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Stone Machine Operator salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a stone machine operator is $67,600 per annum, before tax, up $14,400 since 2018.
DerivedIndicative estimate, not yet verified against official Jobs and Skills Australia / ABS data · Estimate
- Pay is usually set by the manufacturing award, a stonemasonry award or an enterprise agreement, so overtime, shift arrangements and the size of the workshop make a real difference to what you take home.
- Operators who can program CNC equipment, run installation crews or lead a small team tend to sit at the higher end, and site work sometimes carries allowances on top of the workshop rate.
- Smaller fabricators can pay above or below the middle of the range depending on how full the order book is.
The median salary rose by $14,400 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 stone machine operator
The largest typical pay rise is $44,200 a year, moving into Tunneller.
- Tunneller+$44,200/yr
- Plastics Technician+$7,300/yr
- Industrial Spray Painter+$4,200/yr
How to negotiate a higher stone machine operator salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time stone machine operator salary is $67,600; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Lead with what's scarce, not just tenure. Skills like Reading plans and specifications and Plant and equipment operation tend to command a premium over general stone machine operator experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- Bring a real alternative to the table. Tunneller pays a typical $44,200 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."
Stone Machine Operator salary questions
How much do stone machine operators earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a stone machine operator is $67,600 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is stone machine operator pay rising or falling?
The median stone machine operator salary is up $14,400 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.
What pays more than stone machine operator?
Tunneller pays a typical $44,200 a year more and draws on similar skills to stone machine operator.
Related salaries
- Concrete Products Machine Operator salary
- Industrial Spray Painter salary
- Plastics Technician salary
- Sign Installer salary
- Tunneller salary
- Assembler 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.