How to become a retail manager in Australia
Retail Managers organise and control the operations of establishments which provide retail services.
The all-jobs median is $1,852 a week. Jobs in the retail managers group are projected to grow 6.8% between May 2025 and May 2035, slower 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 product mix, stock levels and service standards
- Formulating and implementing purchasing and marketing policies, and setting prices
- Promoting and advertising the establishment's goods and services
- Selling goods and services to customers and advising them on product use
- Maintaining records of stock levels and financial transactions
- Undertaking budgeting for the establishment
How to get there
What it usually takes. A diploma or advanced diploma. This is the skill level Jobs and Skills Australia gives the retail managers group, and some roles differ.
What people in the job have. Highest qualification held: 23% a degree or higher, 13% a diploma, 18% 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
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We haven't matched this job to courses in the admissions lists. It has its own entry route, so check the requirements with the employer or professional body. See Your Career.
Does it fit your interests?
Strongest interest areas for this kind of work: Enterprising, Conventional, Social.
From O*NET ratings for "First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers", 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
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Share your storyJob 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.
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.