← All careers

How to become a human resources manager in Australia

Human Resource Managers plan, organise, direct, control and coordinate the human resource and workplace relations activities within organisations.

$2,768median full-time pay a week, before tax
+21.8%projected job growth to 2035
95,300people in this job

The all-jobs median is $1,852 a week. Jobs in the human resource managers group are projected to grow 21.8% between May 2025 and May 2035, faster than the 13.3% projected for all jobs. Projections are indicative, not forecasts, and JSA says they don't yet reflect generative AI.

What the job involves

  • Determining, implementing, monitoring, reviewing and evaluating human resource management strategies, policies and plans to meet business needs
  • Advising and assisting other managers in applying sound recruitment and selection practices, and appropriate induction, training and development programs
  • Developing and implementing performance management systems to plan, appraise and improve individual and team performance
  • Representing the organisation in negotiations with unions and employees to determine remuneration and other conditions of employment
  • Developing and implementing occupational health and safety programs and equal employment opportunity programs, and ensuring compliance with related statutory requirements
  • Overseeing the application of redundancy and other employee retrenchment policies

How to get there

What it usually takes. A bachelor degree or higher. This is the skill level Jobs and Skills Australia gives the human resource managers group, and some roles differ.

What people in the job have. Highest qualification held: 59% a degree or higher, 18% a diploma, 9% a Certificate III or IV.

Many jobs also need registration, a licence or a specific accredited course. Check the professional body or regulator before you choose.

Courses that can lead here

Victoria5 matches

VTAC lowest selection ranks, December 2025 offer round.

Human Resource Management (Psychology) · Deakin, Geelong Waterfront66.05 Business (Human Resource Management major) · Swinburne, Hawthorn60.15 Business (Human Resource Management major) · La Trobe, Melbourne55.30

Showing 3 of 5 matches. Search every course.

NSW and ACT0 matches

UAC lowest selection ranks, December Round 2, 2025-26 admissions.

No match in UAC's list. Some courses, medicine especially, don't publish a cutoff or use their own admissions.

Queensland0 matches

QTAC course pages, ATAR/Selection Rank profile for semester 1, 2026.

No match in QTAC's list. Some courses, medicine especially, don't publish a cutoff or use their own admissions.

Western Australia4 matches

TISC Course Search: lowest ATAR offered for 2026 entry and guaranteed offer ATARs.

Bachelor of Business in Human Resources Management · Murdoch, Perth70.00 guaranteed Bachelor of Science (Psychology and Human Resource Management) · Curtin, Perth69.55 Bachelor of Science (Psychology), Bachelor of Commerce (Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations) (double degree) · Curtin, Perth67.90 Bachelor of Commerce (Human Resource Management) / Bachelor of Psychology (double degree) · ECU, City64.50

Matched on course names, 9 across four admissions centres. A lowest selection rank includes adjustment points and moves every year. Check prerequisites and whether the course is accredited for this job.

Graduate outcomes, national

Business management78.3% in full-time work$73,400 median full-time salary

Undergraduates surveyed about four to six months after finishing, in 2025, across all providers. Full-time work is among those available for it. All graduates: 75.4% and $77,000. These are national figures for the study area, not for this course or uni, and a first-year salary says little about later pay. Source: QILT Graduate Outcomes Survey 2025.

Does it fit your interests?

Strongest interest areas for this kind of work: Enterprising, Conventional, Social.

Realistic
Investigative
Artistic
Social
Enterprising
Conventional

From O*NET ratings for "Human Resources Managers", the closest US occupation in JSA's correspondence (a good match). US ratings are a guide to Australian jobs, not a measurement of them.

Careers with similar interests

Human resources adviser$1,970 Financial adviser$2,582 Travel consultant$1,330 Event organiser$1,634 Retail manager$1,620

Done this job, or studied for it?

Tell Year 12s the one thing you wish you'd known. First name only, and we read every story before it goes up.

Share your story

Job data: © Commonwealth of Australia, Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profiles, February 2026 and Employment Projections, May 2025 to May 2035 (Victoria University), CC BY 4.0. Jobs and Skills Australia, ANZSCO 2013 Version 1.2 to O*NET-SOC 2019 Taxonomy correspondence.

Graduate outcomes: QILT Graduate Outcomes Survey 2025, National Report Tables (Social Research Centre, for the Australian Government).

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Curve ATAR has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

How these pages are built