Painter pricing in Adelaide
What painters charge in Adelaide (typically $50-$100/hr), the local factors that move the rate, and a sample quote you can use as a starting point.
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Adelaide painter pricing
What painters should charge in Adelaide
Adelaide painters work across heritage villa restoration in North Adelaide, Walkerville, Medindie, and Unley Park, plus brick-veneer middle ring and tract new construction. No standalone state painting licence in SA, but jobs over A$12,000 fall under the CBS SA builder licence. Dry Mediterranean summers and lead-paint risk in pre-1970 housing drive prep work. Rates run 15-25% below Sydney and Melbourne.
Hourly rate
$50-$100
per hour, weekday daytime
Call-out fee
$35-$75
within standard radius
After-hours
1.5-2x
evening, weekend, holiday
Job pricing
What to charge for common painter jobs in Adelaide
Real-world price ranges for the jobs local tradies quote every week. Use the table as a starting point for your own quotes and adjust for parts, access, and your overheads. All figures in AUD.
Single room interior repaint (3x4m)
What's included
Includes 2 coats, walls + ceiling, prep, masking. Excludes major plaster repair.
Interior repaint per square metre
What's included
Wall area only, 2 coats, standard quality paint. Doors and trim usually quoted separately.
Exterior repaint per square metre
What's included
Includes prep, undercoat, 2 coats. Scaffold or cherry-picker hire extra for double-storey.
Ceiling paint per square metre
What's included
Includes 2 coats, cutting in. Stipple or coffered ceilings cost more.
Door (full prep and paint, both sides)
What's included
Includes sanding, priming, 2 finish coats. Premium enamel adds cost.
Skirting and architrave (per linear m)
What's included
Includes prep, fill, 2 coats. Tight angles and detailed mouldings cost more.
Full 3-bed house interior
What's included
All walls, ceilings, trim. 5-7 day job for a 2-painter team. Premium finishes add 30-50%.
Full single-storey house exterior
What's included
Includes prep, primer, 2 top coats. Render repairs and wood replacement priced separately.
Roof paint (sheet metal, per sqm)
What's included
Includes prep, primer, top coat. Tile roofs need specialist coating systems.
Adelaide quote factors
What to factor into your Adelaide painter quote
Local context that should shape what you quote as a painter in Adelaide. Mediterranean, among Australia's driest capitals. Hot dry summers (Dec-Feb, frequent 35°C+, sustained heatwaves 40°C+), mild winters (June-Aug, rarely below 5°C, occasional Adelaide Hills frost), low-medium rainfall (~530mm/year, mostly winter). Dry summer bushfire risk in Adelaide Hills (Stirling, Aldgate, Crafers, Bridgewater).
CBS SA builder licence over A$12k
No standalone state painting licence in SA, but any painting job over A$17,150 (combined materials + labour) falls under CBS SA builder licence rules. State 'CBS SA builder licence or partnered builder for jobs over A$17,150' on every quote.
Burnside + Walkerville heritage repaint tier
Burnside (5066), Walkerville (5081), Medindie (5081), Unley Park (5061), North Adelaide (5006), and Glenelg (5045) heritage villa repaints command A$64-A$110/hour or A$745-A$885/day, 30-50% above standard Adelaide. Sandstone-and-render facade repaints with Dulux Weathershield, Haymes, or Resene at premium spec.
Lead-paint compliance in pre-1970 housing
Pre-1970 Adelaide villas and bungalows often have lead-paint layers. Quote lead-paint testing (A$315-A$645 per home) and SafeWork SA-compliant lead-paint removal (A$64-A$135/sqm) as separate lines on every pre-1970 callout. Non-compliant lead work is a SafeWork SA prosecution risk.
GST 10% line item
Painting businesses turning over A$107,150+ must register for GST. Show GST as a separate 10% line, state ABN on every quote and invoice. Heritage repaints push annual turnover quickly past the threshold; review quarterly.
Mediterranean climate exterior prep
Adelaide's dry hot summers (35-40°C+ sustained) drive exterior paint UV degradation. Quote pre-painting pressure-wash (A$400-A$1,210 per home) plus premium UV-stable exterior systems (Dulux Weathershield, Haymes Solashield, Resene X-200) on every exterior repaint. State '2 coats minimum' and brand spec on every quote.
Tract new-construction volume
Salisbury, Elizabeth, Munno Para, Onkaparinga, Christies Beach drive volume. Quote production-builder painting at A$40-A$64/sqm interior, A$54-A$93/sqm exterior at builder portfolio rates. Build relationships with 5-10 production builders (Metricon, Simonds, Hickinbotham).
Sample quote
A real Adelaide painter quote you can copy
3-bedroom interior repaint, walls + ceilings + trim, premium finish. Replace the line items and rates with your own; the structure stays.
Prep (sand, fill, prime patches) across 180sqm wall area
Wall paint (2 coats, Dulux Wash & Wear Low Sheen, customer choice colours x3)
Ceiling paint (2 coats, white flat, 95sqm)
Skirting and architrave (240 linear m, 2 coats enamel)
Doors (8 doors, both sides, prep + 2 coats enamel)
Masking, drop sheets, daily site clean
FAQ
Adelaide painter pricing questions, answered
Common questions about painter pricing in Adelaide, with answers framed for tradies pricing their own work.
Interior 2-coat: A$40-A$64/sqm for standard Adelaide (Norwood, Prospect, Parkside, Goodwood), A$64-A$110/sqm for premium (Burnside, Walkerville, Unley, Hyde Park, Toorak Gardens, North Adelaide). Exterior A$54-A$135/sqm depending on substrate (render, sandstone, weatherboard). Heritage hand-painted detail A$120-A$215/hour. State '2 coats minimum' and brand spec on every quote.
No standalone painting licence in SA, but any painting job over A$17,150 (combined materials + labour) falls under CBS SA builder licence rules. Partner with a CBS SA-licensed builder for larger work, or hold a CBS SA builder licence yourself. State this on every quote.
Yes, on every pre-1970 Adelaide callout. Pre-1970 villas and bungalows often have lead-paint layers. Quote lead-paint testing (A$315-A$645 per home) and SafeWork SA-compliant lead-paint removal (A$64-A$135/sqm) as separate lines. Non-compliant lead work is a SafeWork SA prosecution risk.
If you turn over A$107,150+ per year, register for GST and add 10% as a separate line. Show ABN on every quote and invoice. Heritage repaints push annual turnover quickly past the threshold; review your turnover quarterly.
Yes, on every Adelaide exterior repaint. Dry hot summers (35-40°C+ sustained, frequent heatwaves) drive UV degradation of standard paint. Quote pre-painting pressure-wash (A$400-A$1,210 per home) plus premium UV-stable systems (Dulux Weathershield, Haymes Solashield, Resene X-200). State '2 coats minimum' and brand spec on every quote.
Hourly rates are $50 to $115 in the US, £22-55 in the UK, A$71-100 in Australia, R150-450 in South Africa, and C$50-85 in Canada. Most painters prefer to quote per square metre or per room because it is more transparent and avoids scope-creep disputes.
The big variables are coat count, paint grade, and how much prep is included. A 'cheap' quote is usually one coat of builder's-grade paint over no prep. A premium quote is two coats of washable paint over proper prep. Compare what is in the line items, not just the total.
A 3-bedroom interior with a 2-painter team is 5-7 working days for walls, ceilings, and trim. Furniture-out is faster (4-5 days); furniture-in adds 1-2 days for masking and movement.
Usually no. Painters buy paint at trade pricing 15-30% below retail and pass some of that on. Bringing your own paint also voids most coverage warranties. The exception is if you want a specific designer brand the painter cannot source.
A 4L tin covers around 30-40sqm in one coat for smooth walls, less for textured or porous surfaces. Always buy enough for 2 coats plus 10% for touch-ups. Your painter should quote the total litres needed on the quote.
Keep going
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The full international pricing guide, ready-to-send templates, and the main painters page.
Full painter pricing guide
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