ABS region (SA4) · Western Australia

AI exposure in Western Australia - Outback (North)

Published 16 October 2026 · Updated 16 October 2026 · What's changed

In Western Australia - Outback (North), about 2,900 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 33.2 out of 100, the 88th most exposed of the 89 regions we rank. Western Australia scores 36.2; 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
2,9007% of those with a job
National rank
88 of 891 is most exposed. Scores run 33.2 to 42.6
Western Australia - Outback (North) score
33.2out of 100
Western Australia / Australia
36.2 / 37.4out of 100

Score 60 or more · most people first

Jobs with high exposure

Map of Western Australia - Outback (North), with an inset showing where it sits in Western Australia.
Western Australia - Outback (North), an ABS region (SA4), in green. Inset: where it sits in Western Australia. Boundaries: ABS, Australian Statistical Geography Standard Edition 3 (2021), CC BY 4.0.
  1. General Clerks71 out of 100
    About 1,000 people, automation exposure score 71 out of 100
  2. Receptionists66 out of 100
    About 500 people, automation exposure score 66 out of 100
  3. Accounting Clerks71 out of 100
    About 300 people, automation exposure score 71 out of 100
  4. About 200 people, automation exposure score 64 out of 100
  5. Bookkeepers69 out of 100
    About 200 people, automation exposure score 69 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.

Western Australia average 36.2

Within Western Australia

RegionScoreHigh-exposure jobsNational rank
Perth - Inner38.98,90020
Perth - North West37.231,70033
Perth - North East36.614,50038
Perth - South East36.626,30039
Perth - South West36.521,40041
Mandurah33.73,40078
Western Australia - Wheat Belt33.74,80079
Western Australia - Outback (South)33.64,40080
Bunbury33.66,70083
Western Australia - Outback (North) (this page)33.22,90088

Average score out of 100

Against the state and Australia

Bar chart of average automation exposure score out of 100: Western Australia - Outback (North) 33.2, Western Australia 36.2, Australia 37.4.

For journalists

Quote this

“Western Australia - Outback (North) is less exposed than most of Australia, because more of its work is hands-on. Even so, about 2,900 people here work in jobs where AI could automate much of the routine work.”
Stefan Savva, founder, Changing Careers

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.

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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 Western Australia - Outback (North) 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)

Western Australia - Outback (North) is the 88th 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.