Removalists earn the highest hourly rate among Australia's Tradie Rich List

ServiceSeeking has pinpointed their website's top tradie, a Melbourne builder specialising in property maintenance, renovations, demolitions and fit-outs, who brought home over $372,000 in FY18.
 
He made more than many top earning doctors and lawyers, based on the latest median income stats from the ATO. 
 
The top 10 tradies on ServiceSeeking took home a combined $1.2 million over the last financial year. 
 

 
Australia wide, removalists enjoyed the highest charge out rates in FY18 versus FY17 while handymen were the biggest mover in terms of percentage change, with an increase in charge out rates of 11.97%. 
 

NSW removalists have been awarded the title of Australia’s Richest Trade Profession for 2018.

 

 

Builders from Queensland increased their prices by the largest percentage this financial year, 32.73% with the national rate sitting at $88.63/hr.

 

This pushes them into the top 10, coming in at 6th place.

The survey noted overall the Tradie Rich List for 2018 consists of only a few industries that are characterised by onerous licensing regimes or high start up costs (removalists for example are running expensive work vehicles and paying high insurance premiums). 

 

In FY18, hourly rates grew faster than the year prior by 1.78%, hourly charge out rate growth in FY18 was 5.78% compared to 4% in FY17.
 
This rise in hourly rates also greatly exceeded the recently published CPI figures of 0.4%. South Australia saw the greatest rise in rates at 8.57% while Victoria was the only state to post negative growth at -1.94%.