Building & renovation: say what exactly you’re looking for

Building & renovation in Australia: prices and rules

Updated 4 November 2026

A renovation in Australia is priced per project: a kitchen and bathroom together usually start at about A$50,000, and a good-quality renovation runs at roughly A$3,000 to A$5,000 per square metre. These figures are approximate, according to sellers' websites, November 2026. For timber, tiles, plasterboard or concrete, the quickest way to current prices is a request on BlaBlaPrice.

Licences and rules to check

In New South Wales you need a contractor licence for building work where the labour and materials for the whole job are over A$5,000 including GST. Licence and registration fees are set by each state. Victorian registration for an unlimited domestic builder was listed at A$1,011.40, and a South Australian general building contractor licence at A$864. Ask any builder for their licence number and check it before you pay a deposit.

Season and timing

November is late spring in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Summer runs from December to February, and the heat makes outdoor work such as concrete pours and roofing harder, so plan those jobs for before the hottest weeks. Winter, June to August, is cooler, which makes outdoor work easier again.

How materials are measured and quoted

Australia uses metric units. Quote tiles, flooring and plasterboard in square metres, sand, crushed stone and ready-mix concrete in cubic metres or tonnes, and timber lengths in millimetres or metres. Give the delivery suburb with your request, because a price for bulk materials only means something for a known address. Ask whether the quote includes GST.

What to write in your request

Name each item, the scope of work, the structure material (timber, steel, brick or concrete), the site suburb, your deadline and your budget. With these details, sellers can answer with a price, delivery terms and availability in your city instead of asking the same questions again.

On BlaBlaPrice you describe the job in your own words in a chat, and a photo can help. The AI asks for missing details, looks through sellers' websites and price lists in Australia, and shows the prices and businesses it found. Sellers registered on BlaBlaPrice reply in the chat with their own offer. Your contact details stay hidden until you decide to exchange them. Start with a request on the home page, read how BlaBlaPrice works, or browse Timber.