Most Australian plumbers charge roughly $90 to $150 an hour plus GST for standard work, with emergency and after-hours jobs going higher, often $150 to $250 an hour or more. But a market range is only a sanity check. The right rate is the one built from your own costs, licensing and the days you can actually bill, which is usually higher than the figure you would guess.
Plumbing sits at the higher end of trade rates for good reason: it is licensed, the insurance and compliance load is heavy, and a mistake is expensive. Here is how to land on your number.
Typical plumber rates in Australia
Use these as a reality check only. Real rates swing with location, demand, experience and how specialised the work is. All figures exclude GST:
- Standard hourly work: roughly $90 to $150 an hour
- Call-out fee: often $60 to $120 just to attend
- After-hours and weekend work: typically 1.5x to 2x your standard rate
- Emergency call-outs (burst pipes, blocked sewers): roughly $150 to $250 an hour and up
- Specialised work (gas fitting, backflow, commercial): often $150 an hour and up
If your own rate lands well below these, you are probably undercounting your costs or your billable days.
Why "the going rate" is a trap
The plumber you are copying might have a paid-off ute, work from home, and bill more days than you. Their costs are not your costs. Match their rate without matching their cost base and you take home less for the same work. Build your own rate first, then check it against the ranges above.
How to build your real hourly rate
- Find your day rate. Add your target pre-tax income to your yearly overheads (insurance, licence and registration, vehicle, fuel, tools, phone, software, accounting), then divide by your billable days. Most sole traders bill around 200 days a year, not 260. The full method is in working out your true day rate.
- Divide by billable hours per day. You might be out eight hours, but quoting, travel and admin eat into that. If you bill six hours, divide by six.
- Add GST if registered. Add 10 percent on top when you quote. The GST is not yours; it goes to the ATO.
The free Charge-Out Rate Calculator runs this for you, including super and a profit margin, so you get a number you can defend in under a minute.
Don't forget call-outs and minimums
A bare hourly rate undersells you. Most established plumbers also charge a call-out fee to cover travel and unbilled time, and a minimum charge so a 20-minute job still covers your costs. Make both clear before you arrive, and put them on the quote so the invoice holds no surprises.
Charge for the whole business
Your hourly rate has to carry the licence, the gear, the insurance, the quoting, the admin, your super and the quiet weeks. Price for all of it once, sanity-check it against the ranges above, and you stop leaking money on every job. For the broader picture across trades, see how much a tradie should charge per hour.
This is general information, not financial advice. Your costs, licensing and tax position will change the numbers. For tax matters, check the ATO website or a registered tax agent.