OSCA occupation

411636 Welfare Worker

Assists individuals, families and groups with difficulties by providing support, information and advice on social welfare matters, and evaluates and coordinates the services of welfare and community service agencies.

Major group: 4 Community and Personal Service Workers
Unit group: 4116 Welfare Support Workers
Edition: OSCA 2024
Skill level: Level 2

Should you use OSCA or ANZSCO?

OSCA 2024 is the current Australian occupation classification for storing, organising and reporting occupation information. Use this OSCA record for current Australian statistical and analytical classification work.

Some migration and administrative programs still specify ANZSCO 2022. Check the exact system named by the agency or form rather than replacing the code automatically.

Check the current ABS guidance on OSCA and ANZSCO use

Official ANZSCO correspondence

ANZSCO 272613 Welfare Worker Partial correspondence in the ABS table

Role overview

Use this page to confirm the official title, the parent unit group, the task list and the related ANZSIC industry context before using the occupation in classification, reporting or migration-adjacent workflows.

Occupation facts

Skill level: 2
Major group: 4 Community and Personal Service Workers
Sub-major group: 41 Community and Welfare Support Workers
Minor group: 411 Community and Welfare Support Workers
Unit group: 4116 Welfare Support Workers

Tasks

Assists and supports individuals and families experiencing difficulties to access resources available to them
Advises individuals on rights and entitlements to social security payments and services
Assesses at-risk individuals and families, and provides intensive short-term crisis counselling for victims
Assists to establish relationships with neighbourhood houses, community groups, employment training programs and other services to members of the community
Refers clients to welfare support services
Prepares reports and maintains client records

Skill level guidance

Skill level helps place the occupation inside the ABS hierarchy. Use it as a classification cue, then check the actual task list and occupational context before making a decision for HR, visa or reporting work.

How to use this occupation page

Start with the official OSCA title and task list. Then confirm the parent unit group and compare the related occupations on this page if the job title is broad, overlapping or used differently across employers.

The ANZSIC links are there to help when the same occupation appears across several industries and you need the business-side classification as well.

Related occupations

Industry context

Alternative titles

Welfare Officer

Compare before choosing

Compare OSCA 411636 with related occupations

Compare roles in the same OSCA unit group by their official definition, skill level, tasks and recognised alternative titles.

Comparison point	Current code411636 Welfare Worker	411631 Community Corrections Officer	411632 Family Support Worker
Official role definition	Assists individuals, families and groups with difficulties by providing support, information and advice on social welfare matters, and evaluates and coordinates the services of welfare and community service agencies.	Supervises offenders who have been placed on probation by court order or released conditionally from corrective service institutions.	Provides advice and support to children, young people and families with diverse needs, within the home environment and community, in a culturally safe manner.
Skill level	Skill Level 2	Skill Level 2	Skill Level 2
Key tasks	Assists and supports individuals and families experiencing difficulties to access resources available to them Advises individuals on rights and entitlements to social security payments and services Assesses at-risk individuals and families, and provides intensive short-term crisis counselling for victims Assists to establish relationships with neighbourhood houses, community groups, employment training programs and other services to members of the community	Provides written and verbal recommendations to courts and state parole authorities about offenders Develops and implements individualised case plans for offenders to assist them with their rehabilitation and reintegration into the community Monitors, supervises and visits offenders at their home and workplace to ensure compliance with the requirements of their court order or conditional release Conducts regular meetings with offenders to discuss their progress and address any issues or concerns	Identifies families who require additional support and provides internal/external referrals Ensures families can access appropriate services, and encourages families and individuals with particular needs to participate in informal discussion, counselling or support groups Assists and collaborates with Social and Welfare Workers to develop holistic plans by establishing family assessments, safety plans, goals and interventions to ensure safety and wellbeing, and empower families towards positive change Liaises and collaborates with case workers and case work managers to ensure high quality service delivery, and provides updates regarding any issues and problem solves with them
Alternative titles	Welfare Officer	Parole or Probation Officer	Family Case Worker Family Services Worker Family Support Officer

Comparison uses occupation definitions, skill levels, tasks and title variants from the ABS OSCA data files.

In this section

Official source

Official source: ABS OSCA 2024 release and correspondence tables
Last reviewed: 2026-04-17

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