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Sheet Metal Worker salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a sheet metal worker is $71,800 per annum, before tax, up $14,900 since 2018.
DerivedIndicative estimate, not yet verified against official Jobs and Skills Australia / ABS data · Estimate
- Most sheet metal workers are covered by a manufacturing award or an enterprise agreement, and site-based construction work usually attracts different rates and allowances.
- Shift work, overtime and coded or pressure welding work all push earnings up, while a small workshop job may not.
- Where you work matters as much as what you can do, since a duct installer on a commercial site and a bench hand in a small shop can be on quite different terms.
The median salary rose by $14,900 between 2018 and 2024; the dashed line shows a projection to 2028 based on the real ABS Wage Price Index growth rate, not a role-specific forecast.
Roles that pay more than sheet metal worker
The largest typical pay rise is $47,700 a year, moving into Production Manager.
- Production Manager+$47,700/yr
- Air Conditioning Technician+$37,400/yr
- Pressure Welder+$24,400/yr
How to negotiate a higher sheet metal worker salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time sheet metal worker salary is $71,800; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Use demand as leverage. Sheet Metal Workers are on the national skills shortage list, so employers are more likely to move on price to keep or attract someone in a role they're struggling to fill.
- Lead with what's scarce, not just tenure. Skills like Hand and power tool work and Reading plans and specifications tend to command a premium over general sheet metal worker experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- Bring a real alternative to the table. Production Manager pays a typical $47,700 a year more and draws on similar skills, even mentioning you're weighing it up is a legitimate data point in a pay conversation.
- Time it deliberately. Reviews, the end of a project you delivered, or taking on responsibility beyond your job description are stronger moments to ask than an arbitrary date on the calendar.
- Ask for a number, not a raise. "Based on the market rate and [specific contribution], I'd like to move to X" gets a clearer answer than "I think I deserve more."
Sheet Metal Worker salary questions
How much do sheet metal workers earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a sheet metal worker is $71,800 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is sheet metal worker pay rising or falling?
The median sheet metal worker salary is up $14,900 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.
What pays more than sheet metal worker?
Production Manager pays a typical $47,700 a year more and draws on similar skills to sheet metal worker.
Related salaries
- Metal Fabricator salary
- Welder salary
- Air Conditioning Technician salary
- Production Manager salary
- Pressure Welder salary
- Metal Trades Assistant salary
Pay advice
- How to ask for a pay rise, and back it up with real numbersWhat national wage growth looks like right now, how to work out a figure for your own role, wording you can adapt for the conversation, and what to do if the answer is no.
- The average salary in Australia (2026)Full-time adults in Australia averaged $2,083.70 a week in May 2026. Several measures get called the average salary, and this explains which one fits your situation.
- Overtime pay, time in lieu and what your award saysOvertime rates come from your award or agreement, not one national rule. How rates work, what happens on a salary, and how time off in lieu works.