How to become a music therapist
Official title: Music therapist
Also called: Registered music therapist
Music therapists plan, manage and deliver programmes that use music to improve people's wellbeing. They support people's needs and promote change and healing.
Main tasks
- Treat patients using psychological therapies
- Develop treatment plans that use non-medical therapies
- Interact with patients to build rapport or provide emotional support
- Develop medical treatment plans
- Establish treatment goals
- Prepare reports summarising patient diagnostic or care activities
- Record patient medical histories
- Evaluate patient functioning, capabilities, or health
How to become one
You need a qualification to become a music therapist. You need University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Required: a Master of Music Therapy; an Annual Practising Certificate. Other requirements: to pass a police check; a driver licence. Registration body: Music Therapy New Zealand.
Ways in
- University: Creative Arts & Design degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
- Registration or licence: An Annual Practising Certificate. Registration body: Music Therapy New Zealand (https://www.musictherapy.org.nz/).
Pay · Past change · AI and this job
- Most common pay: $84,960 to $103,281 a year (median $94,121), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Lower: $75,800 a year · Upper: $112,442 a year
- TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
- Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
- People employed in the group Complementary Health Therapists: 2,406 at the 2018 Census and 3,249 at the 2023 Census (+35%). Past change, not a forecast.
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Who does this work
- About 72 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
- In the group Complementary Health Therapists, 69% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
- Where people in the group Complementary Health Therapists work (2023 Census): Auckland 41.3%, Canterbury 10.9%, and Wellington 10.2%.
Related jobs
- Acupuncturist
- Naturopath
- Clinical neuropsychologist
- Organisational psychologist
- Clinical psychologist
- Educational psychologist
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Questions people ask
How do I become a music therapist?
You need a qualification to become a music therapist. You need University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Required: a Master of Music Therapy; an Annual Practising Certificate. Other requirements: to pass a police check; a driver licence. Registration body: Music Therapy New Zealand.
How much does a music therapist earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $94,121 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $84,960 to $103,281 a year.
Has the number of people working as a music therapist grown in New Zealand?
It has grown: TEC records an increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.
Will AI change the work of a music therapist?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.
Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.
These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Updated 4 October 2026