Electrical or Telecommunications Trades Assistant

An electrical or telecommunications trades assistant supports licensed electricians and telecommunications technicians on construction sites, maintenance jobs, and infrastructure projects. They perform manual and semi-skilled tasks including cable pulling, conduit bending, site preparation, and tool handling under direct supervision. The role requires knowledge of basic electrical safety, work health and safety requirements, and ability to follow technical instructions on residential, commercial, and telecommunications network installations.

Assist licensed electricians in pulling and positioning electrical cables through conduits and cable trays on residential and commercial installations. Prepare work sites by clearing obstructions, setting up safety barriers, and arranging materials in compliance with Safe Work Australia guidelines and site-specific safety plans. Hold and position materials such as conduit, cable drums, and junction boxes while licensed tradespeople perform installations or repairs. Bend electrical conduit using hand or power tools to required angles and measurements as directed by the supervising electrician. Strip and prepare cable ends for termination by removing insulation under instruction and in accordance with AS/NZS 3000 electrical standards. Assist in testing electrical circuits and telecommunications lines by connecting test equipment and recording measurements under supervision. Excavate trenches for underground cable and conduit installation using hand tools or power equipment, maintaining correct depths and widths. Load, unload, and transport tools, equipment, and materials including copper cable, conduit, switchboards, and telecommunications hardware.

The standard entry pathway requires a Certificate I or compulsory secondary education (ABS skill level 5). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.

The pay ceiling is real: you're the helper, not the licensed electrician, so your earnings max out well below what fully qualified tradespeople make. Physical wear on your body (bending, lifting, repetitive tasks) happens early, and the work is genuinely monotonous most days. You're also completely dependent on your supervisor's training willingness to progress.

Practically though, jobs concentrate in major cities where construction and telecommunications infrastructure work is heaviest. Regional areas have fewer opportunities. Work is site-based, not remote. You'll follow projects around, so job stability depends on the construction pipeline in your area.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 8999, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.

This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.

Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

• Active Listeningcore
• Adaptability and Flexibilitycore
• Attention to Detailcore
• Check compatibility of materialscore
• Continuous Learning and Upskillingcore
• Incident Reportingcore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Team Collaborationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Workload Self-Managementcore
• Basic Arithmetic and Numerical Accuracy
• Carpentry
• Digital Literacy
• Inventory Tracking
• Process Documentation
• Quality Assurance and Checking
• Record Management
• Supplier Communication
• Written Communication

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
• ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

Last updated: 30 October 2026