Receptionist (General)

A receptionist manages the front-of-office interface for a workplace, handling visitor arrival, telephone routing, and administrative triage. They maintain appointment schedules, process incoming mail and parcels, and ensure compliance with workplace security and data protection protocols. The role bridges client-facing customer service with back-office administrative support across diverse industry sectors.

Greet visitors and clients on arrival, verify identity and purpose, and direct them to appropriate staff or meeting spaces. Answer and route incoming telephone calls using phone systems or switchboards, taking messages and recording caller details accurately. Manage appointment scheduling systems and booking calendars, confirming times with clients and notifying relevant staff of upcoming meetings. Process and distribute incoming mail, parcels, and courier deliveries, logging items in receipt registers and alerting staff to urgent correspondence. Maintain visitor sign-in logs and produce security passes or access badges in accordance with workplace security policies. Operate office equipment including photocopiers, fax machines, and mail handling equipment to support administrative workflows. Enter and update client or patient records into reception management systems or customer relationship management (CRM) software. Collect fees or process payments for services rendered, recording transactions in point-of-sale systems or financial records.

The standard entry pathway requires a Certificate II or III (ABS skill level 4). 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.

Automation could take over more of this role. Phone systems now route calls automatically, scheduling software handles bookings, and AI chatbots answer basic queries. Employers are cutting reception positions or combining them with other admin work. Pay growth is often limited, with little progression. You'll also face constant interruptions, repetitive tasks, and dealing with frustrated or rude visitors daily.

Medical and dental practices spread regionally but still favour towns with populations over 50,000. Remote reception work exists but is less common. The practical reality is that office-based reception shrinks as you leave major cities.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 5421, 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.

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• Active Listeningcore
• Appointment Schedulingcore
• Attention to Detailcore
• Confidentiality and Privacy Compliancecore
• Customer Needs Assessmentcore
• Data Entry and Accuracycore
• Email Managementcore
• Inbound Call Handlingcore
• Microsoft Office Suite Proficiencycore
• Multitaskingcore
• Record Managementcore
• Telephone Etiquettecore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Written Communicationcore
• Complaint Handling
• Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity
• Digital Literacy
• Empathy and Emotional Intelligence
• Policy and Procedure Adherence
• Stakeholder Communication
• Workload Self-Management

• 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.

What Receptionist (General) workers move into, from ten years of tax records.

Last updated: 30 October 2026