CPC30620 is the nationally recognised Certificate III behind painter work. It has been the current version on the national register since 2020, when it replaced CPC30611. About 514 painter jobs were advertised in June 2026, down 9.5% on a year earlier.
The long-term signals behind the Certificate III in Painting and Decorating are positive, though current job advertising is below a year earlier. Painters are in national shortage, employment is projected to grow through 2035 and enrolments are rising. Job ads in June 2026 were down 9.5% on a year earlier. These are official statistics, not a promise about your result.
Employers are posting fewer painter jobs than a year ago. About 514 painter jobs were advertised online in June 2026, down 9.5% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 6,800 job ads, while 11,345 people were training in the qualification nationally (2025). Ads show the market. Enrolments show the pipeline. Neither is a job promise.
Australia's official shortage list rates painters as in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Painter as in national shortage.
Painter jobs are projected to grow. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 53,822 workers in May 2025, 55,786 by May 2030 (up 3.6%) and 58,065 by May 2035 (up 7.9%).
Certificate III in Painting and Decorating graduates do better than is typical at Certificate III level. In the 2025 NCVER Student Outcomes survey, 91.4% were employed or in further study after training. The typical Certificate III result is 88%, across 105 qualifications. Median income after training was $64,900, against $54,000 typical. 94.6% were satisfied with the training, against 90.6% typical. Income here is the survey median about six months after training. It includes part-time work, so it is not the full-time award rate.
More people are choosing the Certificate III in Painting and Decorating every year. Across Australia, 8,650 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 11,345, up 31.2% in a year. National data for CPC30620 starts in 2021.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for CPC30620 is being verified against official program lists.
Eligibility and student contributions vary by program and provider. The official state listing is the source of truth. In a subsidised place the government pays most of the tuition and you pay a co-contribution set by the program and provider.
The Certificate III in Painting and Decorating is 29 units: 26 core, plus 3 electives chosen from 8 options on the register. Prerequisites apply to 24 of them, marked below.
No Get Course partner currently lists this qualification. Check the national register for organisations approved to deliver it, and remember that approval to deliver is a regulatory fact, not a recommendation. You can browse live courses from our partners and enquire today.
Browse coursesGet Course maps CPC30620 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 3322) so the mapping can be checked. Job advertisement counts come from the Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index and count online ads, not vacancies filled. Enrolment counts come from NCVER Total VET Activity and count people in training, not completions. Outcome benchmarks marked “typical” are medians computed by Get Course across all Certificate IIIs in the same NCVER collection; they are derived figures, not official NCVER benchmarks. Funding rows appear only after verification against the official state program list. Source vintages: Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; NCVER Student Outcomes survey 2025 survey; register training.gov.au, synced 15 September 2026; NCVER Total VET Activity 2025 collection; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.