What a carpenter is paid in Australia: the legal minimum under the award, the classification ladder either side of it, and what the market actually pays. Every figure sourced and dated.
Award floor
$31.95
The classification we quote is described in the ladder below. Award, Building and Construction General On-site Award MA000020. Effective 1 July 2026.
Market band
$80,000 to $95,000
National advertised range, SEEK, refreshed 1 July 2026. Indicative day rate ~$400.
Every rung of the award, not just the one this role usually sits on. The highlighted row is the classification we quote as the floor for carpenter.
| Classification | Hourly minimum | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 (CW/ECW 1) level a, residential weekly hire | $28.08 | |
| Level 2 (CW/ECW 2), residential weekly hire | $30.03 | |
| Level 3 carpenter, residential weekly hire | $31.95 | |
| Level 3 carpenter, non-residential weekly hire | $32.30 | |
| Level 3 carpenter, residential daily hire | $32.96 | |
| Level 4 joiner special class, residential weekly hire | $32.88 | |
| Level 5 carpenter special class, residential weekly hire | $33.80 | |
| Level 7 (CW/ECW 7), residential weekly hire | $34.47 |
This award splits every rung four ways: residential against non-residential, and daily hire against weekly hire. The residential and non-residential gap comes from the industry allowance and runs about thirty six cents an hour at every level. Daily hire pays more because it carries the follow-the-job loading, which compensates for the job ending when the job ends.
The floor is the law and the market is what roles actually close at. On this role the distance between them is $16,867 a year at the bottom of the band, which is the number worth knowing before you set an offer. Ordinary hours only: no overtime, no penalty rates, no superannuation.
No trade licence as such, but a construction induction card, the white card, is mandatory before anyone sets foot on site, and it is issued through registered training organisations. High risk work licences are separate and specific: working at heights, elevated work platforms and scaffolding each have their own ticket, and a carpenter who does not hold the relevant one cannot do that part of the work.
The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates 331212 Carpenter as in shortage nationally and in every state and territory. That list is the official assessment, published by Jobs and Skills Australia, and it is the only shortage figure we will quote. Source, checked 27 July 2026.
Four year apprenticeship, and a strong pull toward self employment. A large share of qualified carpenters end up subcontracting rather than taking wages, which thins the pool available for employed roles well below the number of qualified carpenters in the country.
Advertising residential rates for a non-residential site, or the reverse. The award difference looks small at thirty six cents, and the market difference is much larger, so the advertisement reads as underpriced to exactly the people you want. The second is not saying whether the role is daily hire or weekly hire, which materially changes both the rate and the security on offer. The third is asking for tickets the job does not need.
The award publishes separate rates for residential and non-residential work, and separate rates again for daily hire and weekly hire. A carpenter on non-residential daily hire sits on a different legal minimum from one on residential weekly hire.
An extra amount built into daily hire rates that recognises the job ends when the job ends. It is why daily hire rates are higher than weekly hire rates at the same level.
Not a trade licence in the way an electrician does, but a white card is mandatory on site, and specific high risk work needs its own ticket.
Award rates are the adult full-time minimum for the classification named, effective the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, from the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guides. Casual loading of 25 per cent sits on top. This award publishes all-purpose rates, so the hourly figures already include the allowances named in the classification and are not directly comparable to awards that publish bare base rates. Market bands are the national advertised ranges published on SEEK salary pages, refreshed 1 July 2026, quoted as published. Annual conversions use 38 ordinary hours a week over 52 weeks and exclude overtime, penalty rates and superannuation. Award minimums are national, so these figures do not vary by state. Checked 27 July 2026. The award that applies to any individual is decided by the work actually performed and by the employer's industry: see our award finder, or ask the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.