Home Solid Plasterer Salary
Solid Plasterer salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a solid plasterer is $75,400 per annum, before tax, up $16,100 since 2018.
DerivedIndicative estimate, not yet verified against official Jobs and Skills Australia / ABS data · Estimate
- Pay follows the building and construction award or a company enterprise agreement, and apprentices earn well below the qualified rate while they train.
- Subcontractors are often paid by the square metre, so a fast, tidy plasterer on a steady run of work can earn more than an hourly rate suggests, while wet weather and gaps between jobs cut into it.
- Commercial and civil projects, and work at height or on access equipment, generally pay above small residential repair jobs.
The median salary rose by $16,100 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 solid plasterer
The largest typical pay rise is $39,500 a year, moving into Concreter.
- Concreter+$39,500/yr
- Plasterer+$20,300/yr
- Waterproofer+$8,800/yr
How to negotiate a higher solid plasterer salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time solid plasterer salary is $75,400; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Use demand as leverage. Solid Plasterers 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 Installation and maintenance tend to command a premium over general solid plasterer experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- Bring a real alternative to the table. Concreter pays a typical $39,500 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."
Solid Plasterer salary questions
How much do solid plasterers earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a solid plasterer is $75,400 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is solid plasterer pay rising or falling?
The median solid plasterer salary is up $16,100 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.
What pays more than solid plasterer?
Concreter pays a typical $39,500 a year more and draws on similar skills to solid plasterer.
Related salaries
- Plasterer salary
- Stonemason salary
- Waterproofer salary
- Concreter salary
- Builder's Labourer salary
- Insulation Installer 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.