Updated November 2026·Independently researched·12 min read
Commercial painting in Sydney is priced $15-$45/m2
per m² of wall and ceiling area, with surface prep, access and after-hours work priced separately
For a Chatswood office floor in Sydney, an interior repaint runs $20–$45 per m², with $30 typical. If the work runs after hours, a two-painter crew adds a loading of $250–$900 per day, and wash, sand, patch and prime preparation is $8–$25 per m² extra.
+4.1%Commercial painting costs in Sydney are up around 4.1% over the past year, re-verified against 90+ sources in November 2026.Year on year
Typical Office Repaint in Sydney
$30/m2
interior, per m² of wall area, two coats supplied & applied
Interior office repaint
$20-$45/m2
Exterior facade repaint
$40-$90/m2
Warehouse / industrial coating
$15-$45/m2
$20/m2$30/m2$45/m2
In Sydney, most office, retail and warehouse painting comes to $15–$45 per m² of wall and ceiling. After-hours scheduling, loading dock and lift bookings, and the patching left behind by a departing tenant are what usually decide where a quote sits.
Much of the work is office repaints in towers across the CBD, North Sydney, Parramatta and Macquarie Park, scheduled for nights and weekends while tenants keep working. Inner-city warehouse conversions in Surry Hills and Alexandria bring old brick and steel, coastal buildings at Bondi and Manly face salt spray, and the western industrial estates are priced on wall, cladding and floor areas.
Exposed steel in a fit-out may carry intumescent coating, quoted at $45–$130 per m². Portfolio owners can lock in a repaint cycle worth $2,000–$30,000 per project, and small touch-ups are billed by time, $60–$95 an hour. All figures include GST.
Quick answerCommercial painting in Sydney is priced per square metre and varies widely by substrate, surface prep, access height and whether work runs after hours. Verified bands are $15-$45/m2. Get free Sydney quotes →
Commercial Painting Prices in Sydney 2026: Cost Table, Price List and Hourly Rates
Service
Low
Typical
High
Colour and spec consultation (inspection usually free)
$200per job
$350
$500
Interior commercial repaint (walls & ceilings)
$20per m²
$30
$45
Exterior commercial repaint (facade & render)
$40per m²
$65
$90
Warehouse & factory wall painting
$15per m²
$30
$45
Structural steel & metalwork repaint (maintenance, in situ)
Tenancy floors in the city and North Sydney are painted after hours, with lift bookings, loading dock slots and building management sign-off on the night roster. Walls and ceilings price at $20–$45 per m², and make-good at lease end is a steady source of work.
Western Sydney logistics sheds
$15–$45 per m²
Distribution centres across Eastern Creek, Erskine Park and Wetherill Park have huge internal wall areas painted at $15–$45 per m² on the warehouse rate. Scale helps the rate, but racking, dust and round-the-clock operations stretch the program.
Beachside strata at Bondi and Manly
$40–$90 per m²
Apartment blocks near the surf take salt spray, wind-driven rain and harsh afternoon sun. Facades and render price at $40–$90 per m², and spalling concrete, cracked render and corroded balustrade fixings are often found once scaffold is up.
Epoxy floors and line marking in Sydney
$30–$55 per m²
Strata basements, loading docks and warehouse floors across Sydney are sealed in epoxy and marked out at $30–$55 per m² of floor on the line marking and epoxy rate. Work in public car parks usually runs at night, and worn aisles are resealed before the lines go back down.
What Sydney Commercial Painting Jobs Actually Cost
After-hours repaint of a Parramatta office floor
$34,000–$79,200 total
About 1,600 m² of walls and ceilings on a large open-plan floor. Coats at $20–$45 per m², plus eight nights of after-hours loading at $250–$900 a day, so staff walk into a finished section each morning.
Bondi strata facade with salt-damaged render
$67,400–$169,500 total
Roughly 1,300 m² of render on a five-storey block a short walk from the beach. Washing and render patching at $8–$25 per m², coats at $40–$90 per m², and ten days of scaffold at $500–$2,000 a day.
Erskine Park distribution centre walls
$80,000–$245,000 total
About 5,000 m² of tilt-panel and block walls inside a large western Sydney logistics shed. Painted at $15–$45 per m², with ten days of boom lift at $500–$2,000 a day for walls above the racking, staged by aisle.
Surry Hills warehouse conversion interior
$19,600–$49,000 total
A brick warehouse turned into a creative studio, with about 700 m² of walls and exposed ceiling. Cleaning, patching and sealing old brick at $8–$25 per m², then coats at $20–$45 per m² on the interior rate.
Protective recoat of steel near Port Botany
$42,500–$122,000 total
About 800 m² of structural steel, stairs and platforms at a port-side facility, blasted and recoated with a protective system at $50–$140 per m². Five days of lift access at $500–$2,000 a day reach the upper levels.
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Sydney commercial painting is driven by access, traffic and height as much as by paint. CBD and North Sydney towers, Parramatta offices, Surry Hills and Alexandria warehouse conversions, coastal buildings in Bondi and Manly, and industrial estates in western Sydney each bring different conditions.
Access and traffic
CBD sites need booked loading docks, parking and sometimes footpath or lane closures for scaffold. These costs add up before any painting begins, and traffic cuts daily output.
High-rise facades
Towers need swing stages, rope access or elevated platforms. Exterior repaints run $40–$90 per m², with height and access pushing jobs to the top end.
Office painting
Offices in the CBD and Parramatta often repaint after hours or floor by floor while staff remain. Interior repaints run $20–$45 per m², with low-odour paints and protection adding time.
Coastal salt
Buildings in Bondi, Manly and other beachside suburbs face salt air that corrodes metal and breaks down paint. Marine-grade coatings and extra coats raise costs.
Industrial buildings
Warehouses in western Sydney need coatings for tilt-up walls, steel and cladding. Warehouse wall painting runs $15–$45 per m², with high walls needing platforms.
Fire-rated coatings
Exposed steel in new and refurbished buildings may need intumescent coatings. These run $45–$130 per m², with film thickness and inspection setting the rate.
How to Control Commercial Painting Costs in Sydney
1
Group sites by region so crews are not crossing Sydney daily, and ask whether tolls, parking and travel between the west and the eastern suburbs are in the price.
2
Schedule exterior cladding work on western Sydney sheds outside midsummer, when heat around Penrith and Eastern Creek flash-dries coatings on steel.
3
Check whether a sandstone or Victorian building in The Rocks, Pyrmont or Surry Hills is heritage-listed before choosing coatings, so the scope is set correctly.
4
Strata committees in Mosman, Manly and Bondi can line a facade repaint up with the scheme's capital works fund plan, staging elevations over several years at $2,000–$30,000 per project.
5
For lease-end make-good on CBD floors, get the landlord's paint specification before asking for quotes, so the crew prices the right products and colours.
Commercial painting cost by area in Sydney
Quick answerIn Sydney, a commercial interior typically costs $20–$45 per m² of wall and ceiling, and a rendered exterior $40–$90 per m², with $65 per m² typical; prep, access and night loadings are added on top.
Totals follow the measured surface, and Sydney jobs span a single Surry Hills terrace office to logistics sheds in the west with thousands of square metres of panel. Painting 1,000 m² of walls and ceilings on a North Sydney tenancy floor at $20–$45 per m² comes to $20,000–$45,000, before night loadings. Large plain walls in western sheds are painted faster, which keeps their area rate lower.
Harbour and beachside facades climb with salt-damaged render and spalling concrete, while previously painted heritage sandstone needs gentle cleaning and priming at $8–$25 per m². High buildings add swing stages or rope access, and lane closures and dock bookings stretch the program. Sound walls in a modern Parramatta office come in toward the lower figures.
Our Methodology
These are independent, GST-inclusive estimates from commercial contractors, suppliers and rate guides, and no contractor can influence them, so always get several written quotes. Read our full methodology →
Commercial painting cost in Sydney for office repaints and fit-outs
Office painting in Sydney is usually priced per square metre of wall and ceiling. Interior commercial repaints run $20–$45 per m², with $30 per m² typical, and preparation such as patching and sanding after a tenant leaves adds $8–$25 per m². Small touch-ups are often charged at $60–$95 an hour. Larger floors are measured and priced by area, with ceilings, doors and feature walls often listed as separate items.
Most office work is in towers in the CBD, North Sydney and Parramatta, where painting happens after hours or on weekends so floors stay usable. Lift bookings, loading dock times and building management requirements affect scheduling as much as paint choice does. Exposed steel in fit-outs may need intumescent coatings at $45–$130 per m². Outside the towers, office and warehouse combinations in Wetherill Park, Silverwater and Macquarie Park involve large warehouse walls at $15–$45 per m², and exterior facade work on low-rise office buildings costs $40–$90 per m².
Landlords with several floors often set a repaint cycle at $2,000–$30,000 per project, painting floors between tenancies. A good quote for office painting in Sydney should state floor areas, after-hours and weekend rates, protection of carpets and workstations, low-odour paint, lift and dock bookings, and when each floor will be handed back.
What a Compliant Commercial Painting Quote Includes — Cost in Sydney
In Sydney a commercial painting quote should separate CBD tower work, heritage terraces and suburban retail, because inductions, dock bookings and hours shape each differently. These are the items to look for before weighing one price against another.
Square metres per surface and elevation, with the rate per m² beside each line and the measurement method stated
Tower induction time, loading dock bookings and lift protection for CBD and Parramatta offices, shown as included or charged by the hour
Night shifts for trading tenancies in Surry Hills or Bondi, each with its loading, $250–$900 per day
Preparation on its own line with the scope described, $8–$25 per m²
Salt-exposure coating systems for Manly and Mosman waterfront buildings, naming primer, finish product and coats
Weather allowance for east-coast lows, stating whether exterior downtime changes the price or only the dates
Whether GST is included, the payment stages, and who inspects and signs off each floor before the next invoice
Protection of carpet, workstations and glazing, plus removal of paint waste, listed as included or as an extra
Frequently Asked Questions — Commercial Painting Cost in Sydney
How much should I pay for commercial painting in Sydney?
Sydney figures: an interior repaint $20–$45 a square metre; an exterior repaint $40–$90 a square metre; the hourly rate $60–$95 an hour.
What is the hourly rate for commercial painters in Sydney?
Commercial painters in Sydney typically charge $60–$95 per hour, with $75 per hour typical. Hourly billing is mostly used for small or unpredictable work, such as touch-ups after a tenant leaves, patching or minor repairs. Larger jobs, like an office floor in Parramatta or a warehouse conversion in Surry Hills, are better quoted per m² so the total is fixed before work starts.
How much does office painting cost in Sydney?
An interior commercial repaint (walls and ceilings) is $20–$45 a square metre in our Sydney table, typically $30.
What does line painting and epoxy floor coating cost in Sydney?
Line marking and epoxy floor coating in Sydney costs $30–$55 per m², with $40 per m² typical. Warehouses and car parks in Alexandria, Mascot and Wetherill Park often combine a coated floor with marked walkways, loading zones and bays. Grinding, crack filling and the number of colours set where a job lands, and busy sites usually have the work done in sections or overnight.
How much does it cost to repaint the outside of a Sydney office building?
Exterior repainting of facades and render on a Sydney commercial building costs $40–$90 per m², with $65 per m² typical. Low-rise offices in Parramatta or Surry Hills can often be reached with scaffold or a boom lift, while towers in the CBD and North Sydney need swing stages or rope access. Beachside buildings in Bondi and Manly usually take salt washing and rust treatment first, priced as preparation at $8–$25 per m².
What does commercial ceiling painting cost in Sydney, including kitchens?
Sydney painters price commercial ceilings together with interior walls, at $20–$45 per m² and typically $30 per m². Restaurant and cafe kitchens in Surry Hills, Bondi and Manly need grease removal and a stain-blocking primer first, priced as preparation at $8–$25 per m², and the work is usually done while the kitchen is closed. High warehouse ceilings that need a lift sit toward the upper figure.
What do factory painting contractors charge per square metre in Sydney?
Warehouse and factory wall painting in Sydney is $15–$45 per m², with $30 per m² typical, and metal roof or wall cladding is repainted at $20–$50 per m². Tilt-up and block walls in Wetherill Park, Smithfield and Alexandria are rolled or sprayed from scissor lifts, with the rate climbing for tall walls, racking that stays in place and dust control around a working floor. Exposed structural steel inside is a separate line at $15–$45 per m².
How much extra is night painting in a Sydney CBD office building?
Night work in a Sydney office building carries an after-hours loading of $250–$900 a day for a two-painter crew, with $500 a day typical, on top of the interior rate of $20–$45 per m². CBD and North Sydney towers add their own constraints, since booking the lift, the dock and security sign-in all eat into productive hours, so a floor that would take four day shifts may need five or six nights. Ask how many shifts the quote assumes.
What does a repaint maintenance contract cost for Sydney commercial property?
A repaint cycle or maintenance contract in Sydney is $2,000–$30,000 per project, with $8,000 typical. Owners of mixed-use buildings in Surry Hills, strata in Bondi and Manly and business parks around Parramatta use it to spread a repaint over planned stages, one elevation, lobby or vacant tenancy at a time, so the budget is predictable and access is set up once per stage. Every stage carries its own measured quantities and rates, with exteriors at $40–$90 per m².