Bricklayer
Bricklayers lay bricks, blocks and stone to build and repair walls, arches and other masonry structures on construction sites.
- Median salary
- $120,500
3.5%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 16,700
0.6%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +9.8%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Low
- 1 out of 10
- Average hours
- 42/wk
+2h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- In shortage
national
- Most bricklayers work outdoors on residential and commercial sites, either as employees in a crew or as subcontractors who are paid by output.
- The material separates the trade from carpentry and concreting: what you lay is on show and it carries load as well as providing the finish.
- Most people in the trade hold a Certificate III from an apprenticeship, and you can start one without prior experience.
How much do bricklayers earn?
The median full-time salary for a bricklayer is $120,500 per annum, before tax, up $25,600 since 2018.
Many bricklayers work as subcontractors paid by the thousand bricks or the square metre, so the rate has to cover wet days, travel between sites, insurance and your own super. Employees on an award or enterprise agreement are paid hourly with penalty rates and allowances instead, which smooths out the quiet weeks. Ask how the rate is set, what happens when rain stops work, and whether a quoted figure is for wages or for subcontracting.
What does a bricklayer do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Setting out the first course to the plan, then checking level, plumb and square as the wall rises
- Mixing mortar to suit the day, since heat, wind and humidity change how it sits on the trowel
- Cutting bricks and blocks around openings, corners and angles the drawings don't fully resolve
- Working outdoors through heat, cold and rain, with the pace set by the builder's program
- Striking the joints and cleaning down at the end of the day so the wall is finished, not just laid
What skills do bricklayers need?
Employers look for reading plans and specifications, hand and power tool work, worksite safety management, backed by spirit level fluency and strong attention to detail.
Specialist skills
- Reading plans and specifications
- Hand and power tool work
- Worksite safety management
- Building codes and standards
- Quoting and estimating
Software and tools
- spirit level
- trowel
- brick saw
- measuring tape
- scaffolding
General skills
- Attention to detail
- Problem solving
Is the job growing?
About 16,700 people work as bricklayers in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 9.8% over the decade to 2035. That's modest growth: demand is steady rather than booming.
How do you become a bricklayer?
Here's the path most bricklayers take, step by step.
- 1Get your White Card
General construction induction training is the first thing an employer asks for, and you cannot walk onto a site without it. The course is short and run by registered training organisations in every state.
- 2Start an apprenticeship
Nearly everyone enters the trade this way. You earn while you learn, working alongside a qualified bricklayer and studying off the job, and employers hire school leavers on reliability and attitude as much as marks.
- 3Finish your Certificate III in Bricklaying and Blocklaying
The apprenticeship generally runs for three years or a little longer and ends with a trade qualification through TAFE or another registered training organisation. Once you are signed off you can lay unsupervised and price your own work.
- 4Choose between wages and subcontracting
You can stay on wages with a builder or go out as a subcontractor quoting your own jobs. Subcontracting usually pays more per job but you carry the wet days, your own tools and insurance, and licensing rules differ by state when you contract directly for homeowners.
- 5Pick a direction
With the trade behind you, you can specialise in stone or heritage work, move into concreting, or head towards site supervision and construction management, which needs extra study but uses the same knowledge of how a building goes together.
Study routes we have checked
Qualifications that are a recognised way into this role, and what else you need.
- Certificate III in Bricklaying and Blocklaying
A recognised route into this role
Complete the bricklaying trade training, relevant workplace or apprenticeship arrangements, construction induction and applicable local licensing requirements. This catalogue groups awards: verify the chosen provider, programme and intake; the family-level link is not confirmation that every offering is approved.
Ready to apply as a bricklayer?
Whether you're working toward becoming a bricklayer or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a bricklayer move to?
Moving into Construction Manager typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $74,600 a year more on average.
- Construction ManagerRecorded move$195,100+$74,600
- ConcreterRecorded move$114,900−$5,600
- CarpenterRecorded move$91,500−$29,000
- Site SupervisorRecorded move$85,800−$34,700
Thick lines are moves people were recorded making in Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility (income tax records, 2011-12 to 2020-21). Thin lines are moves we suggest from skill overlap and entry requirements.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
Construction Manager Bricklayers progress to construction management, overseeing projects and using their site experience to manage budgets and schedules.Known move | +$74,600 | 32% | reskill |
Concreter Bricklayers move into concreting, applying similar formwork and finishing skills to slabs and footings.Known move | −$5,600 | 67% | minimal |
Carpenter Bricklayers move into carpentry, carrying structural and setting out skills into framing and finishing work.Known move | −$29,000 | 80% | reskill |
Site Supervisor Bricklayers move into site supervision, using their trade knowledge to coordinate crews and trades on building sites.Known move | −$34,700 | 32% | reskill |
Stonemason Bricklayers with stonework experience move into stonemasonry, applying similar setting out and mortar skills to natural and manufactured stone.Known move | −$47,700 | 62% | reskill |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a bricklayer?
The typical bricklayer is 38 years old; 99% are men, 75% work full-time, and full-timers average 42 hours a week.
- 38
- Median age
- 1%
- Female share
- 75%
- Full-time
- +2h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a bricklayer?
Your day starts early, often before 7am, and you spend the shift on your feet bending and lifting as the wall goes up. The movements repeat hundreds of times, and the result is visible at knock-off: a course of bricks that is straight, plumb and yours. Rain stops work while the program keeps running, so wet weeks turn into long days later, and backs, knees and shoulders notice the years if you don't pace yourself. Anyone who likes outdoor crew work and showing people a wall they laid will take to it, and anyone who needs a quiet indoor desk will find the dust, noise and weather hard going.
What people like
- You see a day's work standing up. By knock-off there is a wall that wasn't there in the morning, and by the end of the job a house someone will live in.
- Outdoors and moving all day. You are outside using your hands, with a crew around you, instead of sitting at a screen waiting for something to load.
- You can build your own business. Once qualified you can subcontract, quote your own jobs and take on your own apprentice, though you carry the wet days and the paperwork yourself.
- A craft you keep. Masonry is a skill that stays with you and is recognised on sites across the country, so you can change employers, crews or states with your tools.
What people find hard
- Wet days stop the money. Rain halts laying, and as a subcontractor you are not paid for standing around, so a wet month shows up straight away in the bank account.
- It takes a toll on your body. Bending, lifting blocks and reaching all day wears on backs, knees and shoulders, and most bricklayers feel it well before retirement age.
- Dust and noise. Cutting bricks creates silica dust, so masks and water suppression are not optional, and the saws and mixers run loud for most of the shift.
- The next job is never guaranteed. Work comes in bursts, and between jobs you are chasing builders, pricing work and waiting for the phone to ring.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ bricklayers?
Construction employs the largest share of bricklayers.
Top employing industries
- 1Construction
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Certificate III/IV | 63.2% | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 12 or below | 28.9% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 2.6% | |
| Bachelor degree | 1.3% | |
| Postgraduate | 0.3% |
Will AI replace bricklayers?
Low exposure. Unlikely. AI will change some of the work around this job, not the job itself.
The rating for this role is low, and the reason is straightforward: the work comes down to hands, a trowel and materials that behave differently in every weather. Technology has changed the preparation more than the laying, with plans arriving as digital models, laser levels and total stations setting out the corners, and estimating software pricing the job. Learning to read a digital plan and use a laser level is worth doing early, while the laying itself is learned through hours on the wall.
How a typical week splits
None of the main tasks in this job.
- Setting out and reading plans20% of the week
Laser levels, total stations and digital models have taken over the measuring, but you still decide where the wall sits on the ground and check the first course before anyone else lays a brick.
- Laying bricks and blocks to line and level45% of the week
Mortar stiffness, brick weight and the feel of a level change with every course, and no machine matches a good hand at site speed.
- Cutting and fitting around openings and arches20% of the week
Setting out an arch or working around a window opening takes judgement on the spot, and the saw still needs a steady hand feeding it.
- Mixing mortar and keeping the job supplied15% of the week
Batching mortar, keeping bricks within reach and cleaning the tools down at the end of the shift is labour that nothing on an Australian site does for you yet.
How we work this out
We break each job into its main tasks, estimate the share of a typical week each one takes, and judge how far current AI and automation tools reach into it. The score out of 10 starts from the job's overall rating (low is 1 to 3, moderate 4 to 6, high 7 to 10) and the task split places it within that range. Source: Career Tips analysis of each role's main tasks.
Common questions about becoming a bricklayer
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do bricklayers earn in Australia?
Bricklayers earn $120,500 per year before tax, and what moves that figure most is whether you are on wages or quoting your own jobs. If you are comparing a wage job with a subcontract rate, cost the wet days, travel, tools and insurance first.
How do you become a bricklayer?
You start by finding a bricklaying crew or builder willing to take you on as an apprentice, since almost nobody enters the trade another way. Get your White Card before you start ringing around, and be ready for early starts, since employers watch for that in a first conversation.
Are bricklayers in demand?
Bricklayers are currently in shortage nationally, and employment is projected to grow 9.8% over the decade to 2035. Work still follows the building cycle and shifts between suburbs and regions, so ask a few local builders what their next six months look like before you start an apprenticeship.
Will AI or robots replace bricklayers?
Very little of this job has been automated, because machines do not lay bricks to the line on a live site with mortar of the right consistency. The skills worth adding are on the planning side, such as reading a digital model or pricing a job in estimating software, since that is where the technology has landed so far.
What can a bricklayer move into later?
Bricklayers often step up to site supervision and then construction management, where the pay is $74,600 more and the work is coordinating trades instead of laying. Stonemasonry uses the same setting out and mortar skills, though stonemasons earn $47,700 less, and many qualified bricklayers go out on their own as subcontractors instead.
Can you become a bricklayer later in your career?
Mature-age apprentices are common in the trade, and experience in concreting, carpentry or labouring shortens the learning curve a lot. The catch is the pay while you train, so ask about recognition of prior learning and check what your state requires before you sign on.
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