This variable describes the skill level of a person's occupation. Level one is the highest level of skill and level five is the lowest level of skill. The skill level is determined from the characteristics of the person's occupation (OCC24P), rather than the skill level of the person themselves.
In the main job held last week, what was the person’s occupation?
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Description
This image shows a question from the 2021 Census online form. This question asks: In the main job held last week, what was Person 1’s occupation?
Underneath the question text, the instructional text states: Give full title. State Person 1’s occupation as completely as possible. Answer only for Person 1’s main job. For example: Registered aged care nurse, House cleaner, Retail sales assistant, Ore crushing machine operator. For public servants, provide occupation title and level. For example: Customer service office APS 5. For armed services personnel, provide rank and occupation.
The response option is: Occupation, followed by a free text field.
What are the main tasks that the person usually performs in that occupation?
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Description
This image shows a question from the 2021 Census online form. This question asks: What are the main tasks that Person 1 usually performs in that occupation?
Underneath the question text, the instructional text states: Give full details. Report the main tasks Person 1 usually does each day. For example, shop owners may not sell goods themselves, but manage their business and supervise staff. For example: Nursing the aged, Cleaning houses, Selling clothes in a department store, Operating an ore crusher in a processing facility. For managers, provide the function managed. For example: Managing construction projects, Managing a hotel, Managing human resources.
The response option is: Tasks or duties, followed by a free text field.
For the main job held last week, what was the employer’s business name?
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Description
This image shows a question from the 2021 Census online form. This question asks: For the main job held last week, what was the employer's business name?
Underneath the question text, the instructional text states: For people operating their own business (e.g. self-employed), provide the name of the Person's business. For teachers, provide the name of the school.
The response option is: Business name, followed by a free text field.
What best describes the industry or business of the employer at the location where the person works?
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Description
This image shows a question from the 2026 Census online form. This question asks: What best describes the industry or business of the employer where Person 1 works?
Underneath the question text, the instructional text states: Examples for industry or business of the employer: Secondary school education, Gold mining, IT consulting service, Domestic cleaning services, Apartment construction.
Underneath the instructional text, is a clickable More Information header.
The response option is: Industry or business, followed by a free text field.
More information
Image
Description
This image shows a question from the 2026 Census online form. This question asks: What best describes the industry or business of the employer where Person 1 works?
Underneath the question text, the instructional text states: Examples for industry or business of the employer: Secondary school education, Gold mining, IT consulting service, Domestic cleaning services, Apartment construction.
Underneath the instructional text, is a clickable More Information header. Once clicked, the More Information is shown, and states: Describe the industry or business of the person’s employer, not of their occupation. For example, if they are an accountant working for a motor vehicle manufacturer, please enter the industry as ‘motor vehicle manufacturing’. State the industry as completely as possible. For people operating their own business (e.g. self-employed), please describe the industry of their business.
What are the main goods produced or main services provided by the employer’s business?
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Description
This image shows a question from the 2026 Census online form. This question asks: What are the main goods produced or main services provided by the employer’s business?
Underneath the question text, the instructional text states: Describe as fully as possible, using two words or more. For example: Providing education to secondary school students, Mining gold ore, Providing information technology advice, House cleaning, Construction of residential buildings.
Underneath the instructional text, is a clickable More Information header.
The response option is: Good produced/service provided, followed by a free text field.
More information
Image
Description
This image shows a question from the 2026 Census online form. This question asks: What are the main goods produced or main services provided by the employer’s business?
Underneath the question text, the instructional text states: Describe as fully as possible, using two words or more. For example: Providing education to secondary school students, Mining gold ore, Providing information technology advice, House cleaning, Construction of residential buildings.
Underneath the instructional text, is a clickable More Information header. Once clicked, the More Information is shown, and states: For people operating their own business (e.g. self-employed), please describe the main goods and services provided by their business.
The relationship between occupation and occupation skill level is defined in the OSCA.
Not further defined codes (for example, 100000 Managers, nfd) are not part of the OSCA. These codes are introduced during Census coding to capture responses with insufficient detail to assign a more specific occupation. The lowest skill level applicable to the parent category was used to determine the skill level assigned to each nfd code. For example, the lowest skill level applicable to Major Group 1 Managers is two, so 100000 Managers, nfd was assigned Skill level two.
History and changes
This variable was added to the 2021 Census dataset in September 2026.
When the 2026 Census data is released, occupation data will be coded to the OSCA classification, replacing the previous classification, the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).
OCSK24P has been added to the 2021 Census dataset to support comparisons between the 2021 and 2026 Census occupation data.
Data use considerations
Occupation coding relies on self-reported responses and both automated and manual coding processes. Some respondents provide vague job descriptions, which may be assigned to broader "not further defined" categories, reducing analytical precision.
OSCA is a new classification standard. Comparisons to the former standard (ANZSCO) may be limited where correspondences do not align one-to-one.
Detailed occupations in small geographic areas can have very low numbers. This can lead to:
higher variability
confidentiality adjustments
potentially misleading conclusions if percentages are calculated from very small bases
