05 Aug 2026

Australian Census 2026: Don't Let Administration Officer Hide Your Profession

Earlier this year, RIMPA Global asked the Australian Bureau of Statistics to update its description of records and information management work. The 2026 Census gives practitioners their own opportunity to make that work visible.

On Tuesday 11 August 2026, Australians will complete the Census of Population and Housing. For records and information practitioners, that creates a familiar problem: the title on your payslip says very little about the work you actually do.

Same Title, Different Work

Consider two practitioners who are both formally employed as Administration Officers.

The first receives and registers documents, checks them for completeness, tracks file movements, retrieves records and assists with archiving and disposal. The second provides professional advice on information governance and risk across digital and distributed systems, applies standards and governance frameworks, manages retention and disposal requirements and works to keep organisational information reliable and secure as technology evolves.

Same title. Different occupations. And if both write ‘Administration Officer’ on the Census with no detail, both risk being classified too broadly and in a way that reflects neither role particularly well.

What the Census Actually Asks

The Census doesn't ask you to pick an occupational code. It asks two free-text questions:

Question 42 In the main job held last week, what was the person's occupation?

Question 43 What are the main tasks that the person usually performs in that occupation?

Your title starts the answer. Your task description gives it meaning.

Two Occupations, Both Legitimate

Occupation data from the 2026 Census will be coded to OSCA 2024, the Occupation Standard Classification for Australia. Two OSCA occupations provide useful examples for records and information work:

223935 Records or Information Manager - designs, implements and administers information governance structures and systems. Tasks include controlling access to confidential information, managing central records systems, developing classification and cataloguing systems and developing recordkeeping policy.
599131 Filing or Registry Clerk (alternative title: Records Clerk) - processes and handles information and documents to maintain access to and security of records systems. Tasks include processing incoming documents, checking accuracy, tracking file movements and assisting with archiving and disposal.

Neither is the correct answer for the profession as a whole - they describe genuinely different jobs and both are legitimate. The goal is not to push every member towards the same code. It is to ensure each person is classified according to the work they actually perform.

What RIMPA Asked the ABS to Change?

In March 2026, the ABS opened consultation on the OSCA 2027 Update. RIMPA Global responded on occupation 223935 Records or Information Manager.

Our submission acknowledged that the existing description remains broadly accurate but argued that it reflects an earlier stage of digital maturity. Records and information practitioners now work across increasingly automated and distributed environments, with greater expectations around privacy, security, assurance and trusted information.

RIMPA did not ask for a new occupation, a higher skill level or a shift towards IT or data science. We asked for the existing description to better recognise the professional advice, risk-based judgement and governance responsibilities practitioners already exercise.

In particular, we proposed making it clearer that the role includes advising on information governance and risk, contributing to standards and governance frameworks and ensuring information remains reliable, secure, interoperable and fit for purpose as technology evolves.

The OSCA consultation and the Census are separate processes, but the underlying issue is the same: accurate classification depends on accurate description. RIMPA has asked the ABS to ensure the official occupation reflects contemporary practice. Practitioners can help make their work visible and understood by describing it clearly and specifically in the Census.

What to Write

Give the fullest accurate title for your main job. If your job title doesn't reflect your actual work, add accurate functional context.

Operational records roles

Administration Officer – Records Registry
Records Clerk
Filing or Registry Clerk
Records Services Officer
Digital Records Officer

Advisory, professional or management roles

Information Management Officer
Records and Information Management Advisor
Records or Information Manager
Information Governance Advisor
Information Governance Manager

These are examples, not prescribed answers. Do not adopt a title you do not hold or use a description that overstates your responsibilities.

Then use the tasks question to spell out what you actually do.

If your work is operational, tasks might include:

receiving, registering and processing documents and records
checking documents for accuracy and completeness
updating records and information management systems
retrieving records and responding to information requests
tracking file and document movements
assisting with archiving and authorised disposal
maintaining secure access to records

If your work is advisory, professional or management, tasks might include:

advising on information governance and recordkeeping risk
developing records and information management policies
managing records and information systems
interpreting and implementing standards and governance frameworks
developing classification, metadata and information-control structures
managing retention and disposal requirements
controlling access to sensitive or confidential information
ensuring authoritative information remains reliable and fit for purpose in digital and automated environments

These are examples not a script, use them as a starting point and adjust the wording to match what you actually do.

Not every RIMPA Global member fits neatly into the two occupations above; many work in archives, privacy, knowledge management or digital systems. The aim isn't to force the profession into one code. It's to make sure the work, whatever form it takes, is visible and accurately represented.

Records and information practitioners understand that a label without context is rarely enough. A vague document title makes information harder to classify, find and use. A vague occupation title can do the same.

On 11 August, give the fullest accurate title for your occupation and describe the main tasks you actually perform. Your organisational title may be Administration Officer. Your occupation may be Records Clerk, Records or Information Manager or something else entirely.

Don't let a generic title hide the important work you do!