, it may decline for more automated positions, such as radiologists, mechanics, legal research assistants, and account processing.

Essentially, AI will shift the economy toward job augmentation rather than wholesale replacement. As the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub noted, “Unlike technologies that purely automate, generative AI applications typically require a process between a prompting-human and the technology”.

Wage, Education, and Gender Impacts of AI

The economic impact of artificial intelligence extends beyond job numbers, creating complex ripple effects throughout Australia’s wage structures, education requirements, and gender dynamics.

Higher Wage Roles Face 1.8x Automation Risk

Contrary to popular belief, exposure to AI is most significant in high-paying roles that involve information processing and analysis—tasks that AI already performs effectively. This represents a significant shift from earlier technology waves of the 1980s through the early 2000s, which primarily affected middle-skill, routine positions, such as clerical work and basic bookkeeping. Among top-paying roles, employment within firms decreased by approximately 3.5% over five years, affecting positions such as management analysts, aerospace engineers, and computer research scientists. Simultaneously, business, financial, architecture, and engineering jobs shrank by about 2% to 2.5% over the same period.

It’s interesting to note that research results initially seem contradictory. According to a McKinsey report, low-paid workers are about 14 times more likely than higher-paid workers to lose their jobs as a result of AI. Nonetheless, this apparent contradiction reflects the difference between job displacement versus task automation—many high-wage roles experience substantial task changes without complete job elimination.

Lower-Educated Workers More Likely to Be Displaced

Throughout Australia’s economy, workers with lower educational attainment face greater risks of displacement. Up to 3 million low-skilled jobs in the UK could disappear by 2035, primarily affecting trades, machine operations, and administrative roles. In Southeast Asian countries, the adoption of robots created jobs for an estimated 2 million skilled formal workers (4.3%), but displaced approximately 1.4 million low-skilled formal workers (3.3%).

Specifically, operators, drivers, and maintenance workers face increasing displacement risks as AI technologies continue to automate core aspects of their positions. Currently, only 49% of businesses actively reskill their teams to adapt to automation, despite 60% of Australian workers reporting willingness to retrain or upskill to protect their roles.

AI Exposure and the Gender Pay Gap

The relationship between AI and gender inequality presents a complex picture. Women are overrepresented in roles highly exposed to automation—4.7% of females work in high-exposure roles compared to 2.4% of males globally. This disparity is even more pronounced in high-income countries, where 9.6% of female employment is highly automated, versus 3.5% for men.

Should AI contribute to higher wage growth, men’s greater representation in AI-exposed occupations might exacerbate measures of inequality, such as Australia’s current 11.5% gender pay gap. On balance, if AI diffuses into industries with higher female representation—such as education and healthcare—this might potentially narrow gender inequities.

Overall, the reskilling challenge is particularly acute for women, who often face additional barriers, including less time to learn new skills due to care responsibilities and reduced access to technology.

Reskilling for the AI Economy

Preparing Australia’s workforce for an AI-driven future requires targeted upskilling initiatives focusing on a blend of technical and distinctly human capabilities. Successful adaptation to this shifting landscape demands a strategic approach to skills development across various domains.

Demand for Social, Emotional, and Digital Skills

By 2030, demand for social-emotional skills is expected to grow by approximately 26%, reflecting the increasing value of distinctly human capabilities. Currently, management and business process skills are most frequently required in high-AI-exposure roles, with 72% of vacancies demanding management skills and 67% requiring proficiency in business processes. Social, emotional, and digital competencies are similarly crucial, appearing in over 50% of job listings for positions with significant exposure to AI.

Digital proficiency appears especially valuable for career advancement, as individuals with stronger digital skills are 41% more likely to earn top-quintile incomes than those lacking such capabilities. Correspondingly, many employers are investing in workforce development—49% have already begun delivering AI training for employees, with another 36% planning to implement such programmes.

STEM and Humanities Integration in AI Roles

The AI jobs in Australia requires professionals who understand both technological systems and human contexts. As Dr C. Edward Watson of the American Association of Colleges and Universities notes, “As AI is leveraged for more routine intellectual tasks in the world of work, the distinctly human aspects of humanities education become more valuable”. This integration creates professionals who can navigate technical challenges while addressing ethical implications and communicating complex ideas effectively.

History demonstrates that significant innovations emerge when technical advancement meets human wisdom. The education sector is increasingly recognising this reality, with humanities disciplines providing crucial skills in empathy, cultural sensitivity, ethical reasoning, and creative problem-solving—areas where human intelligence maintains its superiority.

AI Literacy for Non-Technical Professionals

For workers without technical backgrounds, developing AI literacy has become essential for career resilience. Six fundamental AI skills for non-technical professionals include prompt engineering, AI tool literacy, critical evaluation of AI outputs, basic data fluency, change management capabilities, and ethical awareness. These competencies enable workers to collaborate effectively with AI systems rather than competing against them.

The Australian Government acknowledges this need through various initiatives, including the National Skills Agreement, which prioritises digital capabilities, the Future Skills Organisation’s AI Skills Accelerator programme, and targeted postgraduate scholarships through the Next Generation Graduates Programme. These programmes aim to close the growing gap between AI-literate and non-literate workers, which research suggests is expanding rapidly.

Furthermore, employees who develop AI-related skills could see a 8% to 12% pay increase within just two years, demonstrating the tangible economic benefits of upskilling in this domain.

Emerging AI Job Roles in Australia

Australia’s employment landscape is being reshaped by specific AI roles that currently represent the fastest-growing career opportunities nationwide. Recent analysis reveals that “AI Engineer” tops LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise list for 2026, cementing artificial intelligence as a core field driving business innovation.

Prompt Engineers and AI Trainers

Prompt engineering has rapidly emerged as a critical specialisation within the AI sector. These professionals design precise instructions that generate optimal outputs from AI systems. Australian training institutions now offer dedicated prompt engineering courses spanning multiple sectors—from healthcare to finance—with typical programmes requiring 14 hours of specialised training. The demand for these skills has prompted certification programmes that teach fundamental AI concepts alongside practical prompt engineering techniques. As AI tools become standard across industries, prompt engineers with expertise in specific domains enjoy excellent employment prospects.

Digital Health Advisors and Cybersecurity Designers

The convergence of AI with healthcare has created substantial demand for digital health advisors who can navigate both clinical requirements and technological capabilities. These professionals help implement AI solutions that maintain data accuracy for patient safety while ensuring the integrity of the system. Simultaneously, cybersecurity designers specialising in AI protection are becoming essential as healthcare records become increasingly targeted by criminals. These experts focus on security-by-design approaches, protecting legacy systems from vulnerabilities that AI tools can identify and exploit.

AI Policy Leads and Automation Specialists

AI policy leadership roles rank among the fastest-growing positions in Australia, with directors of artificial intelligence typically earning AUD 382,247.56 annually. These executives oversee the implementation of organisational AI strategy while addressing ethical and compliance concerns. Concurrently, automation specialists are increasingly sought after to optimise business processes across unexpected sectors. The expansion of these roles reflects the shift toward AI literacy as the most sought-after skill across Australian employers, with eight in ten global leaders preferring candidates comfortable with AI tools over those with more experience but less AI proficiency.

Reaching Australia’s target of 200,000 AI-related jobs by 2030 will require the current AI workforce to expand by 500% over just seven years. Nevertheless, the emergence of these specialised roles represents genuine career opportunities rather than merely theoretical projections.

AI’s Impact Across Unexpected Sectors

Beyond traditional tech sectors, artificial intelligence is creating unique employment opportunities in unexpected industries throughout Australia.

Tourism: Personalised Guest Experiences with AI

Throughout Australia’s tourism industry, AI systems now power personalised recommendations and streamlined guest experiences. Resort chains employ data scientists to develop algorithms that analyse guest preferences, creating bespoke itineraries and activity suggestions. Virtual concierges, powered by natural language processing, require technical specialists for maintenance and improvement. These applications not only enhance visitor experiences but also create positions for AI experience designers and tourism analytics specialists who bridge hospitality expertise with technical capabilities.

Petcare: Real-Time Advice via Generative AI

The pet care sector has emerged as a surprising leader in AI adoption. Veterinary clinics are increasingly utilising AI-powered diagnostic tools that identify potential health issues based on photos or descriptions of symptoms. These systems require animal health data specialists who understand both veterinary medicine and machine learning principles. Additionally, pet nutrition companies employ AI researchers to develop algorithms that create customised feeding plans based on breed, age, and health conditions, establishing a growing niche for specialised AI professionals.

Policing: AI for Mental Health and Content Filtering

Law enforcement agencies across Australia have begun integrating AI tools for mental health crisis management and content monitoring. Police departments are now hiring AI ethics consultants to ensure that algorithms don’t perpetuate biases when filtering illegal content or assessing risk factors. Mental health response systems powered by AI require specialists who can train models to recognise concerning patterns while maintaining privacy standards. These applications highlight how AI jobs extend far beyond conventional technology roles into public safety and community wellbeing initiatives.

Conclusion – AI Jobs

Australia stands at the threshold of an AI-driven economic transformation. The projected 200,000 new AI-related roles by 2030 signal a fundamental shift across the workforce landscape. This growth, requiring a 500% expansion from current levels, will create opportunities while simultaneously challenging existing career structures.

The evidence suggests that task transformation is more likely than wholesale job elimination. Although approximately one-tenth of workers might experience substantial automation of their tasks, complete replacement remains relatively uncommon. Nevertheless, 1.3 million Australians may need to transition to different occupations, underscoring the necessity for comprehensive reskilling initiatives.

Social, emotional, and digital skills will undoubtedly become increasingly valuable as AI handles routine analytical tasks. The growing demand for prompt engineers, AI trainers, and specialists who bridge technical and domain expertise highlights how AI literacy has become essential for career advancement.

The AI revolution is expected to reshape AI jobs in Australia over the coming years. Those who develop relevant skills and adaptability will thrive, while those who are unprepared risk being left behind. Although challenges lie ahead, opportunities abound for individuals and organisations that are ready to embrace this technological evolution.