Carpenter

The national qualification describes this work as setting out, manufacturing, constructing, assembling, installing and repairing products made using timber and other materials, in residential and commercial workplaces.

Source, checked 17 October 2026: training.gov.au, CPC30326.

Site carpentry is measuring, cutting, standing frames, fixing sheets, and fitting out. You see the building change during the week, which is a real pull for some people.

The day depends on the employer. Housing, formwork, and shopfitting are not the same job. This sketch is about site carpentry in general. It is not a promise of which one you would be offered.

This is a composite sketch so you can picture the work. It is not a diary from one workplace, and it is not a survey result.

The award's ordinary hours are 38 a week, averaged over a 20 day, four week cycle, Monday to Friday, between 7 am and 6 pm. Each ordinary day is 8 hours, and 0.4 of an hour a day builds up towards a rostered day off. Work outside those hours is paid at higher rates, which are listed in the pay guide.

Source, checked 17 October 2026: Building and Construction General On-site Award (MA000020).

These are award minimums, not what any employer is sure to pay. Each figure is an hourly rate that applies from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026. From the Building and Construction General On-site Award. Check the current pay guide on the Fair Work Ombudsman website before you rely on a figure.

1. 1st year

   $17.22 an hour if you did not finish Year 12. $18.70 an hour if you did.

2. 2nd year

   $20.17 an hour if you did not finish Year 12. $21.64 an hour if you did.

3. 3rd year

   $24.59 an hour.

4. 4th year

   $29.00 an hour.

General building and construction, residential work, 4 year apprentice carpenter or joiner, started after 1 January 2014, not an adult apprentice. Tables for 3 year apprenticeships, other kinds of work and civil construction are separate. Adult apprentices and apprentices who started before 1 January 2014 have different tables in the pay guide. These apprentice rates already include some allowances, as the pay guide explains. Other allowances can change the total, so read the pay guide for your award.

Once qualified: the award's base rate for Level 3 (CW/ECW 3), which is the level for someone who has completed a relevant trade apprenticeship, is $29.45 an hour before allowances (award clause 19.1). The pay guide shows a higher figure for this classification because it adds allowances. What a person is paid depends on the employer and any agreement.

Source, checked 17 October 2026: Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide, MA000020, published 2 July 2026; Building and Construction General On-site Award (MA000020).

• Most of the work is on a building site, in the weather.
• Heights are a regular part of framing and roof work.
• Timber, sheets, and tools are heavy, and power tools are loud.
• You are on your feet through the day. Sites often start early.

Qualification: Certificate III in Carpentry, code CPC30326. It replaced CPC30220 on 23 September 2026, and training.gov.au lists the two as equivalent.

Length: Queensland's register lists the earlier code, CPC30220, with a nominal term of 48 months and an expected duration of 42 months. It did not list the new code when checked. Other states and territories can differ. School-based apprenticeships are listed there too.

Induction: the qualification says general construction induction training is required for anyone doing construction work.

Whether you need a builder's or contractor's licence to run jobs is not covered on this page. Check your state or territory regulator.

Pre-apprenticeships are not covered on this page.

Source, checked 17 October 2026: training.gov.au, CPC30326; Queensland Training Information Service, CPC30220.

Not from a survey. This is a first draft for review. Replace it with sourced comments, or remove it.

• Early starts and working in the weather.
• Heights, especially in wind or on a roof.
• Noise and dust from saws and nail guns.
• The stop-start of a site when materials or other trades are late.