Overview of this occupation
Building and Plumbing Labourers perform a variety of routine tasks associated with erecting and repairing structures and facilities, maintaining stormwater, drainage and sewerage systems, excavating earth and clearing and levelling sites, and installing and maintaining piping systems, fixtures and water regulators.
What they do:
- Assist skilled construction or mining staff
- Compact or smooth materials to create level bases
- Install plumbing or piping
- Load or unload materials used in construction or mining
- Mark reference points on construction materials
- Measure work site dimensions
- Move construction or mining materials
- Operate heavy-duty construction or installation equipment
- Position structural components
- Review designs, blueprints, specifications, diagrams, work orders or other documentation to determine work requirements
What their interests are:
- Outdoors – they enjoy working outside. This could include growing things and caring for animals.
- Practical – they enjoy working with equipment, operating machinery and fixing things.
Source: Australian Skills Classification, job and Skills Australia, Commonwealth of Australia. Used under Creative Commons BY 4.0 licence and Jobs and Skills Australia, ABS Census 2016, Customised Report.
Quick facts
Building and Plumbing Labourers
All employees nationwide 1
The number of people employed in an occupations as their main job across all Australian states.
Projected growth 2
The projected increase in employment in Australia from May 2023 to May 2028.
Working in NSW 3
The distribution of people employed in an occupation in NSW.
Median weekly earnings before tax 4
Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed.
Median age of all workers 5
This shows the median age of all workers in this occupation.
Part-time workers 6
Those who usually work less than 35 hours per week.
See footnotes for source details and additional information.
Skills and knowledge
What are they good at?
This table lists skills and knowledge categories according to how relevant they are for this occupation.
Intermediate | Basic familiarity |
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Source: Australian Skills Classification, Jobs and Skills Australia, Commonwealth of Australia. Used under Creative Commons BY 4.0 licence.
Education and qualifications
Building and Plumbing Labourers – Skill level 5
Occupations at Skill Level 5 have a level of skill commensurate with one of the following:
- AQF Certificate I or compulsory secondary education
For some occupations, a short period of on-the-job training may be required in addition to or instead of the formal qualification.
Source: Conceptual basis of ANZSCO, ABS Survey, Release Nov 2021.
Qualifications in this workforce
This table shows the distribution of employment by highest qualification completed (in any field of study).7
Year 12 and below
Certificate III or IV
Diploma or Advanced Diploma
Bachelor`s degree
Post-graduate
Source: ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.
Use this as a guide for understanding what qualifications are the most common in this field. For personalised support on your education journey, talk to a Careers NSW specialist.
Talk to one of our specialists
At any career stage you can talk with a specialist from Careers NSW about your goals and how you can achieve them.