Service Managers
Service Managers nec oversee the delivery of services across diverse sectors including hospitality, retail, transport, facilities management, and customer service operations. They are responsible for managing teams, maintaining service standards, ensuring compliance with relevant regulations, and optimising operational efficiency to meet client or customer requirements.
What this job is
Service Managers nec oversee the delivery of services across diverse sectors including hospitality, retail, transport, facilities management, and customer service operations. They are responsible for managing teams, maintaining service standards, ensuring compliance with relevant regulations, and optimising operational efficiency to meet client or customer requirements. They work in Australian businesses ranging from small independent operations to large corporate entities.
Are employers advertising this role?
Steady, up 3.9% 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
Schedule and allocate staff to service delivery roles, accounting for skill levels, workload demand, and compliance with modern award requirements. Monitor service delivery against established performance metrics and key performance indicators specific to the sector. Implement and enforce health and safety protocols in accordance with Safe Work Australia guidelines and relevant state-based workplace legislation. Resolve customer or client complaints and disputes, including escalation of complex issues and documentation of outcomes. Manage rosters and timesheets to ensure adequate staffing levels and comply with enterprise agreements or awards. Conduct inductions and on-the-job training for new service staff in operational procedures, safety requirements, and company policies. Prepare reports on service performance, customer satisfaction, and incident data for senior management review. Authorise expenditure and monitor budgets for consumables, equipment maintenance, and staffing costs within delegated limits.
Who does this now
About 8,600 people worked in this occupation across Australia at the 2021 Census.
What this role asks for
Diploma, advanced diploma or associate degree (ABS skill level 2)
Registration or licensing may be required.
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 diploma, advanced diploma or associate degree (ABS skill level 2). 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
You'll spend huge amounts of time on rosters, complaints, and staff drama instead of strategy. You're caught between staff demands and tight budgets, which creates constant stress. Shift work and weekend coverage are common, especially in entertainment and fitness venues.
Where the jobs are
These roles concentrate in major metro areas where entertainment venues, gyms, and hospitality clusters exist. Regional areas have fewer opportunities. Realistically you'll find most openings in city centres and suburban entertainment precincts. Remote work is minimal in this role.
Pay
Published for ANZSCO unit group 1499, 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
- Conflict Resolutioncore
- Escalation Managementcore
- Goal Setting and Planningcore
- Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
- Problem Solvingcore
- Process Improvement Identificationcore
- Quality Assurance Monitoringcore
- Report Writingcore
- Risk Identificationcore
- Stakeholder Communicationcore
- Team Collaborationcore
- Time Management and Prioritisationcore
- Verbal Communicationcore
- Workflow Prioritisationcore
- Written Communicationcore
- Adaptability and Flexibility
- Feedback Collection and Actioning
- Incident Reporting
- Microsoft Office Suite Proficiency
- Negotiation
- Process Documentation
- Record Management
- Regulatory and Legislative Awareness
- Reporting and Analytics
- SLA and KPI Adherence
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.
Last updated: 30 October 2026
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