There is no single Australian painting apprentice rate. The legal minimum depends on the applicable award or enterprise agreement, the apprentice’s age when they started, schooling and commencement details, residential or non-residential work, and time- or competency-based stage. Use Fair Work’s Pay and Conditions Tool for the current minimum, then add allowances, overtime, superannuation, leave, and other employment costs.
Page last reviewed: 21 July 2026
Set rates and quotes with less guesswork.
Standardise quote logic across admin, owners, and estimators.
Improve margin visibility and job handover after quote acceptance.
Do not copy an old hourly table into payroll. Fair Work rates and classifications can change.
| Check | What can change | Authoritative action |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial instrument | Award, enterprise agreement, or other coverage | Use Fair Work award coverage guidance and PACT |
| Apprenticeship type | Residential/non-residential and the applicable occupation pathway | Select the exact apprenticeship in PACT |
| Personal details | Age at commencement, Year 12 status, and start date | Enter the employee’s real details |
| Progression | Year/stage or competency milestone | Confirm the registered training progression |
| Work pattern | Ordinary hours, overtime, weekends, shifts, travel and allowances | Apply the award clauses, not only the base rate |
Apprentice minimum wages are special award rates, not simply the National Minimum Wage or an arbitrary percentage chosen by the employer. Fair Work says the applicable amount can depend on whether the apprentice is an adult apprentice, whether progression is time- or competency-based, and the award or agreement covering the employment.
Start with Fair Work apprentice pay guidance, then calculate the current result in the Pay and Conditions Tool.
Many on-site painter apprentices appear in the Building and Construction General On-site Award, but the correct instrument depends on the employer’s industry and the work actually performed. The Joinery and Building Trades Award can cover painters in businesses within its defined industry. An enterprise agreement can also apply.
Do not select an award from the job title alone. Use Fair Work’s award finder or obtain workplace-relations advice when coverage is unclear.
Get connected with local tradies who can quote your job.
Use ATT to quote faster, win more work, and run your painter business.
The minimum wage is the employee’s legal floor. The cost to the painting business can also include superannuation, paid leave, workers compensation, payroll tax where applicable, training and supervision time, allowances, PPE, tools, travel, vehicles, administration, and unproductive time. The customer charge-out rate must recover those costs and overhead without disguising the employee’s actual pay entitlement.
Review the rate whenever Fair Work publishes annual wage changes, the apprentice reaches a time or competency milestone, duties or work patterns change, or a new agreement applies. Retain the training contract, classification decision, PACT result, progression evidence, timesheets, allowances, payslips, and superannuation records.
There is no single rate. Use Fair Work PACT with the correct award or agreement, apprentice age and commencement details, stage, work type, and hours.
They can be. Fair Work defines an adult apprentice by age when the apprenticeship starts, and the applicable award sets the calculation.
Progression may be time-based or competency-based depending on the award and apprenticeship. Annual award wage decisions can also change the underlying minimum.
Not necessarily. Check the award or agreement for overtime, penalties, fares, travel, tools, industry, meal, and other applicable allowances.
No. Employee pay and customer pricing are different. The charge-out rate must also recover employment on-costs, supervision, overhead, and a sustainable margin.
Get connected with local tradies who can quote your job.
Use ATT to quote faster, win more work, and run your painter business.