Regional Queensland
Regional recruitment specialist for Queensland employers, from Cairns to Toowoomba and Mount Isa. See how hard each region is to hire in, and how we help.
Drafter recruitment for regional employers
Hire Australia is a regional recruitment specialist. We help engineering consultancies, contractors, manufacturers, mines and building designers hire civil, structural, mechanical, electrical and building drafters, from CAD drafters and detailers to senior design drafters who run a drawing office. We build the software, the standards and any licence the design work needs into every search.
Drafting hiring at a glance
Civil and mechanical drafting are both rated in shortage, and a third of drafting and technician job ads are outside the major cities.
- national rating for civil and mechanical engineering draftspersons in 2026
- Shortage
- Electrical engineering draftspersons and detailer drafters are not rated in shortage. In shortage means rated S or R.2
- job ads a month for civil, mechanical and electrical draftspersons and technicians
- 662
- Three months to September 2026.1
- median full-time weekly earnings for civil engineering draftspersons and technicians
- $1,730
- May 2025; mechanical $2,589 and electrical $2,854.3
- of those job ads were for regional areas
- 33%
- 213 of 650 located ads, against 29% for all jobs.4
What does a drafter do, and which qualification do they hold?
Drafters turn engineers' and designers' requirements into the drawings, models and documentation that get things built. Engineering draftspersons and technicians assist in the design, construction, operation and maintenance of civil works, machines and electrical systems.3 Day to day that means 2D drafting and 3D modelling in AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Revit, Inventor, SolidWorks or Tekla, working to Australian Standards and the employer's drawing conventions.
The main national qualifications are the MEM40422 Certificate IV in Engineering Drafting and, for senior drafters and technical officers, the MEM50222 Diploma of Engineering – Technical.5,6 Building designers in some states need a licence or registration of their own, as the table below shows.
Which licence or registration applies to drafters in each state?
Engineering drafters work under the engineer who certifies the design, so most need no licence of their own. Building design can need a separate licence or registration, including in Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and, for regulated designs, New South Wales.
Building design licensing and engineer registration rules that affect drafters, by state and territory, as published by each regulator on 1 November 2026.
| State or territory | What applies to drafters |
|---|---|
| Queensland | A QBCC licence is needed for building design of any value, though employees of a licensed contractor usually do not need their own; engineering services by a non-RPEQ must be under an RPEQ's direct supervision7,8 |
| Victoria | Building designers register in one of three classes to produce plans and documentation for building work9 |
| New South Wales | Design practitioners register only if they prepare regulated designs and make a design compliance declaration10 |
| Western Australia and ACT | Building engineer registration covers prescribed engineering work; in the ACT, work under a registered engineer's direction and oversight is exempt11,12 |
| Tasmania | A building-designer licence is needed for work within its restricted, limited or open subclass; match the licence scope to the building-design duties13 |
| South Australia | No engineer registration scheme; we confirm any building design requirements with you14 |
| Northern Territory | Certifying engineers register with the Building Practitioners Board; we confirm any building design requirements with you15 |
What does a drafter earn?
Award minimum: where the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020 covers the role, a diploma-qualified engineering technician at level C5 earns at least $1,309.50 a week from 1 July 2026.16 Drafters in consultancies and building firms may fall under a different award, so we check coverage with you.
Market median: full-time civil engineering draftspersons and technicians earned $1,730 a week in May 2025, mechanical $2,589 and electrical $2,854. Each figure is national and covers technicians as well as drafters.3
Where are drafters in demand?
Job ads rose in the year to September 2026 for all three groups: civil from 206 to 245 a month, mechanical from 186 to 210, and electrical from 197 to 207.1 Mechanical drafting and technician ads lean towards Queensland and Western Australia, which together had 112 of 210.1
Online job ads a month for engineering draftspersons and technicians by state, three-month average to September 2026.1
| State or territory | Civil | Mechanical | Electrical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queensland | 941 | 65 | 43 |
| New South Wales | 48 | 36 | 63 |
| Western Australia | 45 | 47 | 43 |
| Victoria | 32 | 37 | 34 |
| South Australia | 16 | 13 | 15 |
| Northern Territory | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| Tasmania | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 4 | 1 | 1 |
Which drafting roles do we recruit?
Open a role for what to put in your brief.
Civil and structural drafters
Drafters for roads, drainage, subdivisions, water and structural steel and concrete.
- What the role does
- Civil engineering draftspersons assist in civil engineering design, construction and maintenance.3
- Shortage
- Civil Engineering Draftsperson is rated in shortage for 2026.2
- Demand
- Queensland led civil drafting and technician ads with 94 a month in the three months to September 2026.1
- What to tell us
- Civil 3D, 12d or Revit, the project types, whether the role models or only drafts, and the engineer the drafter works for.
Mechanical and piping drafters
Drafters for plant, equipment, conveyors, piping and fabrication.
- What the role does
- Mechanical engineering draftspersons assist in the design, manufacture and maintenance of machines and mechanical installations.3
- Shortage
- Mechanical Engineering Draftsperson is rated in shortage for 2026.2
- Regional work
- 37% of located mechanical drafting and technician ads were for regional areas.4
- What to tell us
- Inventor, SolidWorks or plant design software, fabrication or shutdown drawings, and whether site measure-ups are part of the job.
Electrical drafters
Drafters for power, controls and instrumentation drawings.
- What the role does
- Electrical engineering draftspersons assist in the design and maintenance of electrical equipment and distribution systems.3
- Shortage
- Electrical Engineering Draftsperson is not rated in shortage for 2026.2
- Pay
- Electrical engineering draftspersons and technicians had the highest median of the three groups, $2,854 a week in May 2025.3
- What to tell us
- Schematics, single-line diagrams or control panel layouts, the CAD platform, and the voltage and asset types involved.
Building designers and architectural drafters
Drafters who prepare house, extension and small commercial plans.
- Queensland
- Building design needs a QBCC licence at any value.8
- Victoria
- Building designers register to produce plans for building work.9
- New South Wales
- Registration applies to people who prepare regulated designs.10
- What to tell us
- Whether the person designs under their own licence or yours, the building classes, the software and the approvals they handle.
What to tell us about your drafting role
Start with the discipline and the software, because drafters rarely move between Civil 3D, Inventor and Revit without a learning curve. Tell us whether the role drafts from mark-ups or models and designs, who checks and signs the drawings, and the standards you work to.
Then the arrangements: office, site or hybrid, any site measure-ups or rosters, and whether the person needs a building design licence in their own name.
How we help you hire a drafter
You make the hiring decision and employ the person directly. We handle the search and the organising in between.
Moving a drafter to a regional role
Drafting is mostly office-based, so a regional role often means relocating rather than travelling. We explain the town, the office and the housing to candidates before they apply, and talk through the move with anyone relocating. Where hybrid work suits you, tell us, because it widens the search.
If the right person needs a visa or sponsorship, our sister business Australian Immigration Agency can advise.
Are you a drafter looking for your next role?
Register with Hire Australia and tell us your discipline, the software you use, the projects you have documented, any licence you hold and the regions you prefer. We welcome drafters at every stage, from CAD drafters to experienced design drafters.
Talk to us about your next drafting hire
Tell us the discipline, the software and your start date.
Employers pay nothing until the successful candidate has started and stayed two months. Candidates never pay for recruitment.
A FEW PRACTICAL QUESTIONS
Good to know.
Does a drafter need a licence?
Usually not for engineering drafting, because the engineer certifies the design. Building design is different: Queensland requires a QBCC licence for building design at any value, Victoria registers building designers, Tasmania licenses them by subclass, and New South Wales registers people who prepare regulated designs.8,9,10,13 Hire Australia confirms what your role needs before we search.
How much do drafters earn?
Full-time civil engineering draftspersons and technicians earned a median of $1,730 a week in May 2025, mechanical $2,589 and electrical $2,854.3 Under the Manufacturing Award, a diploma-qualified technician at C5 earns at least $1,309.50 a week from 1 July 2026.16 Hire Australia checks award coverage and compares packages with you.
Are drafters hard to find?
Civil and mechanical engineering draftspersons are both rated in shortage for 2026, while electrical draftspersons and detailers are not.2 Job ads for all three engineering drafting and technician groups rose in the year to September 2026.1 Hire Australia searches for drafters who already use your software and standards.
What qualification should a drafter have?
The MEM40422 Certificate IV in Engineering Drafting is the main national drafting qualification, and the MEM50222 Diploma of Engineering – Technical suits senior drafters and technical officers.5,6 Many experienced drafters also learned on the job. Hire Australia looks at the drawings a candidate has produced as well as their certificates.
What does it cost to use Hire Australia?
Employers pay nothing until the successful candidate has started and stayed two months. Candidates never pay for recruitment. You employ the person directly, and we agree the terms with you in writing before the search begins. That applies to every drafting role Hire Australia recruits for, from CAD drafter to senior design drafter.
Does Hire Australia supply labour hire or temporary staff?
No. Hire Australia recruits people you employ directly, in permanent roles. We don’t supply labour hire or temps, and candidates never work on our payroll. We search for and screen people for your vacancy, introduce the ones who fit, and you make the offer and employ them. That keeps the working relationship between you and your new employee from day one.
Sources (16)
- Jobs and Skills Australia, Internet Vacancy Index, 4-digit occupations by state and territory, September 2026. Online job ads, three-month moving average to September 2026 (released 21 October 2026), rounded. Counts ads, not jobs. Accessed 1 November 2026. Back to text ↑
- Jobs and Skills Australia, 2026 Occupation Shortage List (OSCA 2024 and ANZSCO 2022 sheets). National ratings. "In shortage" means rated S (shortage) or R (regional shortage). Accessed 1 November 2026. Back to text ↑
- Jobs and Skills Australia, ANZSCO occupation data, February 2026 (occupation descriptions, earnings, employment and state tables). Median full-time earnings: ABS Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, national, non-managerial adult employees. Employment and state shares: February 2026 trend. Accessed 1 November 2026. Back to text ↑
- Jobs and Skills Australia, Internet Vacancy Index, 4-digit occupations by remoteness (major cities and regional), September 2026. Online job ads, three-month moving average to September 2026; SA4 regions grouped as major city or regional. Counts ads, not jobs. Accessed 1 November 2026. Back to text ↑
- training.gov.au, MEM40422 Certificate IV in Engineering Drafting. Accessed 1 November 2026. Back to text ↑
- training.gov.au, MEM50222 Diploma of Engineering – Technical. Accessed 1 November 2026. Back to text ↑
- BPEQ, Practice note – Direct supervision. Accessed 28 October 2026. Back to text ↑
- Queensland Building and Construction Commission, When you need a licence. Accessed 1 November 2026. Back to text ↑
- Australian Business Licence and Information Service, Registration of Building Practitioners: Building Designer, Victoria. Accessed 1 November 2026. Back to text ↑
- NSW Government, Design practitioner work: qualifications and experience. Accessed 1 November 2026. Back to text ↑
- Government of Western Australia, Building and Energy, Building engineering registration. Accessed 1 November 2026. Back to text ↑
- ACT Government, City and Environment Directorate, Professional engineers registration scheme. Accessed 1 November 2026. Back to text ↑
- Building Standards Tasmania, Building designer (building provider licence). Accessed 1 November 2026. Back to text ↑
- Engineers Australia, State registration. Accessed 1 November 2026. Back to text ↑
- Building Practitioners Board, Northern Territory, Practitioners: scope of works. Accessed 1 November 2026. Back to text ↑
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020 [MA000010], clause 20.1. C5 Engineering/Laboratory Technician Level V; rates from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. Accessed 1 November 2026. Back to text ↑