Submission on occupational classification of editors
Over several years, IPEd’s Pay and Conditions Standing Committee has been making submissions to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ review of the classification of occupations used for many official purposes. We had some success with changes to editor classifications in the new Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA) released in late 2024, as reported here.
In April 2026, we made a submission on the latest public consultation on the occupation update. We continued to argue for the separation of book (and other text) editors from script editors, with editing for publication distinct from editing for performance. We also raised possible recognition of the role of editors as reviewers of AI-generated content as a new task or emerging occupation.
ABS is now reviewing the feedback received, to inform a draft classification that is scheduled for further feedback in August 2026, followed by the official release of the OSCA 2027 update in March 2027.