CONTACT US
Plumbing is the most stable trade market in Queensland right now, and the numbers show it in an unusual way.
SEEK, refreshed 1 September 2026:
Look at the width of those bands. Brisbane plumbers sit inside a $5,000 spread. Melbourne is $10,000. Electricians in Brisbane span $20,000. Refrigeration technicians in Brisbane span $20,000.
A narrow band means the market has settled on a price. There is less room to win a candidate on money, and less room to lose one on it either.
Money is not your differentiator. If almost everyone is paying between $90,000 and $95,000, an extra $2,000 does not move a plumber. It is inside the noise. Whatever wins you the hire is not on the payslip.
But underpaying is very visible. In a wide band, $85,000 looks like the low end of normal. In a $5,000 band, $85,000 is conspicuously under market and a plumber comparing two ads will see it immediately.
Which means the work is in the package and the process. Vehicle, roster predictability, who he reports to, whether the phone rings at 9pm. In a settled market those are the deciding factors, and they cost less than a salary increase.
Take a Brisbane plumber at $92,500 - the middle of the band.
Roughly $109,200 before workers compensation and vehicle. Queensland's payroll tax threshold is $1.3 million in annual Australian wages at 4.75% for 2026-27, so a smaller crew may sit under it entirely.
Queensland plumbing is licensed through the QBCC, and the distinction employers most often miss is between an occupational licence (held by the individual doing the work) and a contractor licence (held by the business contracting for the work).
Hiring a licensed plumber as an employee does not give your business the right to contract for plumbing work. Those are two separate licences and they sit with two separate parties.
Picture a small mechanical services company that hires a fully licensed plumber and starts quoting plumbing work directly. Every individual on the tools is licensed. The business contracting for the work is not. That is a compliance gap that only surfaces when someone asks for the licence number.
Before you advertise, be clear which of the two you need, and check the licence class covers the specific work - plumbing, drainage, and gas fitting are not one licence.
Queensland plumbing is a settled market. Pay $90,000-$95,000, do not try to win on money, and put the effort into the things that actually differentiate an employer in a market where everyone pays the same.
And get the licensing structure right before the first quote goes out, not after.
HJ Recruitment places permanent plumbing, electrical, HVAC and refrigeration, fire and solar tradespeople with Australian employers, from our base in Brisbane.
Sources- SEEK - Plumber salary, Brisbane- SEEK - Plumber salary, Melbourne- SEEK - Plumber salary, Australia- QBCC - Plumbing and drainage licences
