Shipwright

A shipwright constructs, repairs, and maintains wooden or metal ship structures in shipyards, docks, or maritime facilities. They work from detailed plans and specifications to build hulls, decks, and structural frameworks using hand tools, power tools, and welding equipment. The role requires precision in interpreting technical drawings, selecting appropriate materials, and ensuring compliance with maritime safety standards and Australian shipping regulations.

Interpret and work from detailed shipbuilding plans, blueprints, and technical specifications provided by naval architects. Construct ship hulls using timber framing or steel plating, cutting and fitting components to precise measurements. Install frames, beams, keels, and other structural members, ensuring alignment and structural integrity. Perform welding and metal fabrication work on steel vessels, including seam welding and structural joint welding. Caulk seams and joints in wooden vessels using oakum and pitch to ensure watertightness. Install internal systems including piping, cable trays, and ventilation ducts according to maritime specifications. Carry out repairs to damaged hulls, decks, and superstructures on existing vessels in dry dock or on slipways. Use hand tools including chisels, planes, hammers, and saws, as well as power tools such as angle grinders and pneumatic nailers.

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.

Australia builds very few ships anymore. Most work is repairs and maintenance on existing vessels, which means long stretches with no jobs available. You'll need welding or carpentry tickets plus maritime qualifications, taking months to get. Pay is modest for the physical demand and risk, and automation in metal fabrication is slowly replacing some roles.

Most jobs are in defence shipbuilding, ship repair facilities at commercial docks, or specialist dry-dock operators. Remote work doesn't exist in this role. Regional areas have almost no shipwright work unless near a working port.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 3991, 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.

• Attention to Detailcore
• Incident Reportingcore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Quality Assurance and Checkingcore
• Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Team Collaborationcore
• Time Managementcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Workload Self-Managementcore
• Written Communicationcore
• Adaptability and Flexibility
• Basic Arithmetic and Numerical Accuracy
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Inventory Tracking
• Process Documentation
• Record Management
• Research and Analysis
• Supplier 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