Auto electrician salary in Australia
Quick answer
The government's Your Career profile lists average weekly earnings of $1,888 for qualified automotive electricians, roughly $98,000 a year before tax, with heavy vehicle and mining roles paying well above that. Apprentice pay depends on your award, year and age: check it at the Fair Work Pay Calculator.
Auto electrician pay has a wide spread because the trade spans very different worlds. A general workshop role in a regional town, a dealership diagnostics role in a capital city and a FIFO plant position on a mine site are the same qualification with very different payslips. The honest way to read the numbers is: government figures for the middle of the trade, big premiums for heavy vehicle, mining and specialist EV skills, and apprentice rates that are set by rules, not by whatever a website claims.
What you get paid as an apprentice
Always check your official rate with the Fair Work Pay Calculator (opens in a new tab). These are minimum award rates for full-time apprentices who started on or after 1 January 2014. Your pay can be higher under an enterprise agreement or your contract, and it depends on your age, your year, whether you finished Year 12 and the work you do.
Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award (MA000089). Minimum pay for a full-time apprentice from 1 July 2026.
| Year | Junior, no Year 12 | Junior, finished Year 12 | Adult (21+ at start) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st year | $559.55/wk$14.73/hr | $615.51/wk$16.20/hr | $895.28/wk$23.56/hr |
| 2nd year | $671.46/wk$17.67/hr | $727.42/wk$19.14/hr | $978.10/wk$25.74/hr |
| 3rd year | $839.33/wk$22.09/hr | $839.33/wk$22.09/hr | $1,004.90/wk$26.44/hr |
| 4th year | $984.81/wk$25.92/hr | $984.81/wk$25.92/hr | $1,029.10/wk$27.08/hr |
How these rates work, and what can change yours +
Junior apprentices (under 21): percentage of the Vehicle industry RS&R tradesperson or equivalent Level R6 rate (shown in the pay guide as 'Vehicle industry RS&R tradesperson or equivalent level 1'), award cl. 16.9(b). Adult apprentices (over 21 when commencing): 1st year 80% of Level R6, then fixed classification rates (Level 1, Level 2, Level 3), award cl. 16.10(b). Progression is by stage of competency (agreed training plan) or by year of service, cl. 16.8.
- •Apprentices who started before 1 January 2014: the pay guide says to use the FWO Pay and Conditions Tool; not covered here.
- •Progression can be by competency stage under an agreed training plan or by year of service (cl. 16.8), so 'year' is also 'stage'.
- •Adult apprentice: an apprentice over 21 when commencing (cl. 16.10(a)). Someone already employed in the vehicle industry by the same employer cannot have their pay reduced by becoming an apprentice (cl. 16.10(c)).
- •Tool allowance where the employer requires the apprentice to supply their own tools (cl. 19.6(b)): 1st year $5.88, 2nd $7.59, 3rd $10.46, 4th $12.14 per week.
- •Employer must reimburse prescribed course fees and textbooks (cl. 13.3) and excess reasonable travel costs for block release training requiring an overnight stay (cl. 13.4). Training time counts as time worked.
- •School-based apprentices: Schedule D of the award.
- •Under-18s cannot work unsupervised 7pm to 9pm or at all 9pm to 6.30am; under-16s cannot work afternoon or night shifts (pay guide note).
- •Coverage: the award covers businesses principally connected with selling, repairing, servicing, maintaining etc. motor vehicles of all kinds, expressly including trucks, caravans, motorcycles and agricultural machinery (cl. 4.2(a)), and installing, servicing, maintaining or repairing engines and agricultural machinery (cl. 4.2(f)). Apprenticeship trades listed in cl. 13.2 include Automotive electrician, Motor mechanic/automotive technician, Plant mechanic, Brake mechanic, Panel beater, Fitter and/or turner, Welder. So diesel / heavy vehicle mechanic apprentices in truck dealerships, independent truck and diesel workshops and fleet service workshops are generally under this award.
- •Diesel mechanic apprentices are NOT under this award when the employer's business is in another industry: on mine sites employed by a mining employer the Mining Industry Award 2020 (MA000011) applies (it has its own apprentice table as a % of the Level 3 rate for the classification); maintaining plant for a manufacturing or engineering employer, or training as an Engineering/Vehicle Tradesperson (Mechanical) in that industry, generally falls under the Manufacturing Award (MA000010). Where an employer is covered by more than one award, the classification most appropriate to the work and environment applies (cl. 4.7). Large employers (mining, dealership groups, councils, transport) often have enterprise agreements that override the award. Exact boundaries were not individually verified per scenario; treat as guidance and point readers to the FWO.
Source: Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award text (MA000089) (opens in a new tab).
What qualified auto electricians earn
The Australian Government's Your Career occupation profile for Automotive Electrician lists average weekly earnings of $1,888, which works out to roughly $98,000 a year before tax as a straight multiplication. The same profile shows about 10,300 people employed, 94 per cent of them full time.
That is an average across the whole trade, and these figures get updated, so treat it as a marker rather than a promise and check the live profile at yourcareer.gov.au before making decisions.
What moves the number up
- •Heavy vehicle, plant and mining work: mine site and FIFO auto electrician roles are consistently the best paid in the trade, often far above the national average
- •EV, hybrid and ADAS skills: depowering tickets and calibration experience are scarce and employers pay for them
- •Diagnostic ability: the tradesperson who finds the fault others could not is worth more everywhere, and workshops know it
- •Overtime, callouts and shift work, especially in breakdown and fleet roles
- •Location: mining states and remote work pay premiums, while metro general workshops sit closer to award rates
Award vs enterprise agreement
Most auto electricians are covered by the Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award, which sets the minimum rates, allowances (including a tool allowance) and penalties. Larger employers, dealership groups, fleets and mining companies often have enterprise agreements that pay above the award.
If a job offer quotes a salary, compare it against the award minimum for the classification and ask whether an agreement applies. The Fair Work Pay Calculator does the award side for you.
Apprentice pay, explained without made-up numbers
Apprentice rates are set by the award as a share of the trade rate, and the share depends on your year of apprenticeship, whether you are an adult apprentice (21 or older at the start), and in some cases whether you finished year 12. School-based apprentices have their own rates. Competency-based progression means you can reach the next pay level early by getting competencies signed off.
That is why this site does not print apprentice dollar figures: they change with the annual wage review and with your situation. Put your details into the Fair Work Pay Calculator at https://calculate.fairwork.gov.au/ and you get the current legal minimum for you specifically.
How it compares with other trades
On the government averages, auto electricians sit in the middle of the trades pack: generally ahead of light vehicle mechanics, roughly alongside diesel mechanics, and behind licensed building electricians on average, though the overlap is large.
The comparison changes at the top end. Heavy vehicle and mining auto electricians out-earn plenty of licensed sparkies, and the EV shift is pushing specialist auto electrical pay upward. Compare live profiles on yourcareer.gov.au rather than relying on job ads, which skew toward the roles that are hardest to fill.
Sources and official links
Straight from the source. These open in a new tab.
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