How much does landscaping cost in Townsville?
Turf prices are the most common landscaping question in Townsville, and natural grass supplied and laid costs $16–$43 a square metre here, typically $30. A landscaper working by the hour charges $59–$120. For a whole yard, a basic backyard makeover of lawn, beds and simple paving is $5,400–$16,200, and landscaping a new house from scratch $16,200–$64,800. Blocks here lean large: 80.1% of dwellings are separate houses and 39.4% have four or more bedrooms (ABS 2021 Census), so measure the lawn and garden area before comparing per-metre quotes. Every figure includes GST.
Comparing cities, or after the Australia-wide picture? See the national guide: Landscaping cost in Australia.
Detailed Pricing — Landscaping Cost in Townsville 2026
| Service | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landscaper (hourly rate) | $59/hr | $86 | $120 |
| Garden design / plan | $865per plan | $2,150 | $5,400 |
| Natural turf — supply & lay | $16/sqm | $30 | $43 |
| Synthetic turf — supply & install | $54/sqm | $81 | $130 |
| Retaining wall (timber sleeper) | $160/sqm | $325 | $540 |
| Retaining wall (concrete sleeper) | $270/sqm | $485 | $755 |
| Garden bed, new (soil prep, edging, plants + mulch) | $54/sqm | $110 | $195 |
| Irrigation system (automatic, multi-zone, front & back) | $2,700total | $4,325 | $6,500 |
| Paving / pavers | $65/sqm | $110 | $175 |
| Decking (hardwood) | $325/sqm | $540 | $650 |
| Basic backyard makeover | $5,400total | $10,800 | $16,200 |
| Full landscape (new home) | $16,200total | $43,200 | $64,800 |
| Irrigation — drip system, single zone for garden beds (incl. tap timer) | $865total | $1,500 | $2,375 |
| Bobcat or mini excavator with operator (per hour) | $97/hr | $120 | $175 |
| Green waste removal (one trailer or ute load) | $130total | $205 | $345 |
| Mulch, supplied and spread (per sqm, about 75 mm) | $9/sqm | $15 | $26 |
| Garden soil / topsoil, supplied and delivered (per cubic metre) | $76per cubic metre | $110 | $160 |
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Get Townsville quotes →Prices include GST. Based on Townsville metro area, October 2026. Outer suburbs may vary.
How Landscaping Costs Vary Across Townsville
Landscaping in Townsville is priced as one city range. Natural turf is $16–$43 per sqm and synthetic $54–$130; retaining in timber sleepers $160–$540. 78.8% of Townsville Aero’s annual rain falls from December to March (Bureau of Meteorology), so plant and lay turf with the wet season in mind.
Townsville landscaping: turf with irrigation, a design plan and garden beds, and sleeper walls
New turf with irrigation in Townsville
Natural turf, supplied and laid, is $16–$43 a square metre in our Townsville table, so 80 square metres comes to $2,400 at the typical price. An irrigation system is $2,700–$6,500.
A design plan and garden beds in Townsville
A garden design or plan is $865–$5,400 in our Townsville table. Planted and mulched garden beds are $54–$195 a square metre, or $2,200 for 20 square metres at the typical price.
Timber or concrete sleeper walls in a Townsville garden
A timber sleeper retaining wall is $160–$540 a square metre of wall in our Townsville table and a concrete sleeper wall $270–$755; at the typical prices concrete is $160 more a square metre.
These answers use the prices in the table on this page.
What Affects Landscaping Costs in Townsville
Wet season, dry season
Townsville Aero averages 312.4 mm of rain in February and only 9.9 mm in September (BOM averages). Excavation, walls and paving go best in the dry months, when a bobcat with operator at $97–$175 an hour is not standing in mud. New turf roots fastest with warmth and moisture, so lay it toward the end of the dry with watering planned around the council roster.
Sprinkler days and hours
Townsville City Council keeps permanent water conservation measures in place. Sprinklers may run only between 5pm and 8am, Tuesday to Sunday, with even-numbered properties watering on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and odd-numbered ones on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday; no sprinkler watering is allowed on Mondays. Automatic irrigation across several zones costs $2,700–$6,500, so have the controller set to your roster.
Cyclone country and garden structures
BOM counts November to April as cyclone season, and Townsville sits in Wind Region C, where buildings are designed for a Category 4 cyclone. That reaches into the garden: the Queensland exemption that lets a small, low, unroofed deck or similar structure skip building approval does not apply in Wind Region C. Hardwood decking costs $325–$650 a square metre before any certifier's fees.
Retaining walls on the block
A Queensland retaining wall needs no building approval when the wall and the soil it holds total no more than 1 m, no driveway or building loads the ground above it, and it stands at least 1.5 m from the house or another wall. Timber sleeper walls come in at $160–$540 per square metre; concrete sleepers cost more, $270–$755, but will not rot through repeated wet seasons.
QBCC licence threshold
Queensland requires a QBCC licence for building work valued at $3,300 or more, and a contractor without one must state in their ads that they only take work under that value. Even the bottom of the makeover band, $5,400, is past that line, so check the licence on the QBCC register before paying a deposit for walls, paving or a deck.
Preparing a rental yard
Renting is common in Townsville, with 38.3% of households in rented homes against 30.6% nationally (ABS 2021 Census). An owner readying a rental may want a yard that tenants can keep tidy with little effort: synthetic turf at $54–$130 a square metre needs no mowing or watering, and mulch spread at about 75 mm, $9–$26 a square metre, keeps weeds down in the beds.
Soil, beds and the green waste
Topsoil, supplied and delivered, costs $76–$160 a cubic metre, and a new bed with soil preparation, edging, plants and mulch runs $54–$195 a square metre. An overgrown yard can fill several trailers at $130–$345 a load, and on a big block a design at $865–$5,400 keeps the stages in order.
How to Save Money on Landscaping Cost in Townsville
Landscaping Cost in Townsville by Yard Size
A 100 square metre yard in North Ward might carry 55 square metres of natural turf, 30 of paving and 15 of garden bed. With turf at $16–$43, paving at $65–$175 and beds at $54–$195, each a square metre, the working gives $3,640–$10,540, with the makeover row of $5,400–$16,200 as the whole-yard check.
What moves a job of that size in Townsville is the weather calendar. Digging, walls and paving suit the dry months, so machine hours at $97–$175 an hour are booked then, and turf is laid late in the dry so storms help it root. Where a garden needs levelling, a sleeper wall at $160–$540 a square metre of face joins the job.
Landscaping Cost in Townsville: What the Quote Should Include
Townsville has a wet season that closes the block to machines and a dry season that opens it, so a landscaping quote should date each kind of work. Digging, walls and paving suit the dry months, and the quote should show what happens if rain arrives mid-job.
- Excavation with an operator at $97–$175 an hour, with the hours estimated and booked for the dry months, when a machine is not standing in mud.
- Walls by face area, timber at $160–$540 a square metre or concrete at $270–$755 a square metre, with footings and drainage listed.
- Paving at $65–$175 a square metre with the area and base, dated for the dry months as well.
- Turf for tropical heat, natural at $16–$43 a square metre with the variety named, and a laying date set for the close of the dry season.
- Irrigation as its own line, a multi-zone system at $2,700–$6,500 or a drip zone at $865–$2,375, with the zones planned around the watering roster.
- Beds at $54–$195 a square metre and mulch at $9–$26 a square metre, with plants listed by species and count.
- Storm-season tidying, such as pruning palms and shrubs near the house, shown as a line if the landscaper includes it.
- Green waste at $130–$345 a load, soil at $76–$160, and exclusions written down.
- Warranty terms, dates that allow for rain days, payment stages and GST.
Frequently Asked Questions — Landscaping Cost in Townsville
Our Methodology
These are independent estimates from public cost guides, marketplaces and industry rate data, and no tradesperson can influence them, so always get a few quotes. Last reviewed October 2026. Read our full methodology →