Furniture Maker

A furniture maker designs and constructs bespoke or batch-produced furniture from timber, veneers, and composite materials using hand tools and machinery. They read technical drawings or work from client briefs, select appropriate materials, and execute joinery, finishing, and assembly work to produce functional and aesthetic pieces for residential or commercial use. This role typically operates in a workshop setting with responsibility for quality control, tool maintenance, and adherence to workplace safety standards.

Interpret technical drawings and specifications to determine materials, dimensions, and construction methods required. Select appropriate timbers, veneers, and composite materials based on aesthetic requirements and durability specifications. Mark out timber using measuring tools, squares, and gauges according to design specifications. Operate hand tools including chisels, planes, saws, and rasps to cut, shape, and finish timber components. Operate workshop machinery including table saws, band saws, planers, sanders, and mortising machines with adherence to Safe Work Australia guidance. Execute joinery techniques including mortise and tenon joints, dovetails, bridle joints, and finger joints. Apply stains, dyes, oils, waxes, and lacquers using brush, spray, or hand-finishing methods to achieve specified colour and protective finishes. Assemble components using adhesives, clamps, dowels, and fasteners, ensuring structural integrity and square alignment.

The standard entry pathway requires a Certificate IV or Certificate III with at least two years of on-the-job training (ABS skill level 3). 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.

Your earning potential hits a ceiling fast. Most furniture makers plateau at mid-range pay unless they own their own business. You'll also face physical toll: repetitive strain, dust inhalation despite masks, standing all day, and hand injuries are real risks. CNC machines are automating simpler production work, so custom/bespoke work is where the security is, but that's harder to find.

Practically speaking, work concentrates in metro areas where custom furniture demand and commercial fit-outs happen. Regional areas have smaller clusters around larger towns. Most jobs are in small workshops or furniture manufacturers, not remote-friendly. Custom makers often operate from home workshops but need to be near their client base.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 3941, 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.

• Apply colour coatscore
• Attention to Detailcore
• Basic Arithmetic and Numerical Accuracycore
• Customer Needs Assessmentcore
• Inventory Trackingcore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Process Documentationcore
• Quality Assurance and Checkingcore
• Supplier Communicationcore
• Team Collaborationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Workload Self-Managementcore
• Written Communicationcore
• Adaptability and Flexibility
• Carve materials
• Clean furniture
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Customer Order Tracking
• Invoicing and Billing Administration
• Negotiation
• Process Improvement Identification
• Purchase Order Processing
• Risk Identification

• 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.

What Furniture Maker workers move into, from ten years of tax records.

Last updated: 30 October 2026