Landscape gardener
Trade designing, constructing and maintaining outdoor landscape features, planting and irrigation.
Jobs, demand and who does this work
Figures for the ANZSCO occupation Landscape Gardener (362213), the closest official match for landscape gardener, from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia data, sourced 2026-09-23).
- People employed
- 25,100
- Future demand
- Moderate
- Work full-time
- 72%
- Average full-time hours
- 42 a week
- Women
- 5%
- Median age
- 34
Where the jobs are (share of workers)
| NSW | 31.3% |
| VIC | 28.6% |
| QLD | 19.9% |
| WA | 8.6% |
| SA | 7.1% |
| TAS | 1.6% |
| ACT | 2.2% |
| NT | 0.7% |
Highest qualification held by workers
| Postgraduate qualification | 1.2% |
| Bachelor degree | 6.3% |
| Diploma or advanced diploma | 8.5% |
| Certificate I-IV | 41.3% |
| Year 12 | 21.1% |
| Below Year 12 | 18.3% |
What a landscape gardener actually does
Landscapers usually start 6:30 or 7am. The morning is set-up: loading the trailer or ute with tools, plants, soil and any hard-landscape materials. Construction landscapers spend a typical day on excavation, laying retaining walls and paving, installing irrigation, and the rough work of building a new garden. Maintenance landscapers run a weekly run of customer sites - mowing, pruning, fertilising and tidying established gardens. Each day mixes physical work (carrying pavers, swinging a mattock) with finer work (planting, irrigation tuning, detailed pruning). Weather is a constant factor - thunderstorms cancel the day, heat shifts the work to shaded sites. Sun protection is non-negotiable. The trade overlaps with horticulture, civil and drainage work. Most days finish 3-4pm before the worst of the heat. Pay starts modest at apprentice level and improves with the move into design, project management or business ownership.
Skills you'll use
- Reading landscape plans and setting out levels
- Plant identification and selection for climate
- Hardscape construction (paving, walls, decking, water features)
- Irrigation design and installation
- Mower, brushcutter, chainsaw and ride-on operation
- Soil management and turf laying
- Customer consultation and quoting
How to become one
- 1Finish Year 10 with English and a horticulture or design subject if available
- 2Sign a 3-year apprenticeship with a landscape contractor or Group Training Organisation
- 3Complete the AHC30722 Certificate III in Horticulture through TAFE
- 4Add chainsaw, pesticide application (chemical card) and traffic-management tickets
- 5In Queensland, apply for a QBCC trade contractor licence to do landscape construction work above the threshold
- 6Optional - move into landscape design via a Diploma of Landscape Design
Where you can work
- Residential landscape design-and-build firms
- Maintenance gardening firms with corporate and strata contracts
- Local councils and parks departments
- Botanic gardens and arboretums
- Sports turf and golf-course teams
- Civil and infrastructure landscape contractors
- Self-employed sole trader or small crew owner
Career progression
Typical stages and roles. Apprentice and tradesperson pay is set by the modern award or enterprise agreement that covers the job; check it with the Fair Work Ombudsman's Pay and Conditions Tool.
- Apprentice3 yearsTypical roles: First-year apprentice landscaper, Third-year apprentice landscaper
- Tradesperson0-4 yearsTypical roles: Construction landscaper, Maintenance gardener, Turf specialist
- Leading hand or designer5-10 yearsTypical roles: Leading hand, Landscape designer, Project supervisor
- Business owner8+ yearsTypical roles: Landscape contracting business owner, Design-and-build firm director
Is this for you?
You might love this if
- You love being outdoors year-round
- You enjoy plants and the seasons
- You're comfortable with heavy work - paving, soil, retaining walls
- You have an eye for design and finished gardens
- You can manage your time across a weekly run of jobs
This might not suit you if
- You can't tolerate heat, cold and wet weather over a year
- You have severe hay fever or grass-pollen allergies
- You can't lift pavers, soil bags and tools all day
- You can't deal with customers face-to-face on their property
Entry requirements
- Year 10 or equivalent
- A signed apprenticeship training contract with a host employer.
State licensing
Not nationally licensed. Some states impose contractor licensing once work exceeds a value threshold.
| State | Licensing authority |
|---|---|
| NSW | No trade-specific licence listed |
| VIC | No trade-specific licence listed |
| QLD | Queensland Building and Construction Commission (above $3,300) |
| SA | No trade-specific licence listed |
| WA | No trade-specific licence listed |
| TAS | No trade-specific licence listed |
| NT | No trade-specific licence listed |
| ACT | No trade-specific licence listed |