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ANZSCO 3334Skill level 3Engineering and trades

Wall and floor tiler

Prepare and lay ceramic, stone and similar tiles to walls, floors and wet areas.

Salary

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

FigureAUDSource
Full-time weekly earnings$1550Job Outlook (2025-06-01)

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What a wall and floor tiler actually does

Wall and floor tilers prepare and lay ceramic, porcelain and stone tiles to walls, floors and wet areas. Days typically start at 7am with prep: checking levels, cleaning the substrate, repairing minor cracks and laying out a setout from the focal point of the room. Most residential bathrooms or laundries take a tiler two to three days from waterproofing to grouting. Commercial work runs longer with bigger formats and tighter tolerances. Waterproofing is licensed work in most states. Tilers also handle cutting around fixtures, pipes and penetrations, which takes patience and skill. Hours run 7am to 3.30pm or 4pm with longer days when there is a deadline coming up. Tiling is hard on the knees and shoulders from a lifetime kneeling on a floor. Many tilers move into sub-contracting after 5 years.

Typical tasks

  • Waterproof wet areas to AS 3740.
  • Set out, cut and lay tiles.
  • Grout and seal tiled surfaces.

Skills you'll use

  • Reading bathroom and floor plans for tile setout
  • Waterproofing wet areas to AS 3740
  • Cutting tiles with a wet saw and angle grinder
  • Levelling and screeding substrates
  • Applying adhesive and laying tiles to plumb and level
  • Grouting and silicone sealing
  • Customer communication and quoting from drawings

How to become one

  1. 1Finish Year 10 or 12. A pre-apprenticeship Certificate II in Construction Pathways is helpful if you have not yet found a host employer
  2. 2Secure a host with a residential builder or tiling sub-contractor and sign an apprenticeship agreement
  3. 3Complete a 3-year Certificate III in Wall and Floor Tiling (CPC31320) at TAFE alongside paid on-job training
  4. 4Add the waterproofing units in your apprenticeship so you can sign off your own wet-area work in states that require it
  5. 5Add a White Card and any other site tickets such as EWP and working at heights early
  6. 6Optional next steps include a Certificate IV in Building and Construction, a state Waterproofer Licence, or specialising in large-format porcelain or natural stone work

Where you can work

  • Residential builders and renovators
  • Project home builders
  • Commercial and shopfitting fit-out crews
  • Pool tiling specialists
  • Heritage and bespoke residential builders
  • Tile and stone showrooms as technical advisers
  • Self-employed sole traders and small crews

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
    0-3 years
    Typical roles: First-year apprentice, Third-year apprentice
    Salary band: $28,000 - $52,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  2. Qualified tiler
    3-8 years
    Typical roles: Residential tiler, Commercial tiler, Wet area specialist
    Salary band: $70,000 - $100,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  3. Leading hand or sub-contractor
    8-15 years
    Typical roles: Leading hand, Sub-contractor with a small crew, Estimator
    Salary band: $95,000 - $130,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  4. Business owner or supervisor
    12+ years
    Typical roles: Tiling business owner, Site supervisor, Stone or large-format specialist

Is this for you?

You might love this if

  • You take pride in clean, square, well aligned work
  • You can handle hours kneeling on a floor
  • You enjoy a balance of indoor work and physical effort
  • You are good with measurement and setting out
  • You want a trade that suits steady self-employment

This might not suit you if

  • You have knee, hip or back issues that limit kneeling
  • You want a profession with little dust or messy cutting
  • You dislike repetitive setting out and grouting

Three ways in

Uni, TAFE and trade routes for wall and floor tiler. 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.