Recreation Officer
A Recreation Officer designs, organises and delivers recreational programmes and activities in community settings, aged care facilities, disability services, schools or local government leisure centres. They assess participant needs, plan inclusive activities that promote social engagement and wellbeing, and supervise group participation across sports, arts, games and outdoor pursuits.
What this job is
A Recreation Officer designs, organises and delivers recreational programmes and activities in community settings, aged care facilities, disability services, schools or local government leisure centres. They assess participant needs, plan inclusive activities that promote social engagement and wellbeing, and supervise group participation across sports, arts, games and outdoor pursuits. The role combines programme coordination with direct delivery of structured recreational experiences to diverse populations including children, older adults and people with disability.
Are employers advertising this role?
Steady, down 3.5% 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
Design and plan recreational programmes aligned with participant interests, age groups and accessibility requirements. Assess participant needs and goals through observation, intake interviews and consultation with support staff or families. Deliver structured recreational activities including sports, arts and crafts, music, games and outdoor pursuits. Supervise participant safety during activities, enforce activity rules and manage behaviour in group settings. Coordinate equipment, facilities and materials required for recreational programmes. Adapt activities and provide reasonable adjustments to enable participation by people with disability or mobility limitations. Record participant attendance, engagement levels and progress towards recreation goals in programme documentation. Liaise with families, carers, support workers and other professionals to understand participant circumstances and coordinate integrated support.
Who does this now
About 1,500 people worked in this occupation across Australia at the 2021 Census.
What this role asks for
Certificate IV or Certificate III with at least two years of on-the-job training (ABS skill level 3)
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 Certificate IV or Certificate III with at least two years of on-the-job training (ABS skill level 3). 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
The pay ceiling is real and stays flat. You're also managing behaviour and emotions all day: defusing conflict, handling distress from vulnerable people, and staying upbeat when you're tired. Burnout is common.
Where the jobs are
Most roles are in capital cities and large regional centres where councils, aged care facilities and disability services cluster. Jobs are rarely in small towns. Local government and aged care dominate employment, so check council job boards and aged care provider websites in your area.
Pay
Published for ANZSCO unit group 2726, 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
- Accept own accountabilitycore
- Active Listeningcore
- Community Developmentcore
- Cultural Awareness and Sensitivitycore
- Empathy and Emotional Intelligencecore
- Group Facilitationcore
- Incident Reportingcore
- Inclusive Practicecore
- Risk Identificationcore
- Team Collaborationcore
- Time Management and Prioritisationcore
- Verbal Communicationcore
- Written Communicationcore
- Adaptability and Flexibility
- Conflict Resolution
- Disability Awareness and Inclusion
- Goal Setting and Planning
- Microsoft Office Suite Proficiency
- Policy and Procedure Adherence
- Record Management
- Report Writing
- Rostering and Scheduling Support
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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