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Vehicle Spray Painter salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a vehicle spray painter is $97,800 per annum, before tax, up $20,300 since 2018.
- What you earn depends on the award or enterprise agreement covering the shop, and on whether you work in a dealership, a smash repair business or a restoration workshop.
- Overtime and penalty rates add to the base in busy shops, and a refinisher who specialises in prestige or classic work can command a higher rate.
- Running your own booth or mobile refinishing business is another route, though materials and equipment come out of your own pocket.
The median salary rose by $20,300 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.
How to negotiate a higher vehicle spray painter salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time vehicle spray painter salary is $97,800; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Use demand as leverage. Vehicle Spray Painters 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 Fabrication and finishing tend to command a premium over general vehicle spray painter experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- 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."
Vehicle Spray Painter salary questions
How much do vehicle spray painters earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a vehicle spray painter is $97,800 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is vehicle spray painter pay rising or falling?
The median vehicle spray painter salary is up $20,300 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.
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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.