Do tailors and dressmakers need a licence in Australia?

No. It is not a licensed occupation in any state or territory, and no fair trading or consumer affairs regulator issues a tailor's or dressmaker's licence. Only ordinary business registrations and consumer law obligations apply.

What qualification should a tailor hold?

MST31022 Certificate III in Apparel, Fashion and Textiles is the current national qualification. It replaced MST30819 Certificate III in Applied Fashion Design and Technology, which could not be delivered past 31 January 2025. Neither is legally required, but employers treat the Certificate III as the trade benchmark.

Which award covers tailors and dressmakers?

The Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Associated Industries Award 2020 (MA000017) is the industry award, covering the clothing, footwear and bag making industries. Alterations staff employed within a retail business may instead fall under the General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004).

Is tailoring a viable trade in Australia today?

Mass garment manufacturing has largely moved offshore, but alterations, bespoke tailoring, bridal, formal wear, costume and repair work remain domestic by nature because they require fitting the client in person. The growth of repair and remaking driven by sustainability has also supported demand.

What is the difference between a tailor and a dressmaker?

ANZSCO combines them in a single occupation, 393213 Dressmaker or Tailor, within unit group 3932 Clothing Trades Workers. In practice, tailoring conventionally refers to structured, canvassed garments such as suits and coats, while dressmaking refers to softer construction such as dresses, evening and bridal wear.

Can I run an alterations business from home?

There is no occupational licence preventing it. The constraints are local council home-based business rules, whether clients will attend for fittings, and if you take work from another business, the outworker record-keeping obligations that business owes you under the award and TCF legislation.

Tailors and Dressmakers jobs in Australia

Tailors and dressmakers make, alter and repair tailored garments, formal wear, couture and special occasion clothing including suits, dresses, coats, evening wear and bridal wear. It is not a licensed occupation anywhere in Australia, though the applicable modern award carries specific protections for textile, clothing and footwear outworkers.

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Vacancies

Current vacancies

No tailors and dressmakers roles are listed on Valont right now. Licensing and local context below still apply — this page updates when a matching role is published.

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Locations

Where we cover tailors and dressmakers

AdelaideSA AlbanyWA Albury-WodongaNSW/VIC Alice SpringsNT ArmidaleNSW BairnsdaleVIC BallaratVIC Batemans BayNSW BathurstNSW BendigoVIC Blue MountainsNSW BrisbaneQLD Broken HillNSW BroomeWA BunburyWA BundabergQLD BurnieTAS BusseltonWA CairnsQLD CanberraACT Central CoastNSW Charters TowersQLD Coffs HarbourNSW DarwinNT DevonportTAS DubboNSW EchucaVIC EmeraldQLD GeelongVIC GeraldtonWA GladstoneQLD Gold CoastQLD GoulburnNSW GriffithNSW GympieQLD Hervey BayQLD HobartTAS HorshamVIC IpswichQLD KalgoorlieWA KarrathaWA LauncestonTAS LismoreNSW LoganQLD MackayQLD MandurahWA MaryboroughQLD MelbourneVIC MeltonVIC MilduraVIC Mount GambierSA Mount IsaQLD Murray BridgeSA NewcastleNSW NowraNSW OrangeNSW PerthWA Port HedlandWA Port LincolnSA Port MacquarieNSW QueanbeyanNSW RedlandsQLD RockhamptonQLD RomaQLD SaleVIC SheppartonVIC Sunshine CoastQLD SydneyNSW TamworthNSW TareeNSW ToowoombaQLD TownsvilleQLD TraralgonVIC Wagga WaggaNSW WangarattaVIC WarrnamboolVIC WarwickQLD WhyallaSA WollongongNSW

Licensing

Licensing by state

Tailoring and dressmaking is not a licensed occupation in any Australian state or territory. No jurisdiction issues a tailor's or dressmaker's licence and no registration is required to make, alter or repair garments commercially. The regulation that genuinely matters in this trade is not occupational licensing but outworker protection: the Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Associated Industries Award 2020 contains specific provisions for TCF outworkers, and Commonwealth and state textile, clothing and footwear laws impose record-keeping and supply chain obligations on businesses that give out work to be performed in private homes. Those obligations sit with the business engaging the outworker, not with the tailor as an occupational licence.

the Australian Capital Territory: Not a licensed occupation. Access Canberra does not license tailors or dressmakers. Only general business registration applies.
New South Wales: Not a licensed occupation. NSW Fair Trading does not license tailoring or dressmaking. NSW does, however, maintain ethical clothing trades and outworker protections that impose obligations on businesses giving out clothing work, not on the tailor as a licensee.
the Northern Territory: Not a licensed occupation. NT Consumer Affairs does not license tailoring or dressmaking. No Territory licence or registration is required.
Queensland: Not a licensed occupation. The Office of Fair Trading does not license tailors or dressmakers. Only ordinary business registration and Australian Consumer Law obligations apply.
South Australia: Not a licensed occupation. Consumer and Business Services does not license tailors or dressmakers. Only general business obligations apply.
Tasmania: Not a licensed occupation. Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) does not list tailoring or dressmaking as a licensed occupation. No licence is required.
Victoria: Not a licensed occupation. Consumer Affairs Victoria does not license tailors or dressmakers. Victorian outworker legislation places obligations on businesses in the clothing supply chain rather than licensing the tradesperson.
Western Australia: Not a licensed occupation. Consumer Protection within the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) does not license tailoring or dressmaking. No occupational licence exists.

Role

What the job involves

Consult with clients on style, fabric, fit and finish and take measurements
Draft, adapt and grade patterns to a client's measurements
Lay out, mark and cut fabric with minimal wastage
Sew garments by machine and hand, including linings, interfacings and canvas
Fit garments on the client and mark and execute alterations
Press, finish and detail garments to a saleable standard
Repair, remodel and restore existing garments
Estimate materials, time and cost, and maintain machines and equipment

Training

Qualifications and training

MST31022 Certificate III in Apparel, Fashion and Textiles - the current national qualification, which superseded MST30819 Certificate III in Applied Fashion Design and Technology
MST30819 Certificate III in Applied Fashion Design and Technology - superseded; training and assessment could not be delivered past 31 January 2025 and existing students were required to transition to MST31022
Traineeship or on-the-job training with an established tailor, alterations business or workroom; there is no licence and no mandatory qualification
Higher-level fashion, patternmaking or design study for progression into design, production or workroom management

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Patternmaking, drafting and grading to measurement · Precision cutting and fabric layout for minimal wastage · Industrial and domestic machine sewing and hand finishing · Fitting and alteration judgement on the body · Fabric knowledge across weight, drape, stretch and behaviour · Tailoring construction including canvas, interfacing and pressing · Client consultation and expectation management on bridal and formal work · Quoting, time estimation and workroom scheduling

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about tailors and dressmakers work in Australia.

The Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Associated Industries Award 2020 contains specific TCF outworker provisions, and Commonwealth and state clothing trades laws impose record-keeping and supply chain obligations on businesses that give out work performed in private homes. These are among the strongest outworker protections in any Australian industry, and they bind the business, not the individual tailor.

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Sources

Tailors and Dressmakers — occupation data · verified 2026-08-04. ABS ANZSCO 2022 - https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/classifications/anzsco-australian-and-new-zealand-standard-classification-occupations/2022; Jobs and Skills Australia, Dressmakers and Tailors (393213) - https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/occupation-and-industry-profiles/occupations/393213-dressmakers-and-tailors; training.gov.au MST31022 Certificate III in Apparel, Fashion and Textiles - https://training.gov.au/Training/Details/MST31022; training.gov.au MST30819 Certificate III in Applied Fashion Design and Technology (superseded) - https://training.gov.au/training/details/MST30819; Fair Work Ombudsman, Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Associated Industries Award 2020 - https://awards.fairwork.gov.au/MA000017.html; NSW Fair Trading - https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/; Consumer Affairs Victoria - https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/

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