How much does plastering cost in Sunshine Coast?
Sunshine Coast plasterers work for $48–$115 an hour, or $340–$825 for a full day on the tools. New plasterboard is quoted as labour per square metre, $24–$63, with the sheets bought separately. Re-skimming the walls of one room costs $580–$2,425, and patching a small hole ready for paint is $145–$270. Separate houses make up 73.2% of local dwellings and the average home has 3.2 bedrooms (ABS 2021 Census), so a whole-house job covers plenty of wall and ceiling, and the room count drives the quote more than anything else.
Comparing cities, or after the Australia-wide picture? See the national guide: Plastering cost in Australia.
Detailed Pricing — Plastering Cost in Sunshine Coast 2026
| Service | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plastering (hourly rate) | $48/hr | $75 | $115 |
| Plasterboard / Gyprock, labour (per sqm) | $24/sqm | $40 | $63 |
| Patch repair (small hole) | $145per job | $225 | $270 |
| Crack repair (per crack, filled and set ready for paint) | $78per job | $165 | $290 |
| Single room re-skim (walls) | $580total | $1,175 | $2,425 |
| Ceiling replacement (single room, 12–16 m²: strip-out, new plasterboard, set ready for paint) | $775total | $1,850 | $2,900 |
| Cornice installation (per linear metre) | $10/lm | $15 | $48 |
| Water damage repair | $290per job | $680 | $1,450 |
| Skim coat (per sqm) | $15/sqm | $27 | $48 |
| New stud wall (non-load-bearing, framed, plasterboard both sides, set ready for paint; per m² of wall face) | $58/sqm | $92 | $145 |
| Acoustic / soundproof plasterboard (per sqm) | $34/sqm | $53 | $82 |
| Full day plastering | $340per day | $535 | $825 |
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Get Sunshine Coast quotes →Prices include GST. Based on Sunshine Coast metro area, October 2026. Outer suburbs may vary.
What Affects Plastering Costs in Sunshine Coast
Ceilings cost more than walls
Replacing a single-room ceiling, from strip-out to a paint-ready finish, is $775–$2,900, typically more than re-skimming that room's walls. Ceiling sheets go up overhead, need propping while they are fixed, and show every flaw once light rakes across them, so the labour is slower.
Damp air and drying time
Summer nights on the coast stay warm, with minimums above 20 °C from January to March at the airport (BOM averages), and the region sits in NCC climate zone 2, warm and humid in summer. Jointing compound dries slowly in damp air, and each coat has to set before it is sanded, so a summer job can take more days than the same job in winter.
Leaks and the wet season
December to March each average more than 150 mm of rain at the airport (BOM averages), and a roof or window leak in that stretch often shows up as a stained, sagging ceiling. Water-damaged board is cut out and replaced, not patched, at $290–$1,450 in our table. Get the leak fixed and any mould dealt with before the plasterer starts.
Licence and warranty over $3,300
In Queensland, plastering and drywall work valued at $3,300 or more must be done under a QBCC licence; that licence class covers non-loadbearing frames, plasterboard, cornices and finishing joints. Home warranty insurance is compulsory for residential construction work valued at more than $3,300, so on a larger job make sure each quote shows the premium.
Cornices, new walls and sound
Cornice is priced by the metre, $10–$48. A new non-loadbearing stud wall, framed and sheeted both sides, is $58–$145 per square metre of face. Acoustic board costs more than standard at $34–$82, worth asking about in townhouses, which are 13.3% of Sunshine Coast dwellings (ABS 2021 Census).
Cracks and small repairs
A single crack, filled and set ready for paint, is $78–$290, while a small hole runs $145–$270. If there are several around the house, ask for an hourly or day price instead of per-crack pricing. Skim coating a damaged wall is $15–$48 per square metre.
How to Save Money on Plastering Cost in Sunshine Coast
Plastering Cost in Sunshine Coast by Room Size
Say a Sunshine Coast bedroom has a 15 square metre ceiling to be replaced. Sheeting that area at $24–$63 a square metre is $360–$945, while the single-room ceiling row of $775–$2,900 adds the strip-out and a paint-ready set. Overhead sheets need propping while they are fixed, so the quote should say which scope it prices.
What moves a room that size on the Sunshine Coast: warm, damp air that slows each coat, a wet season whose leaks stain ceilings and add water damage repair at $290–$1,450, and townhouse shared walls that take acoustic board at $34–$82 a square metre. Several cracks in the room can be priced by the hour at $48–$115 an hour.
Plastering Cost in Sunshine Coast: What the Quote Should Include
Damp air and the wet season shape plastering on the Sunshine Coast, so a quote there should say how leaks, mould and slow coats are handled. Ask for each line to be written out, so it can be read against the rows on this page.
- A leak in the roof or a window repaired and any mould dealt with first, then board cut out and replaced as water damage repair at $290–$1,450.
- The framing dried out before the new sheets go up, written on the quote as a step with its own date.
- The ceiling for each room priced at $775–$2,900, covering strip-out to a paint-ready finish, and shown apart from the walls.
- Sheeting labour at $24–$63 a square metre, with whether the sheets are inside that rate stated.
- How the plasterer allows for slow coats on a warm, humid summer job, and whether extra visits are billed.
- Several cracks around the house priced as an hourly or day figure, $48–$115 an hour or $340–$825 a day, instead of one price per crack at $78–$290.
- Cornice priced by the metre at $10–$48, and a damaged wall skim-coated by area at $15–$48 a square metre.
- In a townhouse, acoustic board on the shared wall at $34–$82 a square metre, and any new framed wall per square metre of face at $58–$145.
- The finish level named, payment stages, GST, the workmanship warranty, and the start and finish dates in writing.
Frequently Asked Questions — Plastering Cost in Sunshine Coast
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 →