Roofing courses in Australia: Cert III, costs and where to study

The qualifications

CPC30820 Certificate III in Roof Tiling has 17 units: 14 core and 3 electives. It replaced CPC30812 and gives a trade outcome in roof tiling for residential and commercial work.

CPC32620 Certificate III in Roof Plumbing has 23 units: 20 core and 3 electives. It replaced CPC32612 and covers flashings, metal roof and wall cladding and rainwater goods on residential, commercial and industrial buildings. The qualification states that roof plumbing is a licensed occupation, with rules varying by state.

What you will actually learn

• •Working safely on roofs and at heights, including the units CPCPCM2055 Work safely on roofs and CPCCCM2012 Work safely at heights
• •Reading plans and specifications, and measuring and calculating materials
• •Tilers: handling and storing tiles, and using roof tiling tools safely
• •Tilers: tiling regular roofs, then irregular roofs with unequal pitches and dormers (CPCCRT3002 Tile irregular roofs)
• •Tilers: repairing and replacing valleys, valley irons and flashings, and renovating old tile roofs
• •Roof plumbers: cutting and joining sheet metal and carrying out levelling
• •Roof plumbers: selecting and installing roof sheeting and wall cladding, including curved roofs
• •Roof plumbers: fabricating and installing gutters, downpipes and roof drainage, and collecting and storing roof water
• •Roof plumbers: making and fitting external flashings and flashing penetrations through roofs and walls
• •Roof plumbers: erecting restricted height scaffolding, operating elevated work platforms up to 11 metres, and first aid
• •Electives such as slating a roof, fixing shingles, heritage roof systems or designing and sizing roof drainage

Year by year: how the training usually runs

Employers and RTOs vary, and completion is competency based, so this is a typical pattern, not a rule. Roof tiling is often done in about 3 years. Roof plumbing is usually 3 to 4 years depending on your state.

• •First year: TAFE covers safety, working on roofs, tools, materials and basic measuring. On the job you carry material, set up access, lay sarking and battens, fix field tiles or gutter brackets and downpipes, always checked by your tradie.
• •Second year: TAFE moves into regular roofs, sheeting and basic flashings. On site you lay whole roof sections, cut simple valleys or fit flashings, and start reading plans on your own.
• •Third year: TAFE covers irregular roofs, repairs, curved roofs and complex flashings. On site you run parts of the job, train newer apprentices and handle re-roofs and repairs with less supervision. Many tilers finish here.
• •Fourth year (roof plumbing in states with a 4 year term): you finish remaining units such as roof drainage and complex flashings, work close to independently, and prepare for registration or licensing in your state.

How enrolment actually works

• •Find an employer or GTO first. Most providers will not enrol you as an apprentice without one.
• •Your employer contacts an Apprenticeship Connect Australia provider, who signs you both up and lodges the training contract with your state training authority.
• •You and your employer choose the registered training organisation, such as a TAFE, and agree a training plan.
• •Your state funding eligibility is checked, which decides what you pay.

What it costs, state by state (as at October 2026)

• •NSW: fee-free apprenticeships run to 30 June 2027 for eligible apprentices. TAFE NSW lists the roof tiling fee as pending each semester, so check the live page.
• •VIC: subsidised places are available for eligible apprentices, but each provider sets its own fee and no single figure is published. Check the live page with your provider.
• •QLD: free apprenticeships for eligible under-25s run to 30 June 2027 and TAFE Queensland lists both qualifications under the program. Otherwise TAFE Queensland charges eligible funded apprentices $1.60 per nominal hour, with concessions available.
• •WA: fees are set per course and depend on eligibility. Check the live page on Jobs and Skills WA.
• •SA: Skills SA marks roof plumbing as subsidised training. Roof tiling showed no subsidy marker and providers may not currently offer it in SA, so check the live page.
• •TAS: no figure published that we could confirm. Check with TasTAFE or Skills Tasmania.
• •ACT: both qualifications are funded under User Choice for registered apprentices. Check the live page for the fee your provider charges.
• •NT: Charles Darwin University lists roof plumbing at $2,105.95 for NT Government supported students and $9,370.11 full fee in 2026. We found no NT provider listing for roof tiling.

Who pays

Under both the Building and Construction General On-site Award and the Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers Award, your employer must reimburse RTO fees and prescribed textbooks you pay for, or pay them directly, within set time limits. Check the exact clause in your award on the Fair Work website.

If you are with a GTO, it generally handles fees. Either way, ask who pays before you sign, and keep your receipts.

Where to study

• •NSW: TAFE NSW runs roof tiling at Nirimba (Quakers Hill) and lists roof plumbing as an apprenticeship course that leads to registration with NSW Fair Trading. Roof plumbing locations were not shown online when we checked, so ask TAFE NSW or your Apprenticeship Connect provider.
• •QLD: TAFE Queensland delivers roof tiling at Acacia Ridge and Caboolture, and roof plumbing at Eagle Farm, Ashmore, Cairns and Townsville (Bohle), with block, day release, workplace and mobile options.
• •NT: Charles Darwin University delivers roof plumbing at Casuarina in one and two week blocks over three stages.
• •VIC, WA, SA, TAS and ACT: we could not confirm a current public listing for every provider, so search training.gov.au for each code and filter by state, or use your state course finder.
• •To see every registered provider, search CPC30820 or CPC32620 on training.gov.au and open the list of RTOs with it on scope, then check they deliver in your area.

Doing it without an apprenticeship

Some providers offer non-apprentice places, but it is rarely sensible to pay for a roofing qualification with no job. Roof plumbing is licensed in most states and needs real workplace experience, and the qualification requires training in a real or closely simulated workplace.

If you already have years in the trade without a ticket, look at recognition of prior learning or experienced worker programs instead. TAFE NSW runs a Trade Pathways for Experienced Workers roof tiling offering for people aged 21 or over with at least 3 years of trade experience who are not registered apprentices.