How much does plastering cost in Brisbane?
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A plasterer in Brisbane charges $50–$120 an hour, with $77 the usual figure, or $350–$850 for a full day on site. Hanging and setting new plasterboard is priced per square metre of wall or ceiling at $25–$65, labour only, with the board itself on top. Re-skimming the walls of one room is $600–$2,500, and a new ceiling in a room of ordinary size $800–$3,000. To price a whole house, count rooms, hallway and ceilings and multiply, remembering that 41.1% of Brisbane homes have four bedrooms or more (ABS 2021 Census), so the room count climbs quickly.
Comparing cities, or after the Australia-wide picture? See the national guide: Plastering cost in Australia.
Detailed Pricing — Plastering Cost in Brisbane 2026
| Service | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plastering (hourly rate) | $50/hr | $77 | $120 |
| Plasterboard / Gyprock, labour (per sqm) | $25/sqm | $41 | $65 |
| Patch repair (small hole) | $150per job | $230 | $280 |
| Crack repair (per crack, filled and set ready for paint) | $80per job | $170 | $300 |
| Single room re-skim (walls) | $600total | $1,200 | $2,500 |
| Ceiling replacement (single room, 12–16 m²: strip-out, new plasterboard, set ready for paint) | $800total | $1,900 | $3,000 |
| Cornice installation (per linear metre) | $10/lm | $15 | $50 |
| Water damage repair | $300per job | $700 | $1,500 |
| Skim coat (per sqm) | $15/sqm | $28 | $50 |
| New stud wall (non-load-bearing, framed, plasterboard both sides, set ready for paint; per m² of wall face) | $60/sqm | $95 | $150 |
| Acoustic / soundproof plasterboard (per sqm) | $35/sqm | $55 | $85 |
| Full day plastering | $350per day | $550 | $850 |
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Get Brisbane quotes →Prices include GST. Based on Brisbane metro area, October 2026. Outer suburbs may vary.
Plasterer rates in Brisbane (2026): per day, per m² and common jobs
A plasterer in Brisbane charges $350–$850 a day, with $550 typical, and prices most jobs per square metre: $25–$65/m² to hang and set plasterboard (Gyprock) and $15–$50/m² for a skim coat over existing walls. As whole jobs, replastering the walls of a single room is $600–$2,500, replacing a room's ceiling $800–$3,000, patching a small hole $150–$280 and new cornice $10–$50 per metre. Painting is a separate trade and price.
| Job | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plasterboard / Gyprock (per m²) | $25/m² | $41 | $65 |
| Skim coat (per m²) | $15/m² | $28 | $50 |
| Full day plastering | $350/day | $550 | $850 |
| Single room re-skim (walls) | $600 | $1,200 | $2,500 |
| Ceiling replacement (single room, 12–16 m²: strip-out, new plasterboard, set ready for paint) | $800 | $1,900 | $3,000 |
| Patch repair (small hole) | $150 | $230 | $280 |
| Cornice installation (per m) | $10/m | $15 | $50 |
How plasterers in Brisbane charge: the day rate ($350–$850) is what sits behind the per-square-metre prices; a plasterer quotes the job from the area and the finish rather than the hours. Gyprocking a whole house is the per-m² rate ($25–$65/m²) across every wall and ceiling, plus cornice; a skim coat ($15–$50/m²) is the cheaper way to get old, sound walls smooth again.
What moves a plastering quote in Brisbane:
- Area and height: per-metre rates assume standard 2.4–2.7 m walls; high ceilings and stairwells need platforms.
- Finish level: a level 4 finish is the base for painting; level 5 for gloss paint or raking light costs more.
- New board or repair: hanging new plasterboard is faster per metre than patching and blending into old walls.
- Cornice and details: cornices, bulkheads and curved walls are priced per metre on top.
- Access and clearing: an empty room plasters faster than one the plasterer works around.
For a plastering quote in Brisbane that compares, give the square metres of wall and ceiling, the finish level and whether the old plaster has to come off.
What Affects Plastering Costs in Brisbane
Gyprocking a whole house
Brisbane homes run large: 36.1% have three bedrooms and 41.1% four or more, and the average is 3.3 bedrooms against 3.1 nationally (ABS 2021 Census). A plasterer prices a house from the square metres of wall and ceiling to be sheeted, at $25–$65, and the day rate of $350–$850 is a useful cross-check on how long they expect to be there. Ask for the sheet count behind the number.
Ceilings cost more than walls
Board goes up overhead on a lifter or props, the joints are harder to flush out cleanly, and every window lights the finish from the side, so a ceiling carries a higher rate than the wall below it. A full replacement in one room is $800–$3,000. Cornice is a separate line at $10–$50 per metre; quotes that leave it out only look cheaper.
Summer storms and stained ceilings
February is Brisbane's wettest month at 176.1 mm, and December, January and March each pass 135 mm (BOM averages). The brown ring on a ceiling after a storm is water-damaged board, and it is replaced, not patched: $300–$1,500 for the repair itself, more if the whole ceiling has sagged. Mould gets treated first, and the roof or flashing leak gets fixed before new board goes up, or you pay twice.
Humidity slows the setting
Brisbane is NCC climate zone 2, warm humid summer, and January nights average 21.7 °C with a 30.4 °C daytime maximum (BOM averages). Joint compound dries by evaporation, so three coats that cure overnight in September, the driest month at 28.6 mm, can need an extra day between coats in a muggy January. Good plasterers build that into the program rather than sanding a coat that is still soft underneath.
The QBCC line at $3,300
In Queensland building work valued at $3,300 or more must be done under a QBCC licence, and plastering drywall is its own licence class, covering non-loadbearing partition frames, fixing plasterboard and cornices and finishing the joints (QBCC). Below $3,300 a contractor can work unlicensed but must say so in their advertising. A single-room re-skim at $600–$2,500 can sit either side of that line, so ask.
Renters, holes and cracks
More than a third of Brisbane households rent, 35.1% (ABS 2021 Census), and the small jobs are theirs: a patched hole is $150–$280 and a crack filled and set ready for paint $80–$300. Plasterers charge a minimum call-out, so bundle every mark in the house into one visit; a $15–$50 skim over a wall that is more patch than paint adds little.
New walls and quieter ones
Framing a new non-loadbearing wall, sheeting both faces and setting it ready for paint is $60–$150 per square metre of wall face. For the 11.4% of Brisbane dwellings that are semi-detached or townhouses (ABS 2021 Census), acoustic plasterboard on the shared wall is $35–$85, and the denser board is worth the gap over standard sheet.
How to Save Money on Plastering Cost in Brisbane
Plastering Cost in Brisbane by Room Size
Say a living room in Brisbane has a 16 square metre ceiling. Sheeting that area alone at $25–$65 a square metre is $400–$1,040, while the single-room ceiling row runs $800–$3,000 because it also covers the strip-out and a paint-ready set. The quote should say which of the two it is pricing.
What moves a room that size in Brisbane: a lifter or props for the overhead sheets, a window that lights the ceiling from the side and shows every joint, and a leak behind a storm stain, which puts water damage repair at $300–$1,500 ahead of new board. Larger homes mean more rooms of this size, so ask for each line to be repeated room by room.
Plastering Cost in Brisbane: What the Quote Should Include
Brisbane homes run large, so a plastering quote can cover a lot of sheet. Ask for it to show the sheet count and the wall and ceiling area behind each line, so every figure can be read against the rows on this page.
- A sheet count for the job, with the wall and ceiling area it comes from in square metres, so the area behind the price can be checked.
- Ceiling work on a separate line from the walls, with the lifter or props for overhead sheets noted, at $800–$3,000 for a single room.
- Mould treated and the leak behind a storm stain fixed before new board, with water damage repair at $300–$1,500 shown on its own.
- Sheeting labour at $25–$65 a square metre, with the sheets, screws and compound listed as supplied by the plasterer or left to you.
- Cornice measured around each room in lineal metres at $10–$50 a metre and kept as a line of its own, so a total without it stands out.
- One minimum call-out charge for the small marks, with each hole at $150–$280 and each crack at $80–$300 listed beneath it.
- For a semi-detached home or townhouse, acoustic board on the shared wall at $35–$85 a square metre, with its area stated.
- A new partition priced per square metre of wall face at $60–$150, with both faces sheeted and set ready for paint.
- Whether return visits for slow coats in a humid summer are in the price, plus start and finish dates, payment stages, GST and the warranty.
Frequently Asked Questions — Plastering Cost in Brisbane
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 →