Tradie Resume: Presenting Your Trade to Australian Employers

• Trade qualification – certificate III or IV, the RTO and the year completed. Apprentices who have not finished should state the stage and expected completion.
• State licence – electrical, plumbing, refrigeration and building work are licensed by state regulators, and the licence number and expiry belong on the resume.
• White Card – general construction induction, required on construction sites in every state.
• Tickets – forklift, EWP, working at heights, confined space, traffic control, first aid, asbestos awareness.
• Insurance and ABN – if you work as a subcontractor, say so and state that you hold public liability cover.

Australian trade work splits into PAYG employment and subcontracting, and the two need different resumes. For an employee role lead with reliability, supervision experience and safety record. For subcontract work lead with your ABN, insurances, vehicle and tools, plus the projects you delivered on time. Mixing the two signals confuses a site manager, so pick one framing per application.

• Completed first and second fix electrical on 40 townhouses across two stages, passing all inspections first time.
• Ran a two-person crew installing commercial HVAC ductwork on a shopping centre refurbishment.
• Worked from drawings and AS/NZS standards, completing daily SWMS and pre-start checks.
• Cut material waste on a residential framing package by re-sequencing deliveries across three sites.

Name the systems and standards you actually work to, and the sites or project types: residential, commercial, civil, shutdowns. Generic duty lists read the same as everyone else’s.

Every Australian site screens for safety behaviour. One line is enough: no lost-time injuries across four years; completed daily pre-starts, JSAs and hazard reports. Referees should be site supervisors or leading hands who can confirm your licence, your tickets and how you work – put their position and mobile number on the resume and let them know to expect a call.