ABS region (SA4) · South Australia
AI exposure in South Australia - Outback
Published 16 October 2026 · Updated 16 October 2026 · What's changed
In South Australia - Outback, about 2,500 people, or 7 per cent of those with a job, work in occupations with a high automation exposure score (60 or more out of 100). The region's average score is 33.6 out of 100, the 84th most exposed of the 89 regions we rank. South Australia scores 36.5; Australia 37.4.
Job counts come from the 2021 Census, taken in August 2021, so they are five years old. The Census was taken while New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT were in lockdown, and counts are by where people live, not where they work. The mix of jobs in an area may have changed since. 2026 Census data will be published when it becomes available in 2027.
- People in high-exposure jobs
- 2,5007% of those with a job
- National rank
- 84 of 891 is most exposed. Scores run 33.2 to 42.6
- South Australia - Outback score
- 33.6out of 100
- South Australia / Australia
- 36.5 / 37.4out of 100
Score 60 or more · most people first
Jobs with high exposure
- General Clerks71 out of 100About 700 people, automation exposure score 71 out of 100
- Receptionists66 out of 100About 500 people, automation exposure score 66 out of 100
- Bookkeepers69 out of 100About 200 people, automation exposure score 69 out of 100
- Accounting Clerks71 out of 100About 200 people, automation exposure score 71 out of 100
- Secretaries67 out of 100About 100 people, automation exposure score 67 out of 100
A score of 60 or more means generative AI could automate much of the job's day-to-day tasks. It does not mean the job will go. The 60 cut-off is ours, not JSA's. 93 per cent of employed people here work in jobs that have a score.
South Australia average 36.5
Within South Australia
| Region | Score | High-exposure jobs | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide - Central and Hills | 38.6 | 16,800 | 21 |
| Adelaide - West | 37.6 | 13,700 | 28 |
| Adelaide - South | 37.2 | 20,000 | 32 |
| Adelaide - North | 35.9 | 21,900 | 46 |
| Barossa - Yorke - Mid North | 33.9 | 3,700 | 74 |
| South Australia - Outback (this page) | 33.6 | 2,500 | 84 |
| South Australia - South East | 33.3 | 6,200 | 87 |
For journalists
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“South Australia - Outback is less exposed than most of Australia, because more of its work is hands-on. Even so, about 2,500 people here work in jobs where AI could automate much of the routine work.”
Changing Careers, AI exposure by region, 16 October 2026, https://changingcareers.com.au/ai-exposure-australia. CC BY 4.0.
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. Licence
Spokesperson
Stefan Savva
Founder, Changing Careers. Available for interview and comment on this data.
Mobile · stefan@changingcareers.com.au
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About this analysis
Who made it. Produced by Changing Careers, a paid career-transition service. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Jobs and Skills Australia or the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
What's new. Jobs and Skills Australia scores occupations. This analysis maps those scores onto where people live, region by region. This is the first edition, so there is no earlier figure to compare with.
Method
How the score is worked out. We average Jobs and Skills Australia's automation exposure scores across the jobs people in South Australia - Outback do, weighted by how many people do each one. It measures exposure of tasks, not jobs that will go, and it is not a forecast. Full method · Method (PDF)
All regions · Full dataset (CSV) · Report a correction
South Australia - Outback is the 84th most exposed of the 89 regions we rank. We will update this when the ABS releases 2026 Census occupation data or when Jobs and Skills Australia updates its scores.