How do I price a painting job so I'm not working for nothing?

Price a painting job by calculating your true hourly cost, estimating prep honestly (50 to 70% of total labour on repaints), adding materials with a handling margin, then marking up 30 to 50% so the business profits after overheads. Most painters underquote because they forget to price prep, travel, quoting time and the jobs they did not win. For the full startup checklist (licensing, insurance, registration), see our guide to starting a painting business in Australia.

Updated 13/09/2026.

Why does prep time wreck most painting quotes?

On repaints, prep (scraping, sanding, filling, masking, washing) typically consumes 50 to 70% of total labour hours (industry rule of thumb, varies by substrate condition). A new-build with clean plasterboard might be 20% prep (minimal filling and sanding on new surfaces). A 1970s weatherboard exterior with peeling oil-based paint could be 80% prep (worst-case estimate for deteriorated substrates). For a closer look at how repaints differ from new builds in practice, see our guide to quoting repaints vs new builds. The rolling is the quick part.

If your quote only prices the hours with a roller or brush in hand, you are giving away the hardest, slowest part of the job for free. Walk the job, note every surface that needs filling, sanding or scraping, and price the prep as its own line in your estimate. Three common prep traps:

• Peeling paint over old oil-based coats. You cannot just paint over it. Scraping and sanding back to a stable edge adds hours.
• Water damage staining. The stain bleeds through standard acrylic. You need a stain-blocking primer coat, which adds material cost and a full extra pass.
• Masking around detailed trim and cornices. A room with ornate cornices, architraves and skirting boards takes three times longer to mask than a room with square-set ceilings and simple trim.

How do I build a per-square-metre rate card?

Quoting by room count hides the real cost of different surfaces. Two rooms can differ by hundreds of square metres of wall and ceiling. A rate card prices by surface type and condition, so every quote is consistent and defensible.

Build your rate card from your own completed jobs. For each surface type, record:

1. Total square metres painted.
2. Total hours spent (including prep, not just coating).
3. Total material cost (paint, primer, filler, consumables).
4. Your hourly labour cost (base wage plus super at 12% of ordinary time earnings¹, workers comp, vehicle, tools).
5. Divide total cost by total square metres. That is your cost rate. Add your markup (30 to 50%) to get your quote rate.

Directional ranges for residential painting in Australia (these vary by condition, coating system, access and location, so build your own):

These are directional estimates only. Your actual rate depends on your labour cost, your speed, your overheads and the specific job conditions. For a guide on working out what to charge per hour as a tradie, see our hourly rate guide.

What materials cost should I include beyond the paint?

The paint tins are the obvious cost. The less obvious costs are the consumables that add up over every job:

• Masking tape and plastic. A full interior repaint can use $50 to $100 in tape alone (directional, varies by room count and detail level).
• Sandpaper, sanding pads and sanding discs. Especially on exterior repaints where you burn through grits.
• Filler, caulk and sealant. Every crack, nail hole and gap eats filler.
• Brushes, roller sleeves, roller frames. Some painters reuse; others use fresh sleeves per job for a clean finish. Either way, price the replacement cycle.
• Drop sheets. Canvas sheets wear out. Plastic sheets are single use.
• Primer and stain blocker. Not every surface needs it, but when it does, it is a full extra coat of product and labour.

Add a handling margin of 10 to 15% on top of your total materials cost (covers ordering, pickup, returns and waste, directional). This covers the time you spend measuring, ordering, picking up from the paint shop, loading, unloading and returning unused tins.

How much markup makes a painting business sustainable?

Specialty trade contractors in Australia typically operate on gross margins of 15 to 25%, with best-in-class operators above 25%². For a sole-trader painter, a markup of 30 to 50% on your total job cost (labour plus materials) lands you in that healthy band once overheads are paid.

Your overheads include everything that is not directly on a job: vehicle costs, insurance (public liability, income protection, workers comp), accounting fees, phone, software, marketing, and the time you spend quoting, invoicing and chasing payments. These are real costs your markup needs to carry.

If your gross margin sits below 15% (the low end of the specialty trade contractor range, source: The Access Group, directional), something in your pricing is leaking. The most common leak for painters: underestimating prep hours on repaints. The second most common: not pricing the jobs you quoted and did not win. If you win one in three quotes, the cost of the two losing quotes needs to be spread across the one you won.

What should a painting quote look like?

Written contracts protect both sides. In states with building-work thresholds, a written contract is a licensing requirement above the threshold. "A person must not contract to do, or advertise that they do, residential building work valued at $5,000 or more unless they hold the appropriate licence." (NSW Fair Trading, Home building licences.)

A clear quote should include:

• Scope of works. Which rooms or surfaces, described by name and location (not just "interior repaint").
• Surface preparation method. What prep you will do (wash, sand, fill, scrape, prime) and what you will not (removing wallpaper, repairing plaster damage beyond minor filling).
• Products. Brand and product name for undercoat and topcoat, number of coats.
• Colours. Named colours with codes, or "colours to be selected by client before commencement".
• Exclusions. What the quote does not cover (lead paint removal, asbestos, structural repairs, moving furniture, access equipment if the customer is providing it).
• Price. Total price including GST if applicable. Under the Australian Consumer Law, a quote is a fixed price.
• Validity. "This quote is valid for 30 days from the date of issue. Materials prices may be requoted after this period."
• Variations clause. "Any work outside this scope will be quoted separately and agreed in writing before it proceeds."

A quote this detailed takes 15 minutes longer to write and saves hours of arguments on site. For tips on quoting faster without losing detail, see our guide on quoting jobs faster so leads do not go cold.

How do I track whether my pricing is actually working?

The only way to know your pricing is right is to compare your quotes to your actual costs on completed jobs. After ten jobs, review:

• Quoted hours vs actual hours. Consistently going over means your time estimates are too tight, usually on prep.
• Quoted materials vs actual materials. Consistently under means you are forgetting consumables or underestimating coverage rates.
• Quote win rate. Winning every quote means you are probably too cheap. A win rate of 30 to 50% is a healthy range for residential painting (directional, varies by market and job type), it means your price reflects quality without undercutting yourself.
• Job profitability. Some job types consistently make money (new builds, body corporate repaints) and some consistently lose it (small patch-ups, colour consults that turn into full repaints). Once you see the pattern, you can price the loss-makers higher or stop quoting them.

Job management software like ServiceM8, Tradify or Fergus tracks quoted vs actual automatically. If you are still using a spreadsheet, that works too, the key is recording the numbers, not the tool. For a broader look at whether your business is actually making money on each job, see our guide on knowing if you are making money on each job.

What compliance costs should my painting pricing cover?

Painting is not separately licensed in most states, but work above the building-work threshold needs a builder or trade-contractor licence. Check with your state authority before advertising.

Costs your pricing needs to recover:

• Public liability insurance. $10M to $20M cover is standard for trade contractors (directional, check with your insurer). Without it, most builders and body corporates will not let you on site.
• Workers compensation insurance. Mandatory if you employ anyone, even one apprentice. Budget 3 to 5% of wages for painting (directional, varies by state, insurer and claims history).
• Superannuation. 12% of ordinary time earnings¹ for every employee. From 01/07/2026, Payday Super requires SG to be paid each payday, not quarterly.
• TPAR reporting. Taxable Payments Annual Report (TPAR) is mandatory for businesses primarily in building and construction that pay contractors, due 28 August each year³. If you use subcontract painters, your bookkeeping needs to capture each subcontractor's ABN and total paid.
• Lead paint obligations. Pre-1970 homes may have lead paint. AS 4361.2 sets the standard for managing lead paint in residential properties. If you disturb lead paint without following the standard, you carry a WHS liability. Price lead-paint testing and containment as a separate line item when quoting older homes.

For more on getting leads and growing a painting business in Australia, see our guide on getting more painting jobs when the phone goes quiet.