Commercial · Adelaide

How much do security guards cost in Adelaide?

By The WTD Editorial Team · Last reviewed November 2026 · Methodology

Updated November 2026·Independently researched·11 min read

A static security guard in Adelaide runs $40–$60 per hour

for a weekday day shift, as published by security firms (mostly ex GST where stated) - night, weekend, public holiday, event and patrol rates below

A Gouger Street restaurant that needs a door officer on Friday and Saturday nights books licensed crowd controllers at $55–$85 per guard per hour, typically $60. An Edinburgh factory with a site under construction behind it pays by the shift for night cover, at $500–$750 for one 10-hour overnight guard.

+3.8% Security Guards costs in Adelaide are up around 3.8% over the past year, re-verified against 90+ sources in November 2026. Year on year

Typical static guard rate in Adelaide, weekday day shift

$45

per guard per hour, Adelaide 2026, as published

Static security guard, weekday day shift

$40-$60

Static guard, night or weekend shift

$55-$75

Static guard, public holiday

$80-$120

$40$45$60

An Adelaide guard quote is built from hours, and the hours are not all priced the same. A static guard on a weekday day shift is $40–$60 per hour; move the shift to a night or a weekend and the rate is $55–$75; put it on a public holiday and it is $80–$120. A Rundle Mall store rostering cover through a holiday weekend should expect all three on the one invoice.

The officer named on the quote matters as much as the hours. Keswick and Mile End office receptions use a concierge or front-desk security officer at $40–$65 per hour, Riverbank conferences use event security guards at $45–$70 per guard per hour, and Peel Street and Gouger Street doors use licensed crowd controllers at $55–$85 per guard per hour.

Some Adelaide venues set their own price: a council-run CBD hall that charges hirers for event security bills $68–$198 per guard per hour, so check the venue's own charge before booking a private firm. Elsewhere the work is priced by the visit and the shift - patrols at $30–$60 per site visit and nightly contracts at $400–$1,200 per month for Wingfield and Regency Park yards, construction site guards at $45–$70 per hour on Mawson Lakes builds, one 8-hour weekday static shift at $280–$480, and a private party or wedding with 2 guards for 6 hours at $660–$840 per event.

Quick answerA static security guard in Adelaide costs $40–$60 per hour for a weekday day shift in 2026, with $45 typical, $55–$75 per hour for a night or weekend shift and $80–$120 per hour on a public holiday. Event security guards run $45–$70 per guard per hour, licensed crowd controllers $55–$85 per guard per hour and a mobile patrol $30–$60 per site visit. Prices are as published by security firms and councils, mostly ex GST where a basis is stated. Get free Adelaide quotes →

Security Guards Prices in Adelaide 2026: Cost Table, Price List and Hourly Rates

Service	Low	Typical	High
Static security guard, weekday day shift	$40per hour	$45	$60
Event security guard	$45per guard per hour	$55	$70
Licensed crowd controller (venues, events)	$55per guard per hour	$60	$85
Mobile patrol, per site visit	$30per visit	$35	$60
Static guard, public holiday	$80per hour	$100	$120
Static guard, night or weekend shift	$55per hour	$65	$75
Concierge or front-desk security officer	$40per hour	$50	$65
Construction site guard	$45per hour	$50	$70
Overnight site guard, one 10-hour shift	$500per shift	$650	$750
Static guard, one 8-hour weekday shift	$280per shift	$360	$480
Mobile patrol contract, one site, nightly patrols	$400per month	$600	$1,200
Private party or wedding, 2 guards for 6 hours	$660per event	$780	$840
Event security guard at a council venue (council-set hourly charge)	$68per guard per hour	$80	$198

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Prices are as published by security firms and councils, mostly ex GST where a basis is stated. Adelaide metro, November 2026.

How much does a security guard cost per hour in Adelaide?$40–$60 per hour for a static guard on a weekday day shift, $45 typical. The rate climbs to $55–$75 per hour for a night or weekend shift and $80–$120 per hour on a public holiday, and one 8-hour weekday shift is priced at $280–$480 per shift.

What do event security and patrols cost in Adelaide?Event security guards run $45–$70 per guard per hour and licensed crowd controllers $55–$85 per guard per hour. A mobile patrol is $30–$60 per site visit, or $400–$1,200 per month on a contract of nightly patrols for one site.

Worked Security Guards Cost Scenarios — Adelaide

Adelaide bookings priced from this page's rows: a Gouger Street restaurant door, an Edinburgh factory site and a Riverbank conference dinner. The rows each line uses are named; your own quote will price your hours, guard count and venue.

Gouger Street restaurant, weekend door. A late-trading restaurant and bar on Gouger Street puts one licensed crowd controller on the door at $55–$85 per guard per hour ($60 typical) every Friday and Saturday night, adds a second for long weekends, and books a static guard at $80–$120 per hour for the public holiday when it opens for a private function.
Edinburgh factory site, overnight guard. A manufacturer extending its plant at Edinburgh has a construction site guard at $45–$70 per hour on the gate while the builders are on site, and one overnight site guard on a 10-hour shift at $500–$750 per shift ($650 typical) while steel and switchgear are stored in the open, stepping down to patrols at $30–$60 per site visit once the extension is closed in.
Riverbank conference dinner. An industry association hosting its conference dinner at a Riverbank venue books event security guards at $45–$70 per guard per hour ($55 typical) for registration and the exhibition hall, and a concierge or front-desk officer at $40–$65 per hour to manage the speaker and supplier entrance through the day.

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Prices are as published by security firms and councils, mostly ex GST where a basis is stated. Adelaide metro, November 2026.

Security Guards Costs by Sector in Adelaide

Adelaide's guard work ranges from the CBD, Rundle Mall and the Riverbank, through Peel Street, Gouger Street and Glenelg venues and the strips along The Parade Norwood, King William Road Hyde Park, Prospect Road and Jetty Road Glenelg, to the Westfield Marion, Westfield Tea Tree Plaza and Burnside Village centres, the Keswick, Mile End and Mawson Lakes office parks and the industrial estates at Wingfield, Regency Park, Lonsdale and Edinburgh.

Late venues: Peel Street, Gouger Street, Jetty Road Glenelg - Licensed crowd controllers at $55–$85 per guard per hour for Friday and Saturday doors, with a static guard at $55–$75 per hour where a venue wants someone on the floor after close.
Riverbank and CBD events - Event security guards at $45–$70 per guard per hour for conferences and concerts, and a council-run CBD hall that sets its own event security charge at $68–$198 per guard per hour; a private party or wedding with 2 guards for 6 hours is $660–$840 per event.
Industrial estates: Wingfield, Regency Park, Lonsdale, Edinburgh - Nightly patrol contracts at $400–$1,200 per month and single patrol visits at $30–$60 for locked yards, and one 10-hour overnight site guard at $500–$750 where plant or stock has to be watched in person.
Retail: Rundle Mall, Westfield Marion, Westfield Tea Tree Plaza - A store guard at $40–$60 per hour on weekdays, or one 8-hour weekday shift at $280–$480, and $55–$75 per hour for late-night and weekend trading; public holiday cover is $80–$120 per hour.
Offices and campuses: Keswick, Mile End, Mawson Lakes - Concierge or front-desk security officers at $40–$65 per hour on a business-hours roster, and construction site guards at $45–$70 per hour while a Mawson Lakes building is going up.

What Adelaide Security Guards Jobs Actually Cost

Adelaide weekday cover lands close to the typical figures: a Keswick or Mile End reception desk books a concierge officer at about $50 per hour, and a Burnside Village store guard on a weekday about $45 per hour, inside the $40–$60 band. Jobs move up the bands when the roster reaches nights and weekends at $55–$75 per hour or public holidays at $80–$120, which is where Peel Street and Gouger Street doors and King William Road Hyde Park late trading sit.

Industrial work and events are bought in blocks. An Edinburgh or Regency Park site holding plant books one overnight guard at $500–$750 per 10-hour shift, or patrols at $30–$60 per site visit and $400–$1,200 per month on a nightly contract once it is locked. Riverbank events book event guards at $45–$70 per guard per hour, a council-run CBD hall applies its own charge of $68–$198, and a private party or wedding with 2 guards for 6 hours lands at $660–$840 per event.

What Affects Security Guards Costs in Adelaide

Adelaide guard prices move with when the shift falls, which officer is rostered and whether the venue sets its own security charge.

Council venue charges - A council-run CBD hall that sets its own event security charge bills $68–$198 per guard per hour, so an event organiser should check the hire terms before also paying a private firm for the same hours.
Shift timing - A static guard is $40–$60 per hour on a weekday day shift, $55–$75 at night or on a weekend and $80–$120 on a public holiday, so a Jetty Road Glenelg venue open through a holiday weekend should cost each day separately.
Door staff or event guards - Licensed crowd controllers at $55–$85 per guard per hour and event security guards at $45–$70 are separate bookings; a Riverbank concert with a licensed bar should see both counted on the quote.
Locked yard or exposed plant - A Wingfield or Lonsdale yard that locks up can be patrolled at $30–$60 per site visit, where an Edinburgh site with steel and plant in the open needs a guard on one 10-hour overnight shift at $500–$750.
Build programme - Mawson Lakes and Edinburgh builds carry a construction site guard at $45–$70 per hour while materials are open to the street; the quote should show day and night cover as separate lines.
Patrol visit length and site size - Per-visit patrol prices move with how big the site is, how long each visit lasts and how far it sits from the firm's base, so a nightly contract at $400–$1,200 per month should state the visits per night and what each one checks.

How to Control Security Guards Costs in Adelaide

In Adelaide the savings come from booking the right officer for each hour: door staff only on the nights that need them, patrols for locked yards, and the venue's own charge checked before a private firm is hired.

Peel Street and Gouger Street venues can roster crowd controllers at $55–$85 per guard per hour on Friday and Saturday only, and use a patrol visit at $30–$60 to check the premises on quieter nights.
Wingfield, Regency Park and Lonsdale businesses close to each other can ask one patrol firm to quote a nightly contract for each site on the same run, so travel is not billed separately for every gate.
Before booking guards for a CBD event, ask the venue whether it is council-run and applies its own charge of $68–$198 per guard per hour, so the same shift is not paid twice.
Book Edinburgh and Mawson Lakes construction cover for the stages with plant and materials exposed, and step down to patrols once the building can be locked.

What a Compliant Security Guards Quote Includes — Cost in Adelaide

Before comparing Adelaide quotes, check each one prices the same shifts at the same rate type - weekday day, night or weekend, public holiday - states the minimum booking, and lists event guards, crowd controllers, concierge officers and patrols on their own lines with the GST basis stated.

The hourly rate for each shift type: weekday day shifts at $40–$60, night or weekend shifts at $55–$75 and public holidays at $80–$120 per hour
The minimum booking length, and what a whole shift comes to - one 8-hour weekday shift at $280–$480 or one 10-hour overnight shift at $500–$750
Event security guards at $45–$70 and licensed crowd controllers at $55–$85 per guard per hour, with the guard count and the hours on site written down
Mobile patrols at $30–$60 per site visit, or a nightly patrol contract at $400–$1,200 per month, with the visits per night and what each visit checks
Construction site guards at $45–$70 per hour, with day cover and overnight cover shown as separate lines
Concierge or front-desk security officers at $40–$65 per hour, with the duties - visitor sign-in, deliveries, floor rounds - listed
For a private party or wedding, the per-event price of $660–$840 for 2 guards for 6 hours; at a council venue, whether the council's own charge of $68–$198 per guard per hour applies instead
The licence numbers held by each guard and by the company supplying them, with the company's ABN and public liability insurance
A single GST basis across every line, with public holiday dates, cancellation terms and any travel charge for an outlying site stated

Security guards cost in Adelaide: venue doors, northern factories and Riverbank events

Security guards cost in Adelaide is set by the shift before anything else: $40–$60 per hour on a weekday day shift (typically $45), $55–$75 per hour for nights and weekends (typically $65) and $80–$120 per hour on public holidays (typically $100). Firms that quote whole shifts price one 8-hour weekday shift at $280–$480 and one 10-hour overnight shift at $500–$750.

The site then decides who is rostered. Keswick and Mile End receptions take concierge officers at $40–$65 per hour; Mawson Lakes and Edinburgh builds take construction site guards at $45–$70 per hour; Riverbank events take event guards at $45–$70 and licensed crowd controllers at $55–$85 per guard per hour; and Wingfield or Lonsdale yards that only need checking take patrols at $30–$60 per site visit or a nightly contract at $400–$1,200 per month. A council-run CBD hall's own event security charge is $68–$198 per guard per hour, and a private party or wedding with 2 guards for 6 hours is $660–$840 per event.

The South Australian Government says businesses and their employees must hold a security agent's licence when undertaking crowd or venue control work or guarding property or people, and that South Australia Police will contact business applicants to arrange fingerprinting as part of the application. The Security and Investigation Industry Act 1995 says a person must not carry on business, or otherwise act, as a security agent except as authorised by a licence, counts protecting or guarding a person or property and controlling crowds for fee or reward as the work of a security agent, and names the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs as its Commissioner. Ask an Adelaide security company to show the number of the security agent's licence the business holds and the licence number of each guard it will roster, on the quote itself.

Security guards cost by shift type and site in Adelaide

Quick answerAdelaide pricing steps with the job: a Peel Street bar books a door officer at $55–$85 per guard per hour, a Mile End reception a weekday desk at $40–$65 per hour, a Regency Park yard patrols at $30–$60 per site visit, and an Edinburgh build a construction guard at $45–$70 per hour with overnight shifts at $500–$750.

The roster dates set the rate on an Adelaide guard invoice. A weekday day shift is $40–$60 per hour, a night or weekend $55–$75 and a public holiday $80–$120, so a Westfield Marion or Tea Tree Plaza retailer covering a long weekend should price each day on its own line. Whole shifts sit beside the hourly rows: one 8-hour weekday shift at $280–$480, one 10-hour overnight shift at $500–$750.

Site type decides how much presence is bought. A Wingfield or Lonsdale yard behind locked gates can often be covered by patrols at $30–$60 per site visit or $400–$1,200 per month on a nightly contract; a Riverbank event books event guards at $45–$70 and crowd controllers at $55–$85 per guard per hour; a council-run hall applies its own charge of $68–$198 per guard per hour; and a Glenelg private party or wedding with 2 guards for 6 hours is $660–$840 per event.

Frequently Asked Questions — Security Guards Cost in Adelaide

What is the price of security guards in Adelaide?

From our Adelaide table: a static guard is $40–$60 per hour on a weekday day shift (typically $45), $55–$75 per hour for a night or weekend shift (typically $65) and $80–$120 per hour on a public holiday (typically $100); a mobile patrol is $30–$60 per site visit.

How much does a security guard cost per hour in Adelaide?

A static guard on a weekday day shift costs $40–$60 per hour in Adelaide, with $45 typical, and a concierge or front-desk security officer $40–$65 per hour, typically $50. A Keswick or Mawson Lakes reception desk is normally a standing weekday roster; a shop on The Parade Norwood that needs a guard for a few nights after a break-in books short stints, each billed to the firm's minimum booking.

How much does event security cost in Adelaide?

Going by our Adelaide table, an event security guard is $45–$70 per guard per hour, typically $55, and a licensed crowd controller $55–$85 per guard per hour, typically $60. Riverbank conferences, CBD concerts and Glenelg functions are the usual Adelaide event bookings; ask for event guards and crowd controllers as separate lines, and whether the venue already charges for its own security.

What does a mobile security patrol cost in Adelaide?

A mobile patrol is $30–$60 per site visit on our Adelaide table, with $35 typical, and a contract of nightly patrols on one site $400–$1,200 per month, typically $600; the visit count and what each visit checks decide where a quote lands.

What licence should a Adelaide security company hold?

The South Australian Government says businesses and their employees must hold a security agent's licence when undertaking crowd or venue control work or guarding property or people, and that South Australia Police will contact business applicants to arrange fingerprinting as part of the application. The Security and Investigation Industry Act 1995 says a person must not carry on business, or otherwise act, as a security agent except as authorised by a licence, counts protecting or guarding a person or property and controlling crowds for fee or reward as the work of a security agent, and names the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs as its Commissioner. In Adelaide, ask to see the licence numbers for the business and for every rostered guard before the first shift, and check that the guards who arrive are the ones named.

How much does a construction site security guard cost in Adelaide?

A construction site guard is $45–$70 per hour on our Adelaide table, with $50 typical; where the cover runs through the night, an overnight site guard on one 10-hour shift is priced at $500–$750 per shift.

What do security guards cost on weekends and public holidays in Adelaide?

A static guard costs $55–$75 per hour for a night or weekend shift in Adelaide, with $65 typical, and $80–$120 per hour on a public holiday, typically $100. Rundle Mall, Westfield Marion and Tea Tree Plaza retailers and Edinburgh or Lonsdale sites working weekends should get weekday, weekend and public holiday rates on one quote, so a holiday roster is costed before it is set.

How much does security for a private party or wedding cost in Adelaide?

A private party or wedding with 2 guards for 6 hours is $660–$840 per event on our Adelaide table, with $780 typical; at a council venue that sets its own event security charge, the guard is priced at $68–$198 per guard per hour, typically $80. For a Adelaide wedding at a Glenelg or Riverbank venue, ask whether the venue is council-run and charges its own guard rate, and whether the quoted guards stay until the room is cleared.

What does a full security shift cost in Adelaide?

One 8-hour weekday shift for a static guard costs $280–$480 per shift on our Adelaide table, with $360 typical, and one 10-hour overnight site shift $500–$750, typically $650. In Adelaide, ask whether an overnight shift at an Edinburgh or Wingfield site includes a written log at hand-over, and how a shift that runs over is charged.