Plumber
Install and maintain water, sanitary, drainage, gas-fitting, roofing and mechanical services.
Registration: State plumber licence required
Salary
Cited figures only: median full-time weekly earnings for the ANZSCO unit group Plumbers (3341) from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia), and where available the QILT graduate starting salary for the matching study area.
| Figure | AUD | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median full-time weekly earnings | $2000 | Your Career (2026-09-23) |
Jobs, demand and who does this work
Figures for the ANZSCO occupation Plumber (General) (334111), the closest official match for plumber, from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia data, sourced 2026-09-23).
- People employed
- 53,400
- Future demand
- Moderate
- Work full-time
- 85%
- Average full-time hours
- 43 a week
- Women
- 1%
- Median age
- 32
Where the jobs are (share of workers)
| NSW | 31.6% |
| VIC | 32% |
| QLD | 17.6% |
| WA | 8.2% |
| SA | 6.3% |
| TAS | 1.9% |
| ACT | 1.6% |
| NT | 0.9% |
Highest qualification held by workers
| Postgraduate qualification | 0.2% |
| Bachelor degree | 1.1% |
| Diploma or advanced diploma | 2.5% |
| Certificate I-IV | 73.9% |
| Year 12 | 10.5% |
| Below Year 12 | 10.4% |
What a plumber actually does
Plumbers move between residential, commercial and service work. New-build plumbers turn up to construction sites for rough-in, doing drainage, water supply, gas-fitting and roof drainage. Once the trades clean up, plumbers come back for fit-off, installing fixtures, sanitaryware, hot-water systems and gas appliances. Service plumbers run from a van doing leak repairs, blocked drains and hot-water replacements. Most days start around 7am and run to 3.30pm or 4pm. Once you are licensed, you can sign off your own work to AS/NZS 3500 and the National Construction Code. Like electricians, many plumbers move into running their own business after 5-10 years. There are several licence endorsements in plumbing including gas-fitting, drainage, roofing, mechanical services and water plumbing.
Typical tasks
- Install pipework and fixtures to AS/NZS 3500 series standards.
- Conduct compliance inspections and pressure tests.
- Diagnose and repair leaks and blockages.
Skills you'll use
- Pipe joining including copper soldering, PEX and PVC solvent welding
- Installing fixtures and sanitaryware to AS/NZS 3500
- Gas appliance installation and testing under AS/NZS 5601
- Roof and stormwater drainage
- Operating a CCTV drain camera and electric eel
- Reading hydraulic services drawings
- Quoting and basic customer service
How to become one
- 1Finish Year 10 or 12. A pre-apprenticeship Certificate II in Plumbing can help you secure a host employer
- 2Secure a host employer and sign an apprenticeship agreement through an apprenticeship network provider
- 3Complete a 4-year Certificate III in Plumbing (CPC32420) at TAFE alongside paid on-job training
- 4Add endorsement units for gas-fitting, drainage, roofing and any other speciality you want to license in
- 5Apply for your state plumbing licence (for example Building Commission NSW or Victoria's Building and Plumbing Commission, which took over from the Victorian Building Authority on 1 July 2025). Most states require a separate gas-fitting endorsement
- 6Optional steps include working toward a Certificate IV in Plumbing and Services, becoming a registered builder, or specialising in hydraulic design
Where you can work
- Residential and commercial new build sites
- Service plumbing businesses running call-out vans
- Mechanical services contractors
- Water utilities such as Sydney Water and Yarra Valley Water
- Mining and resources operations
- Hospital, school and government facility maintenance teams
- Hydraulic design consultancies
Career progression
Typical stages and roles. Years of experience are a rough guide; pay at each stage depends on the employer, award or agreement.
- Apprentice0-4 yearsTypical roles: First-year apprentice, Fourth-year apprentice
- Licensed plumber4-8 yearsTypical roles: Domestic plumber, Commercial plumber, Service plumber
- Senior or sub-contractor8-15 yearsTypical roles: Leading hand, Service supervisor, Sub-contractor running their own crew
- Business owner or hydraulic designer15+ yearsTypical roles: Plumbing business owner, Hydraulic designer, Master plumber
Is this for you?
You might love this if
- You enjoy physical work and do not mind getting dirty
- You want a clear apprenticeship pathway to running your own business
- You can deal calmly with messy callouts and unhappy customers
- You are good with spatial reasoning and reading plans
- You can handle confined spaces and working in trenches
This might not suit you if
- You dislike physically demanding work
- You have a back, knee or shoulder issue that limits heavy lifting
- You do not want to work outside in heat, cold and rain
Three ways in
Uni, TAFE and trade routes for plumber. 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 Your Career (yourcareer.gov.au) directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.