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ANZSCO 2325Skill level 1Creative and media

Interior designer

Design interior spaces for residential, retail, hospitality and commercial fit-outs.

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Salary

Cited figures from Job Outlook and QILT. ExamExplained does not publish predictive earnings or projections.

FigureAUDSource
Full-time weekly earnings$1500Job Outlook (2025-06-01)

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What a interior designer actually does

Most days run between studio desk work, supplier showrooms and the build site. Concept stage means mood boards, finishes selection, 3D visualisations and presentation drawings for the client. Documentation stage means construction drawings, joinery details, electrical layouts and reflected ceiling plans in Revit or AutoCAD. Construction stage shifts the balance to site visits in steel-cap boots, supplier callouts and chasing the joiner about a missing drawer. Most interior designers work in commercial fit-out (hospitality, retail, workplace) or residential (new builds and renovations). Hours sit at 38-45 in normal weeks but stretch around DA submission and just before practical completion. The role overlaps with architecture on documentation and with decoration on the finishes side, and you spend a lot of time managing client expectations on budget, lead times and the gap between a render and the real built room.

Typical tasks

  • Develop concept presentations.
  • Prepare construction documentation.
  • Coordinate trades and suppliers on site.

Skills you'll use

  • Revit, AutoCAD and SketchUp
  • 3D visualisation in Lumion, Twinmotion or V-Ray
  • InDesign and Photoshop for presentation documents
  • Materials, finishes and joinery detailing
  • Knowledge of building code, accessibility and fire compliance
  • Coordinating consultants (electrical, mechanical, lighting, hydraulic)
  • Site measurement and as-built documentation
  • Client presentation and negotiation

How to become one

  1. 1Finish Year 12 with Visual Arts, Design and Technology, or Maths as useful subjects
  2. 2Build a portfolio of sketches, models and any home design work in your final school year
  3. 3Complete an accredited 3-year Bachelor of Interior Design or Bachelor of Design (Interior Architecture) at RMIT, UTS, UNSW, Curtin or QUT
  4. 4Alternative entry is a Diploma of Interior Design with a credit-articulation path into a bachelor
  5. 5Take a junior interior designer role at a commercial fit-out, residential or hospitality firm
  6. 6Join the Design Institute of Australia (DIA) and consider DIA Accredited Designer status after 4+ years
  7. 7Move into a specialism (workplace, hospitality, residential, healthcare) by year 5 because senior roles are specialised

Where you can work

  • Commercial fit-out and workplace design firms
  • Hospitality and retail design specialists
  • Multi-disciplinary architecture and interior practices
  • Residential and luxury home design studios
  • Healthcare and aged-care design teams
  • Furniture and showroom retailers (in-house design)
  • Self-employed studio serving renovation and residential clients

Career progression

Typical stages and salary bands. Salary figures are sourced from Job Outlook, QILT or industry bodies; brackets are 25th-75th percentile not absolute floors or ceilings.

  1. Junior interior designer
    0-2 years
    Typical roles: Junior interior designer, FF&E coordinator, Documentation drafter
    Salary band: $55,000 - $65,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  2. Interior designer
    3-7 years
    Typical roles: Interior designer, Project designer, Senior FF&E designer
    Salary band: $70,000 - $95,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  3. Senior or associate
    8+ years
    Typical roles: Senior interior designer, Associate, Studio director, Sole practitioner

Is this for you?

You might love this if

  • You enjoy moving between mood boards, drawings and on-site reality
  • You can pick fabrics, finishes and joinery details to the millimetre
  • You're patient with revisions when a client changes their mind on tile colour
  • You're comfortable on a building site as well as in a showroom
  • You can keep a budget tight and explain trade-offs to clients

This might not suit you if

  • You only want to do pretty pictures and skip the construction drawings
  • You hate measured site work in dust and noise
  • You can't deal with clients who change their mind late
  • You expect interior design pay to match architecture (it usually doesn't)
  • You want a job with no client management or supplier chasing

Three ways in

Uni, TAFE and trade routes for interior designer. Not every career has all three; we only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.

University

Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.

TAFE / VET

Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.

No direct TAFE pathway to this career.

Apprenticeship trade

Earn while you learn through an Australian Apprenticeship.

Not an apprenticeship trade.

Sources

ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Job Outlook directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.