Craftsmanship

Craftsmanship is the demonstrable quality of making that arises when learned and embodied knowledge is applied through skilled human judgement at one or more consequential stages of making, modifying, repairing or conserving a product, including through the transformation, assembly or treatment of materials, ingredients or existing objects, such that the practitioner’s judgement materially affects the process or outcome.

Craftsmanship is assessed against standards recognised within the relevant practice. These may include command of materials or ingredients, tools and processes; technical accuracy and control; informed judgement, adaptation and problem-solving; consistency appropriate to the intended outcome; fitness for purpose; and, where applicable, recognised aesthetic or sensory criteria and cultural protocols. The relevant criteria and level of attainment must be specified for each field rather than inferred from the appearance, price or marketing of the finished product.

The definition does not require novelty, genius, sole authorship, exclusive hand-making, small-scale production or the absence of machinery. Traditional repetition, collaborative production, repair, artisanal food production and machine-assisted making may all demonstrate craftsmanship where learned human knowledge and consequential judgement materially influence the making or its result. Conversely, handmade status, extended labour or the presence of Pye’s workmanship of risk does not by itself establish craftsmanship of a high standard.

Report basisMapping Australia’s Crafts Sector 2026 · Note on Terms; Sections 1.1–1.5; Recommendation 6.