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Human Resources Is Moving Out of Admin and Into Advice

Outlook to 2035
+8 to 22%
Every HR line rises through 2035
Shortage list 2025
Balanced
All HR occupations rated balanced in 2025
The way in
Cert IV
Cert IV on record, though HR has its own line
Employment projections · Jobs and Skills Australia

Where is this heading?

The manager line is the strongest of the four. It holds about 93,000 people now, and official projections take that group up 21.8% over the decade, adding about 20,000 by 2035. Advisers sit at about 89,500, and their projection brings in about 13,000 more at up 14.8% over the decade. Office managers are the broadest group at about 135,000, and they rise up 8.4% over the decade. Even HR clerks are projected up 10.1% over the decade, which sits oddly beside their advertising this year. All four lines point the same way, and that combination suggests the function itself keeps expanding even while the tasks inside it change hands.

Office manager+8.4% by 2035
136,601 today148,117
Human resource manager+21.8% by 2035
92,889113,121
Human resource adviser+14.8% by 2035
89,673102,919
Human resource clerk+10.1% by 2035
23,48325,864
Workforce today (2025)Projected 2035
Occupation Shortage List 2025
No shortage recorded
Human Resource Manager, Human Resource Adviser, Recruitment Consultant, Workplace Relations Adviser, Office Manager, Human Resource Clerk
Assessed by Jobs and Skills Australia

Is there a shortage?

Not one of the HR occupations rated in 2025 recorded a shortage. Recruitment consultants and workplace relations advisers were checked alongside the four covered here, and employers reported filling those roles without trouble. In HR that result makes sense. It's a field a lot of people want to be in, so applications arrive in volume. What thins the pile is evidence, and a recognised qualification is the clearest kind. So is being able to name the awards, the systems and the legislation you have actually worked with.

National register · NCVER enrolments

What gets you in, and where it goes

On the register the recorded entry sits at BSB40120, the Certificate IV in Business. That qualification recorded 15,610 enrolments during 2025. In practice HR runs its own line of qualifications, and that is what you'll find below. A Cert IV in HR Management is the first rung, and the Diploma of HR Management is the one most advisers end up holding. College for Adult Learning pairs that diploma with business operations, or with the advanced diploma for people heading toward manager level. Two of the listings sit off the national register, so they teach the content without the code. If advice is the goal, take a coded qualification and aim at diploma level, because that is where this field is growing.

Cert IVBSB40120 Certificate IV in Business15,610 enrolled 2025common entry
Cert IVBSB40420 Certificate IV in Human Resource Management5,265 enrolled 2025common entry
DiplomaBSB50120 Diploma of Business26,460 enrolled 2025
DiplomaBSB50320 Diploma of Human Resource Management2,785 enrolled 2025common entry
Advanced DiplomaBSB60320 Advanced Diploma of Human Resource Management425 enrolled 2025common entry
The courses

Courses you can start online

Compare what each one covers, then enquire on the one that fits you. The provider sorts out the details with you directly.

Quick answers

Before you enquire

Are all of these courses nationally recognised?

Not all of them are. You'll find 2 carrying a national training code out of the 3 here. The other two teach solid HR content without appearing on the register, which is fine for skills but weaker when somebody is checking credentials.

Do I need a degree to work in HR?

Not to start. Adviser roles are often filled from vocational qualifications plus workplace experience, particularly in smaller organisations. Degrees show up more at the senior manager end. A diploma with real HR duties behind it competes well for everything below that.

Can I move into HR from an admin job?

It's one of the most common routes in. Office managers already handle hiring, inductions and records in smaller businesses, and that is HR work under another title. A coded qualification names the experience properly. Everything here was current in September 2026.

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Sources: JSA employment projections, 2025 base year; 2025 Occupation Shortage List; 2025 collection; qualification guides passing the live index gate; qualification guides passing the live index gate. Official statistics describe occupations nationally, not any individual result.