First-year welding and fabrication apprentice tool list

What you actually need in year one

Your first-year kit is mostly PPE, measuring and marking gear, and hand tools for cleaning up welds. Everything here is small, personal, and yours to keep for the trade.

• •Auto-darkening welding helmet with a grind setting, plus spare lenses
• •Welding gloves (gauntlets for MIG and stick, a thinner pair if you do TIG)
• •Leather welding jacket or sleeves and an apron, worn over cotton drill, never synthetics
• •Safety glasses (clear and shaded), earplugs, and a P2 rated mask for grinding and fume
• •Lace-up steel-cap boots (often your own, sometimes reimbursed)
• •8 metre tape measure, a 300 mm steel rule, and a chalk line
• •Combination square, a small engineer's square, and a set of welding magnets
• •Scriber, soapstone or silver-streak markers, centre punch, and a permanent marker
• •Chipping hammer, hand wire brush, and a ball-pein or club hammer
• •Angle grinder (100 mm or 125 mm) with grinding, cutting and flap discs
• •Locking pliers (vice grips), a couple of F-clamps, and MIG pliers
• •Flat and half-round files, a cold chisel, and a deburring tool
• •Shifter, a basic spanner and screwdriver set, side cutters, and a torpedo level
• •A lockable tool bag or box with a padlock

Budget vs good vs premium: where to spend

Spend up on the things that protect your eyes, hands and lungs, and the tools you hold all day. Save on the rest until you know what you reach for.

• •Helmet: skip the cheapest fixed-shade lids. A mid-range auto-darkening helmet from a known brand is the sweet spot. A large true-colour lens is a premium nicety, not a must.
• •Grinder: a solid corded 100 mm grinder is fine to start. A brushless cordless is a lovely upgrade once you are earning, not a year-one need.
• •Gloves and jacket: buy proper leather, mid-range. Cheap gloves burn through fast and cost more over a year.
• •Measuring and marking: good branded tape, square and scriber are cheap insurance. A premium engineer's square is nice but not essential yet.
• •Hand tools: buy decent mid-range spanners and pliers. Full premium roll cabinets can wait.

What the employer supplies vs what you buy

The big and expensive gear belongs to the workshop. You are not expected to own machines as a first year.

• •Employer supplies: MIG, TIG and stick welders, the gas, and consumables like wire, rods and shielding gas
• •Employer supplies: guillotine, press brake, plasma cutter, bandsaw, drills, overhead crane and fixed grinders
• •Employer supplies: workshop extraction, and often hi-vis, sometimes gloves and consumable PPE
• •You buy: your own helmet, gloves, jacket, boots, and the hand and marking tools above
• •Grey area: your personal angle grinder and clamps. Many first years buy their own so they always have a set that works
• •Always ask your boss for their tool list before you spend. Some shops hand new starters a kit or a store account.

What NOT to buy yet

This is where apprentices waste the most money. If the shop provides it, or you are not doing that work yet, leave it.

• •Your own welder (MIG, TIG or stick). The shop has them, and you do not need one at home to learn
• •A plasma cutter or an expensive TIG setup for a process you have not started
• •A big roller top-box on day one. A bag or small box is plenty while your kit is small
• •Bulk consumables (gas, wire, discs). That is the employer's cost, not yours
• •Padded pre-made apprentice kits full of tools you will never use. Build your kit piece by piece
• •Full premium spanner sets before you know which sizes you actually reach for

Tool allowance, insurance and tax deductions

Most fabrication and welding apprentices are covered by the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award (MA000010). If you supply and maintain your own tools, that award sets a weekly tool allowance on top of your pay. The exact figure is adjusted each year, so check the current amount in the Fair Work pay guide for your classification.

Insurance matters once your kit is worth a bit. Home contents cover often limits or excludes tools kept in a vehicle or on a work site, so look at tools-of-trade cover, keep receipts and photos, mark your tools, and use a lockable box.

On tax, the ATO lets you claim tools you buy for work and are not reimbursed for.

• •Tools costing $300 or less: claim the full cost as an immediate deduction in that year
• •Tools costing more than $300: claim the decline in value (depreciation) over the life of the tool
• •You cannot claim tools the employer supplied or reimbursed you for
• •If you get a tool allowance, you declare it as income, then claim the tools you actually buy
• •Keep every receipt, and note any private use so you only claim the work portion

Help paying for your kit

There is real money available to soften the cost of tools while you train. What you can get depends on your state and whether your trade is on the priority list.

• •Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan: an interest-free federal loan (up to $25,643 in 2024-25) for tools and living costs, repaid once you earn above a set income
• •Australian Apprentice Training Support Payment: eligible apprentices in priority occupations can claim up to $2,500 over two years to help with tools and costs
• •State rebates: for example, WA's Construction Training Fund pays eligible construction apprentices up to $1,000 for tools and safety gear at the start, and another $1,000 at completion
• •State perks: NSW offers first and second-year apprentices a $100 vehicle registration rebate and concession travel
• •Eligibility for construction-based rebates depends on how your work is classified, so confirm with your Australian Apprenticeship Support Network provider

How the kit changes: residential, commercial and industrial

The core PPE and hand tools stay the same across the trade. What shifts is the weight of the work, how much is done on site, and how much the employer supplies.

• •Residential and light: gates, balustrades, handrails, light sheetmetal and HVAC ducting. Lighter, portable kit, lots of MIG, cordless tools, on-site clamps, and finishing gear (flap discs, files) for tidy visible welds
• •Commercial: structural steel for buildings, shopfronts and mezzanines, split between shop and site. Bigger squares and levels, more clamps and layout tools, working closely to drawings, and site safety gear
• •Industrial and heavy: boilermaking, mining, pipework and pressure work. Heavier leathers and respirators, more grinding and gouging consumables, stick and flux-core work, and stricter PPE
• •On big industrial and mining sites (often on enterprise agreements), the employer usually supplies more of the gear and enforces tighter PPE, so you may buy less yourself but to a higher standard