How these estimates are calculated
Place, currency and tax. Prices are for Australia, in AUD (A$). They include GST. Australian Consumer Law requires one all-inclusive price. The range is a national average. When you pick your state or territory, the calculator scales the labour share of the range by a local index from 0.85 to 1.11. The calculator does not quote below its minimum price, A$150 at the national average.
Where the range comes from. The market range for this job comes from prices published for Australia by marketplaces where customers hire pros. We name these sources by type, not by company. Where no Australian source prices a job, we derive its range from the US range, scaled to Australian prices, and record it as an assumption. We check the hourly rates against Fair Work award pay rates for cleaning, construction and plumbing. A trade's rate should sit well above what its workers earn, because it also pays for overhead, travel and insurance.
When we checked. We last checked these rates against their sources on 30 September 2026.
Market price and your price. "What pros charge" is the market range for the job you describe. Your own cost figures do not change it. The table under it, "Your costs at this price", uses your figures: time on the job, labour cost, materials, equipment, travel, fees and overhead. Profit is the market price without GST (10%) minus those costs, because GST is collected for the government, not earned. If no market range covers the job, the calculator prices it from your costs instead: your costs plus overhead, then your target margin or markup.
Most handyman quotes are decided by the first number you say. The calculator above builds that number the way it
should be built: the hours the job takes, at an Australian rate, plus materials and the drive.
How the calculator works
- Pick the job and the hours. Nine job types, each with the labour and materials the work usually needs. Taps,
toilets, plumbing and electrical work are not on the list: in Australia only a licensed plumber or electrician may
do them, whatever the job costs.
- Add your materials. The calculator takes them at what you paid, with no markup. The band depends on the job
type only, so your hours and materials move your costs and the margin, not the band. For “Something else” they
set the price itself.
- Your state. Six states and two territories, each with its own labour-cost index. New South Wales carries the
highest, about 11% above the national average.
- Check what you keep. Open “Your costs and margin” to see labour, materials, travel and overhead against the
quote.
What Australian tradies charge for their time, 2026
| What | Figure, GST included | Basis |
|---|
| Hourly, low to high | A$50–100 | The marketplace that prices the most jobs |
| Typical hourly | A$80 | Weighted to rates taken from real bids |
| Day rate | About A$604 for eight hours | A$76 an hour, closes the centre independently |
| Award floor, CW3 tradesperson | A$29.45 permanent, A$36.81 casual | MA000020, from 1 July 2026 |
Every price figure includes 10% GST, as the Australian Consumer Law requires. The award rates are wages, so they
carry no GST.
About the per-job prices. Two Australian marketplaces publish handyman prices job by job. Six of the nine job
ranges in the calculator are read from them in full. Drywall and gutter jobs have a published starting price but no
top, so the top of those two ranges is the US one scaled to Australian rates. Painting has no published job price at
all, so its whole range is scaled the same way. The hours for each job come from its range: the middle of the
range, less the parts, at the A$80 typical rate.
Worked example
Three hours of small repairs — a door that will not latch, two blinds and a loose shelf — with A$120 in materials.
No single job type covers that list, so choose “Something else” and the calculator prices it from your costs.
Your costs, at the calculator’s starting figures: three hours at A$40 an hour is A$120. The materials go in at the
A$120 you paid, with no markup, because the markup is part of your margin. The drive is A$12. Overhead at 15% adds
A$37.80, so the job costs you A$289.80. At the 30% target margin the quote is A$415 including GST, and the
calculator shows a range of A$355–475.
If you are registered for GST, about A$38 of the A$415 is GST. That leaves A$377 for you, A$87 of it profit. So the
margin the calculator reports is 23%, not the 30% you asked for: it takes the GST out before it compares the price
with your costs.
Quoting handyman work in Australia
- Say the minimum on the phone. It is a two-sentence conversation before you drive, and an argument after you
arrive. Two hours is the normal shape of it.
- Quote the list, not the day. Clients book a tradie for three or four small jobs. Price each one, so a fifth job
is a conversation about money rather than a favour.
- Put access in the quote. Lift bookings, loading docks and permit parking eat hours in Sydney and Melbourne. Say
what is included and what is charged.
The calculator gives you the number. For typical rates and how to build a quote, read our US handyman pricing guide. Its rates are in US dollars.
Frequently asked questions
What do handymen charge per hour in Australia?
Australian handymen charge A$50–100 an hour in 2026, with A$80 the typical figure. The day rate closes it independently: about A$604 for eight hours, which is A$76 an hour. All of those figures include GST.
Do these rates include GST?
Yes, and Australia is the only market on this site where that is the rule. Section 48 of the Australian Consumer Law requires a single all-inclusive price for a consumer, so every figure here and in the calculator includes 10% GST. Under A$75,000 of turnover you do not have to register for GST. If you register anyway, you charge it.
Should I have a minimum charge?
Yes, and you will have to set it yourself. No Australian source we accepted publishes a dollar minimum for handyman work. What they publish is a call-out fee of A$50–150, or A$80–150 for a job under an hour. The calculator does not quote below A$150, the top of both, because that is what the drive plus the first hour costs you.
Am I above the award floor?
From 1 July 2026 the Construction Award MA000020 sets a CW3 tradesperson at A$29.45 an hour for a permanent employee and A$36.81 for a casual, once the 25% loading replaces leave. That is the wage floor for someone you employ, so it is also the floor under your own hour. A rate below it is not a business, it is a problem.
How much do I mark up materials?
No Australian source publishes a handyman materials markup, so the calculator does not suggest one. It takes your materials at what you paid, and your markup is part of the price you quote. What it has to cover is real enough — the trip to the supplier, the money you front, and the warranty you carry on the part.
Do I quote by the hour or by the job?
Quote a flat price per job whenever you have done that job before. Clients compare flat prices easily, and you stop being punished for working quickly. Keep hourly for diagnostic and open-ended work, where nobody knows the hours yet, including you.
