How much does plastering cost in Melbourne?
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Melbourne plasterers charge $52–$125 an hour, or $26–$68 a square metre to hang and set new plasterboard, and a full day on site comes to $370–$890. Re-skimming the walls of one room is $630–$2,625, a new ceiling in a room of ordinary size $840–$3,150, and a crack or a hole behind a door handle is a small job at $84–$315 or $160–$295. An older solid-brick house with hard plaster walls and a newer townhouse with plasterboard partitions are different jobs, so say which you have before the plasterer prices it. Every figure includes GST.
Comparing cities, or after the Australia-wide picture? See the national guide: Plastering cost in Australia.
Detailed Pricing — Plastering Cost in Melbourne 2026
| Service | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plastering (hourly rate) | $52/hr | $81 | $125 |
| Plasterboard / Gyprock, labour (per sqm) | $26/sqm | $43 | $68 |
| Patch repair (small hole) | $160per job | $240 | $295 |
| Crack repair (per crack, filled and set ready for paint) | $84per job | $180 | $315 |
| Single room re-skim (walls) | $630total | $1,250 | $2,625 |
| Ceiling replacement (single room, 12–16 m²: strip-out, new plasterboard, set ready for paint) | $840total | $2,000 | $3,150 |
| Cornice installation (per linear metre) | $10/lm | $16 | $52 |
| Water damage repair | $315per job | $735 | $1,575 |
| Skim coat (per sqm) | $16/sqm | $29 | $52 |
| New stud wall (non-load-bearing, framed, plasterboard both sides, set ready for paint; per m² of wall face) | $63/sqm | $100 | $160 |
| Acoustic / soundproof plasterboard (per sqm) | $37/sqm | $58 | $89 |
| Full day plastering | $370per day | $580 | $890 |
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Get Melbourne quotes →Prices include GST. Based on Melbourne metro area, October 2026. Outer suburbs may vary.
Melbourne plastering: hourly rates, per square metre and a whole room
How much do plasterers charge per hour in Melbourne?
Plasterers in Melbourne charge $52–$125 an hour, typically $81. A full day is $370–$890, typically $580.
Plastering cost per m² in Melbourne
Per square metre, plasterboard (Gyprock) is $26–$68, a skim coat $16–$52 and acoustic plasterboard $37–$89.
Cost to plaster a room and ceiling in Melbourne
Replastering the walls of a single room is $630–$2,625, typically $1,250. Replacing the ceiling of a single room is $840–$3,150, typically $2,000. Walls and ceiling together come to about $3,250 at the typical prices.
Venetian plaster and whole-house prices
Our Melbourne table has no Venetian plaster row and no whole-house price. Plasterboard is priced by the square metre, at $26–$68, so a whole house needs a measured quote.
These answers use the prices in the table on this page.
How much does a plasterer cost in Melbourne (2026): per m², per day, Gyprock and ceilings
A plasterer in Melbourne charges $370–$890 a day, with $580 typical, and prices most jobs per square metre: $26–$68/m² to hang and set plasterboard (Gyprock) and $16–$52/m² for a skim coat over existing walls. As whole jobs, replastering the walls of a single room is $630–$2,625, replacing a room's ceiling $840–$3,150, patching a small hole $160–$295 and new cornice $10–$52 per metre. Painting is a separate trade and price.
| Job | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plasterboard / Gyprock (per m²) | $26/m² | $43 | $68 |
| Skim coat (per m²) | $16/m² | $29 | $52 |
| Full day plastering | $370/day | $580 | $890 |
| Single room re-skim (walls) | $630 | $1,250 | $2,625 |
| Ceiling replacement (single room, 12–16 m²: strip-out, new plasterboard, set ready for paint) | $840 | $2,000 | $3,150 |
| Patch repair (small hole) | $160 | $240 | $295 |
| Cornice installation (per m) | $10/m | $16 | $52 |
How plasterers in Melbourne charge: the day rate ($370–$890) 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 ($26–$68/m²) across every wall and ceiling, plus cornice; a skim coat ($16–$52/m²) is the cheaper way to get old, sound walls smooth again.
What moves a plastering quote in Melbourne:
- 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 Melbourne 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 Melbourne
By the hour, the metre or the room
Three units turn up on Melbourne plastering quotes. Hourly work is $52–$125, with $81 the usual rate. Sheet work is per square metre at $26–$68, labour only, with the board on top. Cornice is per lineal metre at $10–$52. A room has walls, a ceiling and cornice, so a quote for "the room" should show all three lines.
Three-bedroom houses
The three-bedroom home is Melbourne's most common dwelling, 39.4% of the stock (ABS 2021 Census), and a house that size runs to eight or ten rooms once hallways and ceilings are counted. Plasterers price a whole house by total sheet area, not by room, which is why a sketch with wall heights gets you a tighter number than a bedroom count over the phone.
Townhouses and the shared wall
Semi-detached houses and townhouses make up 16.2% of Melbourne dwellings, where Australia as a whole sits at 12.6% (ABS 2021 Census), and the wall shared with next door carries the noise. Acoustic plasterboard runs $37–$89 against $26–$68 for standard sheet, and a new stud wall is $63–$160 per square metre of wall face.
Winter slows the stopping
Melbourne sits in NCC climate zone 6, and at the Regional Office station July averages a 13.5 °C maximum and a 6.0 °C overnight low (BOM averages). Joint compound dries slowly in a cold, shut-up house, and a paint-ready finish needs three coats with sanding between them. In winter that means extra days between visits, so ask whether return trips for drying are in the price.
Stained ceilings after spring rain
October brings 66.0 mm to the Melbourne Regional Office station in an average year, the most of any month (BOM averages), and brown rings on ceilings follow it. Fixing the plaster alone is $315–$1,575; a sagged sheet means $840–$3,150. No plasterer warrants work under a roof that still leaks, and mould is dealt with before the new sheet goes up.
When registration applies in Victoria
A plasterer doing nothing but plastering needs no BPC registration in Victoria, even on a job worth more than $10,000. Combine the plastering with a second trade, painting is the usual one, and above $10,000 the person doing it must hold registration from the Building and Plumbing Commission, and the job needs a major domestic building contract signed before work starts (Consumer Affairs Victoria). Ask which side of that line your quote sits on.
Renters and small holes
Renters hold 30.2% of Melbourne's dwellings (ABS 2021 Census). Victoria's renting rules say you hand the property back in the condition you found it, allowing for fair wear and tear (Consumer Affairs Victoria), so a picture-hook hole or a door-handle dent is worth a $160–$295 visit before the final inspection rather than a bond deduction priced by the rental provider.
How to Save Money on Plastering Cost in Melbourne
Plastering Cost in Melbourne by Room Size
Say a Melbourne bedroom has 34 square metres of wall, a 12 square metre ceiling and 14 lineal metres of cornice. Walls on the sheeting row of $26–$68 a square metre come to $884–$2,312, the ceiling sheeted by area comes to $312–$816, and the cornice at $10–$52 a metre comes to $140–$728. The three lines together are $1,336–$3,856.
What moves a room that size in Melbourne: a shared wall in a townhouse, where acoustic board at $37–$89 a square metre takes the place of standard sheet, a stained ceiling after spring rain that puts plaster repair at $315–$1,575 first, and a cold winter house where return trips for coats can be added.
Plastering Cost in Melbourne: What the Quote Should Include
A Melbourne plastering quote mixes three units, the hour, the square metre and the lineal metre. A quote for a room should show its walls, its ceiling and its cornice as three separate lines, each of which can be read against the rows on this page.
- Walls listed by area in square metres and priced on the sheeting rate of $26–$68 a square metre, with the wall height noted.
- The ceiling as its own line, at $840–$3,150 for a single room, with strip-out and a paint-ready set named inside it.
- Cornice in lineal metres at $10–$52 a metre, so a total that shows only two of the three lines is easy to spot.
- The board itself priced on its own line, since the square-metre labour rate leaves out the sheets.
- For a townhouse or semi-detached house, acoustic board on the shared wall at $37–$89 a square metre, with the wall area stated.
- Whether return trips for winter coats in a cold, shut-up house are in the price or billed on top.
- After spring rain, any ceiling stain traced to the roof, with the plaster repair at $315–$1,575 shown apart from a replacement sheet.
- Venetian and other polished finishes quoted as a separate job after the plasterer has seen the wall, with the plain skim underneath at $16–$52 a square metre.
- For a rented home, small holes listed at $160–$295 each, plus dates, payment stages, GST and the workmanship warranty.
Frequently Asked Questions — Plastering Cost in Melbourne
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 →