Motor mechanic

The national qualification describes this work as a broad range of tasks on a variety of light vehicles in the automotive retail, service and repair industry.

Source, checked 17 October 2026: training.gov.au, AUR30620.

Most of the day is in one workshop. A car comes in, you find the fault or do the service, and the next car is waiting. Some of the work is routine servicing. Some of it is a problem that is not obvious.

This page is about light vehicles, the cars most people drive. Diesel, trucks, and heavy plant are a different trade and are not scored here.

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 an average of 38 a week, worked on not more than 5 days in a week. An employee may not be required to work more than 10 ordinary hours a day, unless longer shifts have been agreed under the award. Saturday, Sunday and overtime rates are listed in the pay guide.

Source, checked 17 October 2026: Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award (MA000089).

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 Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award. Check the current pay guide on the Fair Work Ombudsman website before you rely on a figure.

1. 1st year

   $14.73 an hour if you did not finish Year 12. $16.20 an hour if you did.

2. 2nd year

   $17.67 an hour if you did not finish Year 12. $19.14 an hour if you did.

3. 3rd year

   $22.09 an hour.

4. 4th year

   $25.92 an hour.

Vehicle industry repair, service and retail apprentice table, started after 1 January 2014, not an adult apprentice. Adult apprentices and apprentices who started before 1 January 2014 have different tables in the pay guide. Other allowances can change the total, so read the pay guide for your award.

Once qualified: the award's base rate for a vehicle repair and service tradesperson Level I, who holds a trade certificate or equivalent, is $29.45 an hour before allowances (award clause 16.2). What a person is paid depends on the employer and any agreement.

Source, checked 17 October 2026: Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide, MA000089, published 24 June 2026; Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award (MA000089).

• You stand on concrete, at a bench or under a hoist, for most of the day.
• The workshop is noisy. You are around oils and moving vehicles.
• Wheels, batteries, and some parts are heavy.
• Roadside work and Saturday rosters exist in some shops. How common they are is not measured here.

Qualification: Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology, code AUR30620. It is current on training.gov.au.

Length: Queensland's register lists a nominal term of 48 months, which is the length written on the training contract. Other states and territories can differ. School-based apprenticeships are listed there too.

Licence: the qualification says no licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to it at the time of publication.

Pre-apprenticeships are not covered on this page.

Source, checked 17 October 2026: training.gov.au, AUR30620; Queensland Training Information Service, AUR30620.

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

• Constant workshop noise.
• Repetitive servicing when you wanted diagnosis.
• Being on your feet on concrete all day.
• Customers who need the car back before the fault is actually found.