What’s The Average Construction Project Management Salary In Australia?

29/05/2023

Take Our Quiz to Find Out Your Earning Potential

When it comes to high-paying jobs in building and construction, construction managers sit right near the top. According to PayScale, the average salary in Australia is $111,264 per year (2022).

Construction managers are some of the highest paid professionals in the building and construction industry and for good reason. It’s a challenging, supervisory, and sought-after role, requiring a combination of both study and experience.

So, how much can you actually earn? To give you a better idea, we dig a little deeper into what the average construction manager salary is in Australia and how to carve out your career to the top.

How Much is the Average Construction Manager Salary?

Some construction managers can earn upwards of $190,000 per year. Like in many professions, the more experienced you become in the building and construction industry, the greater your earning potential will be. Your income will also depend on how often you work, who you work for, and the scale of the projects you manage.

As a construction manager, it’s likely you’ll also have the skills and knowledge needed to go out on your own and start a business. This means if you’re savvy enough, have a great team behind you, and work with high-paying clients, there’s no real cap on what you can earn.

what does a construction manager do

What Does A Construction Manager Do?

There’s a reason why a construction manager salary is so high. In this crucial role, you’ll be expected to supervise and advise staff on all the matters associated with the day-to-day running of the job site.

You’ll be primarily responsible for setting calendars, coordinating workflow, delegating work to your construction crew, making sure workplace health and safety regulations are up to scratch, and reporting on progress to homeowners and development investors.

From start to finish, a construction manager’s job is basically to ensure everything on a job site is executed efficiently and safely – not just when things are smooth sailing, but also when things start to go south.

As you might imagine, there is a range of other skills required to juggle all of these duties.

What Skills and Qualities Does a Construction Manager Need?

  • Superior communication skills
  • Management and leadership qualities
  • Personal drive
  • Strong initiative
  • Great problem-solving skills
  • The ability to work calm under high-level pressure

Being a construction manager is a multifaceted role, with the ability to work on a range of projects, both domestic and commercial. Yet within construction management, there are also a number of specialised roles. If you are interested in other jobs in building and construction, you might even pursue a related career as a building surveyor, civil engineer, or quantity surveyor.

Take Our Quiz to Find Out Your Earning Potential

construction manager

How To Become A Construction Project Manager?

Becoming a construction manager requires years of study and experience. But where does it all begin? For many, their journeys all start in the same way – with an apprenticeship. No matter what trade you decide to pursue, be it plumbing or carpentry, an apprenticeship will lay the foundations for years to come.

After completing an apprenticeship with us, such as the CPC30220 Certificate III in Carpentry (Carpenters), you can then become a qualified tradie. From there, your next step in becoming a construction manager would be to enrol in a course such as the CPC40120 Certificate IV in Building and Construction (Building).

Armed with this qualification, you’ll have the skills and knowledge needed to become a licensed builder with the Victorian Building Authority. With further experience, you’ll have the skills to plan, prepare and manage residential construction sites, as well as kickstart your own business.

Want to go one step further studying building and construction? To give yourself an even greater chance of becoming a sought-after construction manager, it’s worth looking into higher-level construction manager courses such as the CPC50220 Diploma of Building and Construction (Building).

This course will hone your skills and reinforce your learning, giving you more opportunities to pursue high-paying construction manager roles within the building and construction industry – in both residential and commercial settings.

study construction management with builders academy australia

Get into the building and construction industry with Builders Academy Australia

At Builders Academy Australia, we understand that you’re likely a busy tradie during the day, or that you might live in a remote or rural part of the country. To bridge this gap, we offer the choice to study building and construction online through our virtual classrooms.

If you’re interested in knowing more about construction manager courses like the Diploma of Building and Construction (Building), or what you could expect from the jobs in building and construction, take our quiz to find out how much you can earn with a qualification through BAA.

Take Our Quiz to Find Out Your Earning Potential

This article has been updated and republished on 29th May 2023.