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Employment Outlook

Executive Personal Assistant

An Executive Personal Assistant (sometimes called an Executive Secretary) works closely with senior managerial or directorial staff to provide office and administrative support, usually on a one-to-one basis.

 

Average wage for

Employment Levels

There are currently 54 000 people employed as Executive Personal Assistants in Australia. According to the Department of Employment over the next 5 years (up until the year 2018) the demand for this profession is expected to remain consistent, or be in a slight decline. 

Employment by State

The majority of Executive Personal Assistants are employed within NSW. There are a higher proportion of Executive Personal Assistants in VIC and WA than the average for all occupations, while the population in SA, TAS, NT and ACT is close to the national average.

Gender Split

This is a female dominated industry. 97.9% of Executive Personal Assistants are female and 2.1% are male.

Age Brackets

The median age for Executive Personal Assistants is 40 years. The average age of Executive Personal Assistants matches the average age for all occupations.

Hours Worked

Executive Personal Assistants work an average of 36.6 hours a week. This is 3.5 hours less per week than the average for all occupations.

Education Level

The majority of workers employed in this profession have a Year 12 qualification. 42.5% of Executive Personal Assistants have a qualification that is Certificate III or higher while 39.9% have a qualification that is Year 12 or lower.

Executive Personal Assistant Duties & Tasks

  • Liaising with other staff on matters relating to the organisation's operations
  • Researching and preparing reports, briefing notes, memoranda, correspondence and other routine documents
  • Maintaining confidential files and documents
  • Attending meetings and acting as secretary as required
  • Maintaining appointment diaries and making travel arrangements
  • Processing incoming and outgoing mail, filing correspondence and maintaining records
  • Screening telephone calls and answering inquiries
  • Taking and transcribing dictation of letters and other documents
  • Preparing presentations and other administrative duties

 

 

*The information provided on this page is from the Department of Employment’s Job Outlook website. All salary ranges are from Payscale. Where jobs are not exact matches, job areas have been used. This information is to be used as a guide only.