How to become a hairdresser in Australia
Hairdressers cut, style, colour, straighten and permanently wave hair, and treat hair and scalp conditions.
The all-jobs median is $1,852 a week. Jobs in the hairdressers group are projected to grow 5.6% between May 2025 and May 2035, slower than the 13.3% projected for all jobs. Projections are indicative, not forecasts, and JSA says they don't yet reflect generative AI.
What the job involves
- Providing advice on hair care, beauty products and hairstyles
- Shampooing hair and conditioning scalps
- Colouring, straightening and permanently waving hair with chemical solutions
- Cutting hair with scissors, clippers and razors
- Styling hair into dreadlocks and braids and adding hair extensions
- Shaving and trimming beards and moustaches
How to get there
What it usually takes. A Certificate III or IV, including at least two years of on-the-job training where it is a Certificate III. This is the skill level Jobs and Skills Australia gives the hairdressers group, and some roles differ.
What people in the job have. Highest qualification held: 2% a degree or higher, 7% a diploma, 72% a Certificate III or IV.
Apprenticeship or traineeship. Hairdresser is on the Australian Apprenticeships Priority List (1 April 2026), with qualifications including Certificate III in Hairdressing, Certificate III in Barbering, Certificate IV in Hairdressing. Find a provider at Your Career or your state's TAFE.
Many jobs also need registration, a licence or a specific accredited course. Check the professional body or regulator before you choose.
Courses that can lead here
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We haven't matched this job to courses in the admissions lists. It usually starts with training on the job or at a registered training provider, not a course through an admissions centre. See Your Career.
Does it fit your interests?
Strongest interest areas for this kind of work: Realistic, Conventional, Social.
From O*NET ratings for "Barbers", the closest US occupation in JSA's correspondence (a acceptable match). US ratings are a guide to Australian jobs, not a measurement of them.
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Share your storyJob data: © Commonwealth of Australia, Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profiles, February 2026 and Employment Projections, May 2025 to May 2035 (Victoria University), CC BY 4.0. Jobs and Skills Australia, ANZSCO 2013 Version 1.2 to O*NET-SOC 2019 Taxonomy correspondence.
Apprenticeships: Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Australian Apprenticeships Priority List, 1 April 2026.
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Curve ATAR has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.