Communications Officer (Public Relations)
A Communications Officer (Public Relations) develops and executes communication strategies to shape and protect an organisation's public image and stakeholder relationships.
What this job is
A Communications Officer (Public Relations) develops and executes communication strategies to shape and protect an organisation's public image and stakeholder relationships. Working in government agencies, not-for-profit organisations, corporations, or dedicated PR firms, they produce media releases, manage media relationships, coordinate campaigns, and respond to communication crises. They use research, message development, and multichannel distribution to influence public perception and advance organisational objectives.
Are employers advertising this role?
Falling, down 45.4% over 5 years
Counted across a group of similar roles. These are three-month rolling averages of online job advertisements, not filled positions.
Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, Internet Vacancy Index.
Day-to-day
Draft and distribute media releases and statements to journalists, news outlets, and online media platforms. Develop communication strategies and campaigns aligned with organisational goals and key stakeholder audiences. Manage relationships with journalists, editors, and media contacts through briefings, interviews, and story pitches. Monitor media coverage, social media mentions, and public sentiment using news monitoring tools and analytics platforms. Respond to media enquiries and coordinate spokesperson availability during routine communications and crises. Create communication materials including fact sheets, FAQs, internal newsletters, and web content. Plan and coordinate media events, press conferences, and stakeholder briefings. Develop messaging frameworks and key points for sensitive or contentious issues.
Who does this now
About 22,900 people worked in this occupation across Australia at the 2021 Census.
What this role asks for
Bachelor degree or higher (ABS skill level 1)
Can employers fill these jobs
Employers hiring for this occupation were generally able to find suitable applicants in 2025. This measures how hard employers found it to fill jobs. It is not a count of jobs, and it does not say whether the occupation is growing.
Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, Training Occupation Pathways dataset, March 2026, version 1.0
Jobs and Skills Australia defines an occupation-ready qualification as:
Completing this qualification will provide the skills and knowledge to undertake this occupation. Further training and experience may be required to meet specific industry requirements including licensing and registration.
Jobs and Skills Australia, Training Occupation Pathways dataset, March 2026, version 1.0
Requirements
The standard entry pathway requires a bachelor degree or higher (ABS Skill Level 1). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.
The honest hard part
Crisis management is genuinely stressful and unpredictable. You'll be on call during emergencies when your organisation needs to respond fast to negative media, scandals, or public backlash. You can't control what journalists write or how the public reacts, so success depends partly on factors outside your control. Career changers often underestimate the emotional load and the pressure to perform under deadline.
Where the jobs are
Jobs concentrate in capital cities. Government agencies, universities, large corporations, and PR firms are the main employers. Regional employment exists but is thinner. Remote work is increasingly common for parts of the role like drafting and research, but media relationships and crisis response usually require being in or near the office during business hours.
Pay
Published for ANZSCO unit group 2253, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.
This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.
Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
Skills
- Active Listeningcore
- Advise on public imagecore
- Attention to Detailcore
- Correspondence Draftingcore
- Cultural Awareness and Sensitivitycore
- Digital Literacycore
- Email Managementcore
- Microsoft Office Suite Proficiencycore
- Multichannel Customer Supportcore
- Report Writingcore
- Research and Analysiscore
- Stakeholder Communicationcore
- Time Management and Prioritisationcore
- Verbal Communicationcore
- Written Communicationcore
- Adaptability and Flexibility
- Community Development
- Conduct public presentations
- Conflict Resolution
- Negotiation
- Problem Solving
- Process Documentation
- Regulatory and Legislative Awareness
- Reporting and Analytics
- Team Collaboration
Which of these do you have?
Tick the ones you haveCommon questions
Sources
- ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
- ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
- ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.
Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.
What Communications Officer (Public Relations) workers move into, from ten years of tax records.
Last updated: 30 October 2026
Want a hand with what comes next? The 12-week Sprint covers your resume, LinkedIn and interview practice, with up to three coach reviews of a targeted resume or an application from an Australian career coach, for A$299 paid once. Before you decide anything, you can read who we are or send us a question.