Electrical lineworker salary in Australia

What the official data says

Jobs and Skills Australia's profile for Electrical Linesworkers (ANZSCO 342211) shows median weekly earnings as not available, because the survey sample is too small to produce a reliable figure. The closest official number is for the group it sits in, Electrical Distribution Trades Workers (ANZSCO 3422): median full-time earnings of $2,731 a week before tax and a median hourly rate of $71, from the ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025. Multiplied out, that is roughly $142,000 a year for full-time work. The all-occupations median in the same data was $1,852 a week.

The same profiles show about 12,000 people working as electrical distribution trades workers in February 2026, and about 6,300 linesworkers at the 2021 Census, with 93 per cent working full time and average full-time hours of 44 a week. Only about 2 per cent are women.

What the median hides

• •Enterprise agreements: the big network businesses pay under their own agreements, well above the award, and those rates differ between employers and states
• •Overtime and call-outs: storm, fault and emergency work is paid at overtime rates, and the award sets a minimum payment for each emergency call-out
• •On-call: availability allowances are paid for being rostered on call, usually one week in several
• •Travel and living away: storm deployments, transmission work and remote projects pay travel costs and allowances
• •Classification: live line glove and barrier work sits at a higher technical grade in the award than a base lines person
• •Hours: a 44-hour average means the median includes a lot of paid extra time, so a base-hours week can look quite different

Award versus enterprise agreement

The safety net is the Electrical Power Industry Award 2020 (MA000088), where a qualified lines or cable person is classified at Technical Grade 3. But the award does not apply to employers bound by their own enterprise instruments, and it excludes contractors covered by the Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award (MA000025). So depending on who employs you, you could be on a network enterprise agreement, a contractor's agreement or one of two awards. SA Power Networks, for example, says its on-call allowances and overtime are paid in line with its enterprise agreement. You can search lodged agreements on the Fair Work Commission website.

Apprentice pay, without the guesswork

Under the award, apprentice pay is a percentage of the Pay Level 3 standard rate, rising each year. There is a separate table for adult apprentices, defined as 21 or older when they sign the training contract, and the adult percentages are much higher. The award also says an adult already working for an employer cannot take a pay cut when they start an apprenticeship there.

Most network apprentices are paid under enterprise agreements that sit above the award, and some networks publish their apprentice rates on their careers pages, so check those before you apply. We do not quote apprentice dollar figures because they change every July. Use the Fair Work Pay Calculator for the current award minimum, and ask your employer which agreement applies.

State and employer differences

Pay is set employer by employer more than state by state, because each network has its own agreement. Conditions also vary: some networks advertise a nine-day fortnight, Western Power works a 75-hour fortnight with rostered days off, and TasNetworks says its apprentices get an above-award salary that increases through the apprenticeship. Regional depots often mean more overtime from storms and long-distance travel.

How lineworkers lift their earnings

• •Getting authorised for live LV and HV work, switching and access permits
• •Moving into transmission, rail traction or remote and mining network work
• •Putting your hand up for on-call rosters and storm deployments
• •Becoming a leading hand, supervisor or field trainer
• •Contracting on major projects, or running your own accredited contracting business, with the risk and admin that comes with it

Check the live figures

Jobs and Skills Australia is moving its occupation profiles from ANZSCO to the new OSCA classification, where linesworkers fall under Electrical Distribution Trades Worker (381131), and the ANZSCO pages are no longer being updated. Earnings figures change every year, so check the current profile on Jobs and Skills Australia or Your Career before you rely on any number, including the ones here.