How to become a speech-language therapy assistant
Official title: Speech-language therapy assistant
Also called: Communication support worker
Speech-language therapy assistants help speech-language therapists assess and treat patients.
Main tasks
- Help speech language therapists treat patients
- Perform administrative and reception duties
- Keep medical records
- Run individual and group activities for patients
- Prepare and maintain therapy materials
- Help speech language therapists make treatment plans
- Communicate with whānau and caregivers
How to become one
You usually need experience to become a speech-language therapy assistant and a qualification may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 2 or University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: experience in similar work; a New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Level 3); to do entry training in community client care; a bachelor's degree in speech therapy; a driver licence; to pass a police check.
Ways in
- University: Allied Health degrees, Offered by 4 universities in New Zealand
- Certificates and diplomas: Intermediate certificates in community client care. TEC links this job to study in human welfare. Qualifications: NZ Cert in Health and Wellbeing (Social and Community Services), NZ Cert in Health and Wellbeing (Advanced Care and Support). Usually 1 year. Graduates of these qualifications earn a median $52,000 a year one year after study and $53,000 five years after; 62% are employed one year after (TEC, from Stats NZ IDI data).
Pay
- Most common pay: $54,080 to $68,819 a year (median $60,841), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Lower: $51,040 a year · Upper: $86,719 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.
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Questions people ask
How do I become a speech-language therapy assistant?
You usually need experience to become a speech-language therapy assistant and a qualification may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 2 or University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: experience in similar work; a New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Level 3); to do entry training in community client care; a bachelor's degree in speech therapy; a driver licence; to pass a police check.
How much does a speech-language therapy assistant earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $60,841 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $54,080 to $68,819 a year.
Sources
- 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
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