Despite widespread fears that artificial intelligence would decimate coding jobs, Australia's software and applications programmer workforce has reached a record 216,000, according to research by Adaca based on ABS labour force data. This marks a 217% increase over two decades, from just 68,000 in 2006, making software development one of the country's fastest-growing occupations.
The report challenges the narrative that AI will sharply reduce demand for coding roles. Instead, it argues that the labour market has absorbed workers leaving some parts of the tech sector while demand has broadened across other industries. Since generative AI tools entered the mainstream in 2022, software development ranked 10th for jobs growth among Australia's largest professions and was the fastest-growing IT role in the dataset.
A Complex Employment Picture
Adaca founder Lambros Photios emphasizes that developers are being displaced, not replaced. They are leaving big tech and finding work in mid-market companies. "When mid-market companies realize what they can achieve by hiring their first AI-powered dev team, every company will have one. We are in the golden age for Australian developers," he says.
Skills Pipeline and Migration
The research raises questions about how Australia is training software workers. The sector is increasingly dependent on people born overseas, suggesting migration has become a major source of technical talent. Additionally, between 19,000 and 25,000 software developers have no higher education qualification, with 19,000 holding only a Higher School Certificate. This indicates employers are hiring from a broader pool beyond university degrees.
Photios argues that the local education system is not producing enough skilled workers. "The high ratio of developers born overseas suggests that the Australian software development sector is thriving through migration, not education," he notes. Many businesses sponsor skilled overseas workers or offshore development needs due to difficulty finding local talent.
Persistent Gender Gap
The data shows limited progress on gender balance. Women accounted for 17.3% of the software development workforce over the past 20 years, rising to just 20.1% in 2025. This increase of less than 3 percentage points underscores how slowly the profession has changed despite surging demand. Software development remains heavily male-dominated.
Broader Implications
The report's conclusion is that employment trends in software are being reshaped, not erased, by AI. For employers, demand for programming work remains resilient. For policymakers, the figures raise questions about migration, training pathways, and who is entering one of the country's fastest-growing professions. As of February 2026, the ABS category for software and applications programmers stood at 216,000 workers.
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