Welding

Welding in Australia: hourly rates, certification and what to ask

Updated 31 October 2026

Welding in Australia costs about A$80 to A$150 per hour, depending on the type of work, according to price guides and sellers' websites in October 2026. Pipe welding has the highest starting rate, while structural and custom work start at A$80. The quickest way to a price for your job is a request on BlaBlaPrice.

Licences and certification

New South Wales has no general welding licence. A builder's licence is needed to contract residential metal fabrication worth more than A$5,000, including GST. Welding certification is commonly tested to AS 1796, and the welding tickets under that standard run in certificate levels 1 to 9. Ask which level your welder holds. For AS 1796 tickets, a welder with a trade certificate needs 150 hours of documented welding experience, and one without a trade certificate needs 300 hours.

What the price depends on

Rates are quoted per hour or per job, and the total depends on:

• the metal and its thickness
• the dimensions of the piece
• a call-out fee and travel to your site
• whether you supply the metal
• the coating, such as galvanised or painted
• the deadline

Season and site conditions

October is spring, and outdoor welding on a site is affected by wind and rain, so check the weather on the day. Summer, December to February, brings heat that makes long days on a site tiring, so many people book workshop jobs or early starts for those months. Winter, June to August, can bring rain, so book outdoor work for a dry window.

What to put in your request

Describe what needs welding and the metal, with its thickness in millimetres. Give the dimensions in millimetres or metres, and say whether you will supply the metal. Add the coating you need, the site address and suburb, your deadline and budget. If you need a welder to come to your site, say so, because a call-out changes the total.

On BlaBlaPrice you describe the welding job in your own words and can add a photo of the piece. The AI asks for anything missing, then 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 price and terms, and your contact details stay hidden until you choose to exchange them. For related trades see construction services, turnkey renovation or construction and renovation.