Make Your Profession Count

The Engagement Institute’s “Make Your Profession Count” campaign is encouraging engagement professionals across Australia to identify their occupation consistently in the 2026 Census where applicable. The campaign forms part of broader advocacy efforts to strengthen recognition and visibility of community and stakeholder engagement as a professional discipline.

Census occupation data helps shape how professions are recognised, measured and understood across Australia. This data contributes to workforce statistics, industry visibility and long-term advocacy efforts that support recognition of the engagement profession.

OSCA stands for the Occupation Standard Classification for Australia. Managed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, OSCA is the national framework used to classify occupations and workforce data in Australia. The Engagement Institute’s advocacy work includes engagement with occupation classification and Census recognition processes connected to OSCA.

Consistent occupation descriptions help improve visibility of engagement professionals within national workforce data. If engagement professionals use a wide range of unrelated titles, it becomes more difficult to accurately identify and measure the profession.

On Census Night, Tuesday 11 August 2026, engagement professionals are encouraged to use the occupation title (from a suggested list) that best reflects their role and responsibilities when answering the Census occupation question.

The campaign relates to the Census question: “In the main job held last week, what was the person’s occupation?”

Please write or type in one of the below (if applicable), using the title that best reflects your current role and responsibilities:

• Community Engagement Manager

• Community & Stakeholder Engagement Manager

• Communications and Engagement Manager

• Stakeholder Engagement Manager

• Community Engagement Consultant

• Engagement & Communications Coordinator

• Communications and Engagement Advisor

Do I have to use one of the suggested titles?

It is best to choose the title that is closest to your role.

Will this create a new occupation classification immediately?

Occupation classification changes take time and involve formal statistical and classification processes. However, consistent Census responses help strengthen the evidence base and visibility of the profession over time.

Yes. Importantly, more than 300 people identified using engagement-related occupation titles in the previous Census — an important milestone in strengthening recognition of the profession within national workforce data. The 2026 Census is an opportunity to continue building on that momentum.

Community and stakeholder engagement is a growing and established professional discipline with its own body of practice, capability, standards and expertise. The Engagement Institute continues to advocate for stronger recognition and visibility of the profession.

No. The campaign is open to all engagement professionals across Australia. We also encourage people to share this with colleagues and professional networks.

Absolutely. We encourage engagement professionals, organisations, and industry networks to share resources and help build awareness.

Campaign resources will be available via the Engagement Institute website and will include instructional cards, downloadable graphics, FAQs, shareable social assets and suggested occupation titles.

The Census is one of the largest national data collection activities in Australia. Occupation responses contribute to workforce statistics and professional visibility that can support long-term advocacy and recognition efforts.

No. This campaign is focused on professional recognition and workforce visibility for engagement practitioners across Australia.

Following the New Zealand election later this year, the Engagement Institute plans to begin advocacy conversations supporting future recognition opportunities ahead of the next New Zealand Census in 2030.

For more information about the campaign, please contact the Engagement Institute via info@engagementinstitute.org,au.