Home Metal Trades Assistant Salary
Metal Trades Assistant salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a metal trades assistant is $67,600 per annum, before tax, up $14,400 since 2018.
Pay usually follows the manufacturing or building award, so base rates are modest and overtime, shift loadings and site allowances do much of the work. Mining and heavy industrial sites generally pay more than small workshops, and holding a forklift licence or a high risk work licence for rigging or crane work can lift the rate.
Roles that pay more than metal trades assistant
The largest typical pay rise is $23,400 a year, moving into Fitter.
- Fitter+$23,400/yr
- Welder+$20,200/yr
- Fitter and Turner+$18,200/yr
How to negotiate a higher metal trades assistant salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time metal trades assistant 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 Hand and power tool work and Fabrication and finishing tend to command a premium over general metal trades assistant experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- Bring a real alternative to the table. Fitter pays a typical $23,400 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."
Metal Trades Assistant salary questions
How much do metal trades assistants earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a metal trades assistant is $67,600 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is metal trades assistant pay rising or falling?
The median metal trades assistant 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 metal trades assistant?
Fitter pays a typical $23,400 a year more and draws on similar skills to metal trades assistant.