Health Promotion Officer

A Health Promotion Officer designs, implements, and evaluates community health programmes and interventions aimed at preventing disease and promoting healthy behaviours across target populations in Australian health services, local government, or not-for-profit organisations. They conduct health needs assessments, develop evidence-based health messages, and coordinate with community partners to deliver health education campaigns, screening programmes, and lifestyle modification initiatives. The role requires application of public health principles, behaviour change theory, and culturally responsive programme delivery within the Australian health system context.

Conduct health needs assessments and epidemiological reviews using data from Australian health surveillance systems (NNDSS, AIHW) to identify priority health issues in target populations. Design and develop health promotion programmes and campaigns aligned with national health priorities and state health department frameworks. Develop health education materials (fact sheets, digital resources, videos) tailored to specific demographic groups and literacy levels. Coordinate health screening and immunisation programmes, ensuring compliance with Australian Immunisation Handbook and relevant communicable disease protocols. Deliver health education sessions and workshops to community groups, schools, and workplaces on topics such as chronic disease prevention, mental health, sexual health, and substance misuse. Build partnerships and coordinate with community organisations, primary health networks, general practices, and local government to implement integrated health programmes. Evaluate health promotion programme outcomes using quantitative and qualitative methods and report findings to funding bodies and stakeholders. Implement culturally appropriate health interventions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, migrant populations, and other priority groups in consultation with community leaders.

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.

You'll also spend a lot of time chasing funding, writing grant applications, and dealing with slow bureaucratic change. Behaviour change is hard to measure and show success with, which can be frustrating. Expect shift work for community events and evening workshops.

Some positions exist in regional centres through Primary Health Networks and not-for-profit organisations, but remote work is uncommon. Outback and very remote Australia have fewer dedicated positions. Most jobs are in metro areas where population density justifies full-time health promotion roles.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 2519, 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.

• Active Listeningcore
• Acute carecore
• Apply decision making within social workcore
• Apply quality standards in social servicescore
• Assess social service users' situationcore
• Build helping relationship with social service userscore
• Community Developmentcore
• Cultural Awareness and Sensitivitycore
• Deliver social services in diverse cultural communitiescore
• Empathy and Emotional Intelligencecore
• Goal Setting and Planningcore
• Group Facilitationcore
• Health Terminology Literacycore
• Inclusive Practicecore
• Maintain records of work with service userscore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
• Report Writingcore
• Research and Analysiscore
• Review social service plancore
• Stakeholder Communicationcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Written Communicationcore
• Adapt teaching to target group
• Address public health issues
• Adult education
• Advise on mental health
• Advise on safety measures
• Apply teaching strategies
• Compile course material
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Curriculum objectives
• Digital Literacy
• Emergency cases
• Ensure equipment availability
• Feedback Collection and Actioning
• First aid
• General medicine
• Guarantee students' safety
• Health, safety and hygiene legislation
• Human anatomy
• Interpreter and Accessibility Coordination
• Microsoft Office Suite Proficiency
• Participant or Client Advocacy
• Prepare lesson content
• Process Improvement Identification
• Reporting and Analytics
• Resuscitation
• Service Navigation and Referral
• Team Collaboration

• 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.

Where our numbers come from.

Last updated: 30 October 2026