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ANZSCO 3622Skill level 3Primary industries

Landscape gardener

Design and install landscape features, paving, retaining walls, irrigation and planting for residential and commercial clients.

Registration: White Card; trade-licensing or builder-registration requirements vary by state for structural retaining and water plumbing

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 landscape gardener actually does

Most landscape gardeners run a build job from start to finish over one or two weeks per project. Day one is usually demolition and excavation: stripping the existing yard, cutting levels, moving spoil and trenching for drainage and irrigation. Then come the hard-landscape days laying paving, building retaining walls in timber, block or concrete, pouring small slabs and setting edges. After that the team moves to soil prep, turf, planting and mulching, with irrigation tested and tuned at handover. There's a steady mix of physical work (shovels, wheelbarrows, mini-loaders) and problem-solving when site levels, drainage or services hit you with surprises. Most crews work from 6.30 or 7am to mid-afternoon to finish before the heat, with overtime in spring when residential demand peaks. Quoting, site visits and invoicing fill the evenings for owner-operators. Wet weeks can push jobs back by a fortnight, so scheduling clients is part of the craft.

Typical tasks

  • Read landscape plans.
  • Set out paving, retaining and irrigation.
  • Lead small crews on site.

Skills you'll use

  • Reading and interpreting landscape and architectural plans
  • Setting out paving, edges and retaining walls to line and level
  • Operating excavators, skid-steers, dingoes and bobcats up to 3 tonnes
  • Concreting small slabs, footings and post holes
  • Installing pop-up and drip irrigation with controllers
  • Plant selection for soil, aspect and climate
  • Estimating, quoting and basic project scheduling
  • Crew leadership and managing apprentices or labourers

How to become one

  1. 1Finish Year 10 or Year 12 and get a manual driver licence
  2. 2Get a White Card and a labouring start with a landscaping or paving crew
  3. 3Sign up as an apprentice and complete a Certificate III in Landscape Construction (around 3-4 years on the job)
  4. 4Pick up tickets for skid-steer, excavator and dogman as the work calls for them
  5. 5Add a ChemCert and irrigation installer competency if you want to take on full design-and-build jobs
  6. 6Optionally move to a Diploma of Landscape Design or get a small builder licence if your state requires one for structural retaining over a metre

Where you can work

  • Residential design-and-construct landscaping firms
  • Commercial fit-out crews working on retail precincts and offices
  • Civil and council contractors building parks, playgrounds and streetscapes
  • Pool builders and outdoor-living specialists
  • Body-corporate maintenance plus capital-works contractors
  • Self-employed sole traders running residential builds
  • High-end estate gardens and resort developments

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. Apprentice
    0-4 years
    Typical roles: First-year apprentice, Senior apprentice
    Salary band: $35,000 - $60,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  2. Qualified landscape gardener
    4-8 years
    Typical roles: Tradie landscaper, Construction landscaper, Maintenance and build crew
    Salary band: $70,000 - $90,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  3. Leading hand or foreperson
    8-12 years
    Typical roles: Site foreperson, Crew leader, Senior landscaper
    Salary band: $90,000 - $120,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  4. Owner-operator or director
    10+ years
    Typical roles: Director of small landscape business, Estimator or contracts manager, Design-and-construct principal

Is this for you?

You might love this if

  • You enjoy seeing a finished build at the end of a job
  • You're physically fit and don't mind heavy lifting
  • You can read a set of plans and set out a job from a string line
  • You're good at problem-solving on the fly when ground conditions surprise you
  • You like running a small crew and dealing with clients face-to-face
  • You're patient enough to handle weather delays and difficult neighbours

This might not suit you if

  • You hate dust, mud and concrete burns
  • You want air-conditioned, indoor work
  • You can't manage a budget or quote a job
  • You don't want to lead other tradies and apprentices
  • You want guaranteed hours regardless of rain or heat

Three ways in

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

University

Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.

No direct undergraduate pathway. Consider postgraduate study after a related bachelor degree.

TAFE / VET

Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.

Apprenticeship trade

Earn while you learn through an Australian Apprenticeship.

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.