Bookkeeper

Maintain day-to-day financial records, process payroll and lodge BAS for small and medium businesses.

Registration: BAS agent registration with the Tax Practitioners Board (for lodging)

Salary

Cited figures only: median full-time weekly earnings for the ANZSCO unit group Bookkeepers (5512) from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia), and where available the QILT graduate starting salary for the matching study area.

Figure	AUD	Source
Median full-time weekly earnings	$1501	Your Career (2026-09-23)

How far does this stretch in each city?

Jobs, demand and who does this work

Figures for the ANZSCO occupation Bookkeeper (551211), the closest official match for bookkeeper, from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia data, sourced 2026-09-23).

People employed: 90,100
Future demand: Stable
Work full-time: 40%
Average full-time hours: 41 a week
Women: 89%
Median age: 52

Where the jobs are (share of workers)

NSW	26.1%
VIC	26.7%
QLD	25.4%
WA	10.9%
SA	6.5%
TAS	2.1%
ACT	1.1%
NT	1.1%

Highest qualification held by workers

Postgraduate qualification	7.1%
Bachelor degree	19.9%
Diploma or advanced diploma	17.3%
Certificate I-IV	18.8%
Year 12	14.9%
Below Year 12	16.5%

What a bookkeeper actually does

Bookkeepers work either inside one business or across a portfolio of small business clients. A typical day starts with bank-feed reconciliation, then categorising expenses, entering supplier bills, chasing missing receipts from owners, and processing the weekly or fortnightly payroll. End of month brings BAS and IAS preparation, super lodgement, and a tidy-up of the ledger so the external accountant can finalise tax returns. Most bookkeepers work 30-40 hours a week. Many work flexibly or from home, often part-time across two or three clients, with the rest of the week-spent client visits or training new staff on the bookkeeping software. Workload spikes ahead of quarterly BAS lodgement deadlines and end of financial year. Most of the day is on a laptop in Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks plus Excel.

Typical tasks

Reconcile bank transactions and invoices.
Process payroll and superannuation.
Prepare and lodge BAS as a registered BAS agent.

Skills you'll use

Double-entry bookkeeping and bank reconciliation
Cloud accounting software (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks)
Payroll, superannuation and Single Touch Payroll lodgement
GST coding and BAS preparation
Microsoft Excel for reporting and corrections
Clear and patient communication with non-finance business owners
Confidentiality with payroll, tax and supplier data

How to become one

1Finish Year 10 at minimum; Year 12 with general Maths makes life easier
2Complete a Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping (the standard entry credential and Tax Practitioners Board education requirement)
3Get hands-on experience either as an employee in a small business finance team or as an assistant under a registered bookkeeper
4Apply for BAS agent registration with the Tax Practitioners Board once you have at least 1,400 hours of relevant experience (1,000 if you are a member of a recognised professional association)
5Consider further study like a Diploma of Accounting if you want to step toward an accountant role

Where you can work

Independent bookkeeping practices serving small business
In-house finance teams in trades, retail, hospitality and primary industries
Not-for-profits and community organisations
Self-employed sole trader working from home
Public-practice accounting firms with a bookkeeping arm

Career progression

Typical stages and roles. Years of experience are a rough guide; pay at each stage depends on the employer, award or agreement.

Junior bookkeeper
0-2 years
Typical roles: Accounts assistant, Junior bookkeeper, Accounts payable / receivable officer
Experienced bookkeeper
3-7 years
Typical roles: Bookkeeper, Payroll officer, Registered BAS agent
Practice owner or senior bookkeeper
8+ years
Typical roles: Owner, bookkeeping practice, Senior bookkeeper, Finance manager (small business)

Is this for you?

This might not suit you if

You want a fully office-based corporate career on a big team
You hate repetitive data entry and reconciliation
You want to spend your time on strategy and big-picture work
You dislike chasing people for receipts and information

Ways in

Uni and TAFE routes for bookkeeper. We only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.

University

Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.

No direct undergraduate pathway. Consider postgraduate study after a related bachelor degree.

TAFE / VET

Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.

Sources

ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Your Career (yourcareer.gov.au) directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.