How to become a sports coach in Australia
Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials coach, train and instruct participants in sports, and officiate at sporting events.
The all-jobs median is $1,852 a week. Jobs in the sports coaches, instructors and officials group are projected to grow 12.1% 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
- Coaching, training and instructing sportspersons by analysing performances and developing abilities
- Planning and directing game strategies, developing play patterns and analysing game progress
- Motivating sportspersons and supervising practice sessions
- Recruiting players and other coaching staff
- Arranging entries into sporting competitions
- Promoting sports and skills development, and overseeing the participation of young people in sport
How to get there
What it usually takes. A diploma, or a Certificate II, III or IV. This is the skill level Jobs and Skills Australia gives the sports coaches, instructors and officials group, and some roles differ.
What people in the job have. Highest qualification held: 19% a degree or higher, 8% a diploma, 11% 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
Estimate your ATAR and this page shows the gap to each course. Your marks stay on your device.
Victoria45 matches
VTAC lowest selection ranks, December 2025 offer round.
Business (Sport Management) · Deakin, Melbourne Burwood80.15 Exercise and Sport Science - Advanced (Honours) · Deakin, Geelong Waurn Ponds75.40 Exercise and Sport Science · Deakin, Melbourne Burwood70.05 Exercise and Sport Science · Swinburne, Hawthorn61.30 Exercise and Sport Science (Degree) · VU, Footscray Park60.45 Exercise and Sport Science (Regional and Remote) · Deakin, Geelong Waurn Ponds57.00 Business (Sports Management major) · Swinburne, Hawthorn55.15 Exercise and Sport Science · Federation, Blended Learning - Gippsland52.00Diplomas and other ways in
Showing 12 of 45 matches. Search every course.
NSW and ACT26 matches
UAC lowest selection ranks, December Round 2, 2025-26 admissions.
Bachelor of Exercise & Sport Science (Assured Pathway) · Notre Dame85.45 Bachelor of Applied Science (Exercise and Sport Science) · Sydney82.00 Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science · Newcastle72.15 Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Sciences · CQUniversity70.65 Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science · Notre Dame70.15 Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science · Charles Sturt66.05 Bachelor of Business (Sport Management) · Canberra60.95 Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science/Bachelor of Business · Newcastle82.05Diplomas and other ways in
Diploma in Exercise and Sport Science · Newcastle50.05Showing 12 of 26 matches. Search every course.
Queensland18 matches
QTAC course pages, ATAR/Selection Rank profile for semester 1, 2026.
Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Sciences (Honours) · UQ, St Lucia83.00 Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Sciences · CQUniversity, Online70.65Diplomas and other ways in
Showing 7 of 18 matches. Search every course.
Western Australia3 matches
TISC Course Search: lowest ATAR offered for 2026 entry and guaranteed offer ATARs.
Bachelor of Exercise & Sport Science (Assured Pathway) into Master of Physiotherapy · Notre Dame, Fremantle85.00 Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science · Notre Dame, Fremantle68.50 Bachelor of Science (Exercise and Sport Science) · Curtin, Perth60.65Matched on course names, 92 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
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: Social, Enterprising, Realistic.
From O*NET ratings for "Coaches and Scouts", the closest US occupation in JSA's correspondence (a acceptable match). US ratings are a guide to Australian jobs, not a measurement of them.
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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.
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.