Apprentice Painter Pay in Australia: Year 1 to 4 (2026-27)

Apprentice Painter Pay by Year

These are the minimums for an apprentice painter on a standard four-year term, from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026, as the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide prints them for the glazier, painter and signwriter group. They include the tool and industry allowances, because the award makes both part of an apprentice’s ordinary rate. Your rate may be higher under an enterprise agreement or if your employer pays above the award; it cannot lawfully be lower.

General building, civil or engineering construction site

Residential building (single or dual occupancy, not multistorey)

How the Painter Rate Is Built

Clause 19.7(b) of the award sets the wage as a percentage of the $1,119.10 standard rate, and clause 19.7(c) adds the clause 21.1 tool allowance and the clause 22 industry allowance as part of the ordinary weekly rate for all purposes. The wage part alone is:

That wage table is the same for carpenters and bricklayers, because the award has one percentage scale for its apprentices. What differs is the tool allowance: $9.89 a week for painters. Adding it and the industry allowance to the wage gives the pay guide figure in every row:

Adult vs Junior Start

A person who starts as an adult apprentice and was not already employed by the same employer is paid the greater of the ordinary hourly rate for the lowest classification in clause 19.1 (Level 1 (a)) and the rate for their year (cl 19.8(d)). The award's ordinary hourly rate includes the industry allowance and any all-purpose allowance, so for a painting apprentice it includes the $9.89 tool allowance too. The Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide works this out at $28.70 an hour ($1,090.54 a week) on general building sites and $28.35 ($1,077.11) on residential work, in every year, because even the 90% fourth-year rate is lower. A person who was employed by the employer for at least 6 months full-time or 12 months part-time or as a regular casual before starting keeps the hourly rate they were on (cl 19.8(a) to (c)).

How Much Do Apprentice Painters Earn After Tax?

On the general building site minimum, which includes the tool and industry allowances, a first-year apprentice painter on a full-time 38-hour week is paid about $36,022 a year (Year 12 completed) and takes home about $640.94 a week. By fourth year the same hours give about $56,375 gross and $922.48 a week after tax. Apprentices pay the same income tax as everyone else, but the low income offset and the tax-free threshold mean the tax in the early years is small.

To see your own figure, put your hourly rate and hours into the calculator above, or use the take-home pay calculator to add overtime. Your hourly rate to a yearly salary is on the hourly to annual salary calculator.

What Is Specific to Painter Apprentices

The Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide prints one apprentice table for glaziers, painters and signwriters, and the tables on this page are that table. The award's painter classification includes artworkers, spray painters, shotblasters and sandblasters, all at CW/ECW 3 (Schedule A.2.3).

Watch the classification once you qualify. The award also lists painter brush hand and spray painter among its CW/ECW 1 classifications (Schedule A.2.1), the lowest level, which starts at $1,013.50 a week. That level is not available to someone who has finished: clause 19.7(a) says a person who has completed a full apprenticeship must not be paid less than the $1,119.10 standard rate, before the $9.89 tool allowance and the industry allowance.

Stage progression counts the competencies in your Certificate III training plan: stage 2 at 25% or 12 months after starting, stage 3 at 50% or 12 months after stage 2, and stage 4 at 75% or 12 months after stage 3, whichever is earlier each time (cl 19.7(b)).

Coverage depends on the work your employer does and on any enterprise agreement, so check the award named on your contract before relying on these tables.

Qualification: CPC30620 Certificate III in Painting and Decorating. It is current on training.gov.au: 29 units, 26 core and 3 elective.

Check Your Payslip

1. Find your year of apprenticeship and whether you completed Year 12 and read the matching hourly figure in the first table for your type of site.
2. Your payslip may show the wage and the tool and industry allowances as separate lines; add them before comparing with the table. The payslip guide explains each line.
3. If you are paid less, ask your employer to explain which award or agreement they use, then contact the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94. The backpay calculator shows what a shortfall adds up to.

Pre-2014 apprentices, three-year terms, school-based apprentices and trainees are paid under other schedules and are not covered here. Rates change each 1 July, so check the date on this page.

Other Apprentice Pay Guides

• Apprentice Pay Rates by Trade: every trade side by side
• Apprentice Electrician Pay: adult, junior and penalty rates
• Apprentice Carpenter Pay
• Apprentice Bricklayer Pay
• Apprentice Plumber Pay
• Apprentice Mechanic Pay
• Apprentice Hairdresser Pay
• Apprentice Chef Pay
• Apprentice Boilermaker Pay
• Apprentice Butcher Pay
• Junior Pay Rates for non-apprentices

Frequently Asked Questions