Australian Privacy Jobs Quarterly Report – June 2021

Privacy 108’s analysis of Australian privacy jobs advertised in June 2021 is now available.

Main Findings from our Privacy Jobs Report

Main findings (from comparing the June 2021 advertised privacy roles to previous quarters) include:

• The number of advertised privacy jobs has returned to pre-COVID highs. There were 33 jobs advertised in June 2021, compared to 34 positions in March 2021 and a very low 14 in December 2020. The December 2020 result is likely to be a combination of end of year slow down plus a continued dampening impact from COVID.
• Most jobs are located in Sydney, followed by Melbourne although there is increasing flexibility in terms of location. Four positions offered a choice of locations, including one that was offered on a work from home basis.  This increased move to flexibility is covered in our earlier blog post.
• There were 7 positions in the ACT, mostly with government agencies or service providers to government agencies. There were no positions in regional areas or other capital cities, except Brisbane.
• Professional services organisations were the biggest employers for the first time in June 2021, followed by government agencies and corporations. This could indicate an increased use of consulting service providers and law firms to build privacy programs and respond to data breaches. It could also indicate a reluctance for organisations to recruit their own in-house skills.
• There continue to be few advertised positions with health service providers, educational institutions and not-for-profits.
• More senior positions were advertised in June 2021, showing a slight shift from mid-tier roles.
• Few positions included a salary range. Of those that did, the average salary for a full time position was $158,000, which was up on previous quarters. This may reflect a tightening of the privacy job market.
• The areas of responsibility were fairly evenly split between compliance, legal and technology. However, the continued high number of ad’s looking for privacy practitioners with a legal degree underscores the importance of understanding legal obligations, and the continue situation of privacy as part of the legal team.
• There is still little consistency in terms of privacy job titles. Of the 33 roles, there were 29 different titles.  This reflects the lack of maturity in the privacy job market.
• 25% of positions are for contract roles, with the balance full time, although many of the job ad’s refer offer flexibility in working arrangements.
• Experience is still a key requirement for most positions, with the most common requirement for 2 – 5 years prior experience.
• More ad’s (4 of the 33) referred to privacy certifications than in previous reports.

Our Analysis

As part of our ongoing research into the state of the Australian privacy profession, Privacy 108 analyses the privacy job market, comparing on-line job adverts quarterly from December 2018, to June 2021.  Job listings provide a useful snapshot into how both private and public sector organisations value privacy, the resources they are willing to commit to developing and managing privacy programs, and to building their privacy maturity.

A list of all positions with either ‘privacy’ or ‘data protection’ in the title was compiled from jobs advertised on www.seek.com.au and www.indeed.com.au on a selected data in March, June, September December of reach quarter.  That list was then analysed.

Our findings from our analysis of most recent data are summarised in this report for viewing or download.

Previous reports

December 2020 Quarterly Job Trends

Privacy 108

At Privacy 108, we are passionate about privacy and data protection. We work with organisations to ensure they collect, use and secure all information in a way that is both compliant and meets community expectations. Privacy 108 is a law firm. Our team of lawyers can provide specialist legal advice on privacy and security issues.