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ANZSCO 4412Skill level 4Law and government

Emergency services officer

Coordinate and respond to natural disasters and other emergencies across state SES, RFS and local government.

Salary

Cited figures from Job Outlook and QILT. ExamExplained does not publish predictive earnings or projections.

FigureAUDSource
Full-time weekly earnings$1750Job Outlook (2025-06-01)

How far does this stretch in each city?

What a emergency services officer actually does

Most emergency services officers work for a state agency (SES, Rural Fire Service, Country Fire Authority equivalents, Marine Rescue) or the emergency-management team inside a local council. In quieter periods the work is preparation: writing local emergency-management plans, running training nights with volunteer crews, inspecting equipment, refreshing community warning systems, and exercising multi-agency response with police, fire and ambulance. When a flood, storm, bushfire or other event escalates, officers move into an incident-management or operations role: receiving requests for assistance, tasking crews, briefing the incident controller and liaising with the public. Hours are 38-40 a week in normal periods and run 12-hour shifts on a rotating roster during a declared emergency, often for weeks at a time. Many officers were volunteers first and continue to operate alongside paid staff in the field.

Typical tasks

  • Plan and exercise emergency-management arrangements.
  • Coordinate volunteer crews during events.
  • Liaise with the public and other agencies.

Skills you'll use

  • Writing and exercising local emergency-management plans
  • Working in an incident-control system (AIIMS)
  • Coordinating volunteer crews and shift rosters
  • Reading weather warnings and risk assessments
  • Clear public and media communication during an event
  • GIS, radio and incident-tracking software
  • First aid and basic rescue across flood, storm and fire scenarios
  • Calm decision-making under fatigue and ambiguous information

How to become one

  1. 1Finish Year 12 or equivalent and hold a current full driver's licence
  2. 2Volunteer with the State Emergency Service, Rural Fire Service, Marine Rescue or Country Fire Authority in your state to build operational experience
  3. 3Complete the Certificate IV in Public Safety (Emergency Management) or an equivalent state-recognised qualification
  4. 4Hold first aid, low-voltage rescue, four-wheel-drive and (where relevant) chainsaw and storm-damage operator competencies
  5. 5Apply for a paid role with a state SES, RFS or fire service, a local council emergency-management team, or a federal agency such as NEMA or Defence Force emergency-support roles
  6. 6Work toward incident-management qualifications (Sector Commander, Division Commander, Operations Officer in AIIMS) as you gain experience

Where you can work

  • State emergency services (NSW SES, VICSES, QFES, SES SA, SES WA, TAS SES, NTES)
  • Rural Fire Service and Country Fire Authority brigades
  • Local council emergency-management teams
  • The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)
  • State recovery and resilience offices
  • Marine Rescue and Surf Life Saving as paid coordinators
  • Defence Force emergency-support and ADF-assist coordination

Career progression

Typical stages and salary bands. Salary figures are sourced from Job Outlook, QILT or industry bodies; brackets are 25th-75th percentile not absolute floors or ceilings.

  1. Field officer or coordinator
    0-3 years
    Typical roles: Field officer, SES operations support, Local council emergency-management officer
    Salary band: $65,000 - $85,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  2. Senior emergency services officer
    3-8 years
    Typical roles: Senior emergency services officer, Cluster manager, Operations officer
    Salary band: $85,000 - $110,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  3. Incident management and regional lead
    8-15 years
    Typical roles: Incident controller, Regional manager, Capability and training manager
    Salary band: $110,000 - $145,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  4. State or national executive
    15+ years
    Typical roles: Assistant commissioner, Director of operations, State or national executive

Is this for you?

You might love this if

  • You can stay calm and decisive when conditions are chaotic
  • You enjoy working alongside volunteer crews and treating them with respect
  • You handle long shifts and disrupted sleep during a campaign event
  • You're a careful planner who also handles unpredictability well
  • You can write a clear plan and brief a multi-agency team to follow it
  • You're comfortable with rural and remote travel and overnight deployments

This might not suit you if

  • You want a 9 to 5 desk job with no weekend or after-hours work
  • You hate working with volunteers or community-board governance
  • You can't tolerate stretches of preparation between major events
  • You want a job where you're the lone decision-maker

Three ways in

Uni, TAFE and trade routes for emergency services officer. Not every career has all three; 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.

Apprenticeship trade

Earn while you learn through an Australian Apprenticeship.

Not an apprenticeship trade.

Sources

ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Job Outlook directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.