ANZSCO 2211-11,12,13
Accountants
Northern Territory
March 2015
Current labour market rating
No Shortage
Previous labour market rating (May 2014)
No Shortage – National Level Assessment
Comments
There are large numbers of qualified applicants for accountant positions in the Northern Territory. The issue
of applicant quality and experience is primary, in particular for specialised areas such as tax accountants.
Survey results
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The Department of Employment’s survey of employers who had recently advertised for accountants
shows that 86 per cent of vacancies were filled within the survey period.
o 55 per cent of vacancies were for general accountants, 33 per cent for tax accountants and 11
per cent for management positions.
87 per cent of vacancies were replacement positions rather than as a result of new business.
There were 31.3 applicants for each vacancy and of these 4.9 were suitable. All vacancies attracted
large fields of applicants, with significantly large numbers experienced for a graduate position.
83 per cent of vacancies in the metropolitan region were filled and attracted 43.7 applicants per
vacancy and 5.0 were suitable. If the graduate position was excluded this reduces to 34.4 and 4.8
respectively. This indicates there is a good number of qualified applicants in the looking for work in
the Northern Territory.
Vacancies in regional areas were all filled and attracted 6.7 applicants per vacancy, of which 4.7 per
vacancy were considered suitable.
20 per cent of Employers in the metropolitan region did not attract suitable applicants and chose
not to fill senior management vacancies due to the extensive specialization skills and experience
necessary for the position.
Unsuitable applicants
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The main reasons cited by employers for applicants being unsuitable were due to a lack of
experience, skill sets (such as MYOB experience), knowledge of Darwin and its environment or if the
applicant was unable to meet the employers need for an immediate start due to living interstate.
For Tax Accountant vacancies, employers were not willing to fill their vacancy if the applicant did
not have the specialized skills and experience necessary to the role.
Employers noted the increased availability of qualified accountants and in some cases, applicants
were considered unsuitable if they had high expectations of wages.
Labour Economics Office Northern Territory
Department of Employment
Demand and supply trends
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Accountants are employed across a number of sectors but predominately in Accounting services.1
Formal entry in this occupation is through a three year Bachelor degree in Accounting or Business,
Commerce with a major in accounting, or Post Graduate studies. Charles Darwin University offers a
range of accredited programs.
Demand for Accountants is responsive to demand for financial planning and advice services and by
business investing in its core functions vital to its ongoing success, which may be cyclic in its nature
dependent on the economy.
The Department of Employments Internet Vacancy Index (IVI) shows a 4.8 per cent per annum
decrease in the numbers of vacancies for accountants advertised for the Northern Territory over the
five years from March 2011, with an 11.6 per cent decrease over the year to March 2014.2
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Other indicators and issues
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Some employers noted they were not competitive with some of the larger accounting firms in
relation to salary packages, in particular for more senior positions.
Employers noted a large proportion of applicants were from interstate.
1
ABS, 2011 Population Census Data, Northern Territory
2
Department of Employment, Internet Vacancy Index, March 2015, 12 month moving average
Labour Economics Office Northern Territory
Department of Employment