peterpamnryan

hey up people could anybody let me know what an average hourly rate is for bench hand joiners/cabinet makers,1st and 2nd fix joiners etc,im hoping to get out early next year and trying to gauge what sort of earnings i could get for mortgage borrowing etc.were heading for brisbane and wife needs to know what we can and cant have!!!!!

dh1905

Hi,
hubby is a joiner and have found it quite difficult to a definate figure on earnings, what we tend to do is look in local Oz newspapers to see the jobs advertised and occasionally they do show a figure.
Depends which area you are heading, but try this www.gcbulletin.com.au in the careers section.

Good Luck, Donna

floweroscotland

Hi Hubby is a Joiner here, well say carpenter in Oz, if you say Joiner they class you as only a kitchen fitter!!! Depends where you are heading and what you want to do, most carpenters here work for themselves as you can make more money but it's harder to get a morgage as you have no secure stability. My hubby does fix outs in brand new houses, makes between $750 for lowset to $900 high set per house (doors, skirtings, handles), if your a worker you could do between 2 to 3 houses a week, but you have to pay your own tax. Or if you go through an agency you will get about $25 an hour which isn't great, as you still have to pay your own tax, if you get employed by a company you will also be on about $20 to $25 an hour as they have to pay your tax and super, but to find someone to employ you as a carpenter is very hard.

Shop around when you arrive I doubt you will have a problem getting work as good tradesmen are very hard to find here.

Lisa

rancid

Wish I knew they wont look at me becuase Im a girl. Fully qualified but never even get an interview. So looks like Im stuck as a receptionist.

floweroscotland

You shouldn't give up, there are a few woman carpenters here, 2 regular on the sites my hubby works in, and a lot of woman painters and tilers.

peterpamnryan

thankyou for that,i was hoping to work for myself when we get there anyway,im not pretending to be the best "carpenter" in the world but would love to do what your hubbies doing sounds ideal,is it straight forward setting up on your own or would you recommend working for company till we get our credit ratings sorted [6 months or so}were headin for brisbane hopfully ta

possoms

Is this just in your area or everywhere?

eatstatic

This is the Aussie standard wage.

jad n rich

Most tradesmen seem to start out as assistants or labourers till they get the papers licences etc, there have been lots of threads on it, cresta, baldbutts, plumber.

Award rate for casual tradesmen is about 22 - 24 an hour, chippies were getting $35 an hour here and in melb, thats casual, if and when and own tax etc, no hols, super etc, perth seemed a lot lower. Housing starts have slowed just about everywhere tho and as a builder I would not say anywhere is any longer crawling with trade jobs unless you want to go bush. Best way is to get your resume, hit the road and walk onto every job site and and see the boss, most jobs dont hit the papers its who you know. Most willl want a licence, or they are legally and financially liable for your work. Its different now to 2 years ago, housing went mad and most major cities and centers had pages of trade jobs now its just steady as you go mate, normal is the best word. Be aware many jobs advertised in cities etc are actually out west etc.

The best areas for housing growth, so jobs, are the SE corner of qld, third fastest growing area in the world according to recent australian media blah, there are jobs once you get the lic. Perth was way behind the rest of OZ getting a boom and rise in housing prices so may look busy now but is just playing catch up, Vic and NSW have some taxes which have knocked the property markets badly, vic did raise the first home owners grant, but its cutting it back now and introducing yet another tax on owning a second property, wont be good for the market either. Anyone prepared to go bush will get work thats where most of the trade shortages the media hypes on are.

floweroscotland

Hi,

In Queensland you will require a carpenters licence, elsewhere i'm not sure about, it's so easy to work for yourself here, you will be called a sub contractor, you get an ABN number (apply on the net), and most companies want you to have insurance (about$60 a month). You don't need credit ratings or anything like that, we arrived and my hubby had a job straight away, he was lucky to work under someone elses licence until he got his own. Best thing is to go round some sites, try not to go through agencies as they will only give you about $25 an hour, if you look around, you can get $35-$40 an hour, we are in the Gold Coast, Brisbane will be similar, although there are still people who want you for nothing so be careful.

floweroscotland

I think it's mostly Australia wide, most companies want you as a sub contractor as they don't have the hassles of paying your tax or super, some will employ you but you get a much lower hourly rate, my hubby was offered to be employed for a company for $20 an hour, he makes a lot more being a sub contractor

jad n rich

More info

http://www.bsa.qld.gov.au/Home/Default.htm

possoms

Hi thank you, my partner is a carpenter/joiner has always been self employed. However he was looking forward to the idea of less hassle and working for someone else (if he will be able to cope doing that, I think it'll be hard when hes used to pleasing himself!!)

Anyway from what you are saying it seems hes better off staying self employed.

On top of all this a friend of ours has just informed us, that another couple who live near us are also going to Tasmania and are having a house built, they have asked Colin to help build it. So he would need a licence to do this?? is it hard to get a licence and how long do you have to wait for one? Can you apply for one before you get to Oz?

sorry if these are stupid questions but no one has told us anything about the licencing.

Kay

jad n rich

States where need a licence to work as a builder.

http://www.buildingonline.com.au/ser...?page_id=20971

Tasmania info but be aware more legistalation was added in 2004

http://www.wst.tas.gov.au/resource/b...edi.htm#mutual

floweroscotland

Hi Kay,

I know that in Queensland if your building a house by yourself you need a builders licence, and to work for yourself as a carpenter you need a carpenters licence. All states are different so look into the requirents for the state your going too, or hopefully someone on here might know.

Lisa