Accounts clerk job description in Australia: the work, the pay and where it leads

Accounts clerk job description: the work, the pay and where it leads

About 110,700 people worked as accounts clerks at the 2021 Census (ABS, 2021 Census, OSCA Experimental Estimates). It is one of the biggest clerical jobs in Australia, and one of the jobs most exposed to AI tools.

If this is your job, or a job you are thinking about, start with the free Career Change Check. It shows the Australian roles people from your kind of work moved into, and the skills you already have for each one.

This page covers what an accounts clerk does, what the government data says about the job, and where accounts clerks tend to go next.

What an accounts clerk does

An accounts clerk keeps the money side of a business in order. You are not doing the tax return or the year-end accounts. You are doing the daily work that makes those possible.

Most days include some of this:

Entering and paying supplier invoices (accounts payable)
Sending invoices and recording payments that come in (accounts receivable)
Matching bank statements to the records (reconciliation)
Checking expense claims and petty cash
Chasing late payments by phone or email
Answering questions from suppliers, customers and staff
Pulling simple reports for a bookkeeper, accountant or manager

The job rewards care. One wrong digit can cost someone an afternoon to find. That care is also what other jobs look for.

Accounts clerk or bookkeeper?

The two jobs overlap. A bookkeeper usually owns more of the books, often for a small business, and may prepare the Business Activity Statement for an accountant to check. An accounts clerk usually handles one part of the process inside a bigger team.

About 79,300 people worked as bookkeepers at the 2021 Census (ABS). If you are weighing up that step, our post on moving from bookkeeper to accounts officer covers it.

What the job pays

The ABS publishes pay for a family of related jobs, not for one job title. For the family that accounts clerks belong to, median weekly earnings for full-time adult employees were A$1,442 before tax (ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025). For bookkeepers the figure was A$1,400.

That is a median, so half earn more and half earn less. Your award or enterprise agreement sets your minimum. You can check it with the Fair Work Ombudsman.

How exposed the job is to AI

Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) gives each family of jobs an automation exposure score. Accounts clerks score 71 out of 100 (Jobs and Skills Australia, Our Gen AI Transition, 2025). Bookkeepers score 69 and data entry operators score 81.

A high score does not mean the job disappears next year. It means many of its tasks are the kind software can already do, or help with. For an accounts clerk, that is mostly keying in invoices, matching payments and running standard reports.

The parts that are harder to hand over look different:

Sorting out a disputed invoice with a supplier
Spotting a payment that looks wrong and asking why
Explaining a problem in the numbers to a manager
Fixing the process when the same error keeps coming back

If most of your week is the first kind of work, the risk is real. If a fair share of it is the second kind, you already have skills other jobs ask for.

Where accounts clerks go next

Most moves keep the care with numbers and documents, and add more judgement or more people contact. Here are three directions, with the JSA exposure score for each.

Claims. Insurance claims work uses the same care with documents and rules, with decisions on top. Insurance claims officers score 44 out of 100 (JSA, 2025). See getting into claims and the claims pathway.

Operations coordination. An operations coordinator runs a process from start to finish: suppliers, orders, schedules and follow-up. The closest family in the ABS data is program or project administrator, which scores 53 out of 100 (JSA, 2025). Purchase orders and supplier accounts are a good start. See the operations coordination pathway.

Health administration. Hospitals and clinics need people who are good with billing, records and patients. Health practice managers score 42 out of 100 (JSA, 2025). See health admin roles: who does what and the health admin pathway.

None of these is a sure step. Each asks for some new knowledge about the sector. None asks you to start from zero.

Do you need a qualification?

Many accounts clerk jobs ask for experience with accounting software and a good eye for detail rather than a qualification. Where a course helps, a Certificate III in Accounts Administration or a Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping is a common choice.

Some courses are free or low cost through state Free TAFE places. Check what is on offer and whether you are eligible at dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe, and compare courses at yourcareer.gov.au. Training costs money and time, and a course on its own may not lead to a job, so read the job ads in your target area before you enrol.

A plan you can start this month

Write down your real tasks. Not your job title. A skills audit takes about an hour.
Pick one direction. The free Career Change Check shows which roles your skills point to.
Find the gap. Read five job ads for that role and list what you do not have yet.
Close one gap at work. Offer to handle supplier disputes, or to train the next new starter.
Write a targeted resume for that role. Lead with the problems you found and fixed. Our guide to a career change resume shows how.

If you want help with steps 3 to 5, the twelve-week Sprint is A$299. You get a resume, a cover letter and a LinkedIn line for every real job ad you bring in, interview practice out loud with AI feedback after every answer, and an Australian career coach who reviews a targeted resume or an application up to three times and answers your messages in writing.

Frequently asked questions

What does an accounts clerk do in Australia?

An accounts clerk handles the daily money work of a business: entering and paying supplier invoices, recording payments that come in, matching bank statements to the records, checking expense claims and chasing late payments. The work feeds the bookkeeper or accountant, who prepares the statements and returns.

What does an accounts clerk earn in Australia?

The ABS publishes pay for a family of related jobs. For the family that accounts clerks belong to, median weekly earnings for full-time adult employees were A$1,442 before tax (ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025). Your award or enterprise agreement sets your minimum.

Is the accounts clerk job at risk from AI?

Jobs and Skills Australia gives accounts clerks an automation exposure score of 71 out of 100 (Our Gen AI Transition, 2025). That does not mean the job disappears, but routine tasks such as keying invoices and matching payments are the most exposed. Sorting out disputes and spotting errors are harder to hand over.

What jobs can an accounts clerk move into?

Common moves include claims, operations coordination and health administration. Each keeps the care with numbers and documents and adds more judgement or more people contact. The free Career Change Check shows which roles your own skills point to.

Do I need a qualification to be an accounts clerk?

Many roles ask for experience with accounting software and a good eye for detail rather than a qualification. Where a course helps, a Certificate III in Accounts Administration or a Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping is a common choice. Check what is funded in your state at https://www.dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe, and compare courses at https://www.yourcareer.gov.au.

This is general information, not professional career, financial, or legal advice. For tailored advice, consult a qualified career counsellor, financial adviser, or relevant Australian professional service.