Public Safety

The Public Safety industry comprises of fire and land management agencies, aquatic search and rescue, emergency management sectors and related administrative and support functions. It also includes police, biosecurity agencies, Defence and intelligence organisations. These sectors share the goal of protecting the safety of people in Australia and ensure that government regulations and licensing requirements are followed.

*For those looking for information about employment in Police or Defence it is best to contact them directly.

What does this industry cover?

Advances in new technology are growing rapidly and will provide greater opportunities to create efficiencies in undertaking search and rescue operations on both land and water. Examples of this are drones and new data and video analytics technologies.

With the increase of extreme weather events and to reduce disaster risk, the emergency management sector is hoping to empower the community including local government and private stakeholders to have active participation in government processes and preparedness.

Job hunting preparation

The top priority skills needed to work in this sector are health and safety and community engagement with the top industry and occupation skills being, search and rescue, emergency response and fire fighting.

The Community and Personal Service Workers is the largest occupational group of the Public Safety sector and also includes one of the largest volunteer organisations.

You may work in regional or metropolitan areas and be required to provide rescue services in instances such as floods, all types of fire and motor vehicle accidents.

Information for further research

Industry information is published by peak level associations, government and major employers. Accessing industry association sites, including member lists, is a good way of building up an understanding of an industry. Visiting employer websites and looking for careers or employment menus helps identify how employers recruit and the skills they are recruiting.