Commercial · Melbourne

How much do security guards cost in Melbourne?

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

Updated November 2026·Independently researched·11 min read

A static security guard in Melbourne 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 St Kilda Road tower that wants someone at the front desk through business hours books a concierge officer at $40–$65 per hour, typically $50. A Truganina distribution centre that only needs its gates and docks checked after dark is bought by the visit instead, at $30–$60 per patrol visit.

+3.1% Security Guards costs in Melbourne are up around 3.1% over the past year, re-verified against 90+ sources in November 2026. Year on year

Typical static guard rate in Melbourne, weekday day shift

$45

per guard per hour, Melbourne 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

Three things set a Melbourne guard price: the hour of the week, the kind of officer and the way the job is booked. A static guard costs $40–$60 per hour on a weekday day shift, $55–$75 per hour once the shift moves to a night or a weekend, and $80–$120 per hour on a public holiday, which is why a Bourke Street Mall store that trades through a long weekend sees three rates on one invoice.

The officer changes the line, not just the rate. A Docklands or Cremorne office lobby is a concierge or front-desk security officer at $40–$65 per hour; a Southbank function is event security guards at $45–$70 per guard per hour; and a Fitzroy or St Kilda venue door is licensed crowd controllers at $55–$85 per guard per hour. Booking the wrong officer for the job is the quickest way to overpay or come up short.

Away from the CBD, Melbourne work is sold by the shift and the visit. Box Hill and Cremorne builds take a construction site guard at $45–$70 per hour and one overnight site guard at $500–$750 per 10-hour shift; Laverton North and Campbellfield yards take mobile patrols at $30–$60 per site visit or a nightly contract at $400–$1,200 per month; a retail floor booked for one 8-hour weekday shift is $280–$480; a private party or wedding with 2 guards for 6 hours is $660–$840 per event; and a council-run hall that sets its own event security charge bills $68–$198 per guard per hour.

Quick answerA static security guard in Melbourne 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 Melbourne quotes →

Security Guards Prices in Melbourne 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

Scoping security guards work in Melbourne? Get a quote from a local commercial contractor - free, no obligation.

Get Melbourne quotes →

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

How much does a security guard cost per hour in Melbourne?$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 Melbourne?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 — Melbourne

Three Melbourne bookings priced from this page's rows: a Southbank function centre, a Truganina distribution centre and a St Kilda Road office tower. Each one names the rows it draws on; your own quote will price your hours, your guard count and your site.

Southbank function centre, Saturday night. A charity gala dinner at a Southbank function centre books event security guards at $45–$70 per guard per hour ($55 typical) to manage arrivals and the cloakroom, two licensed crowd controllers at $55–$85 per guard per hour on the river-side door once the bar opens, and a static guard at $55–$75 per hour to stay with the staging and audio hire until the trucks collect it after midnight.
Truganina distribution centre, nightly patrols. A third-party logistics tenant at Truganina takes a nightly patrol contract for its one site at $400–$1,200 per month ($600 typical), adds single patrol visits at $30–$60 per site visit on nights when a late container is due, and books a static guard at $80–$120 per hour for the public holiday when the dock stays open for a peak-season run.
St Kilda Road office tower front desk. A building manager on St Kilda Road staffs the ground-floor desk with a concierge or front-desk security officer at $40–$65 per hour for weekday hours, signing in contractors and couriers, and covers each tenant fit-out weekend with a static guard at $55–$75 per hour; a weekday relief day booked as one 8-hour shift prices at $280–$480 ($360 typical).

Step 1 of 2

What do you need a callback about?

One tap — we'll show you the going rate, then take your number.

You're in.

A local installer will be in touch about your job. No spam, no middleman.

Scoping security guards work in Melbourne? Get a quote from a local commercial contractor - free, no obligation.

Get Melbourne quotes →

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

Security Guards Costs by Sector in Melbourne

Melbourne guard work covers the Hoddle Grid, Bourke Street Mall and Docklands towers and the St Kilda Road, Cremorne and Box Hill office belts, the Southbank, St Kilda and Fitzroy venues and the strips along Chapel Street Prahran, Smith Street Collingwood, Lygon Street Carlton and Bridge Road Richmond, the Chadstone, Highpoint and Westfield Doncaster centres, and the warehouses and yards of Dandenong South, Laverton North, Truganina and Campbellfield.

Towers and lobbies: Hoddle Grid, Docklands, St Kilda Road - Concierge or front-desk security officers at $40–$65 per hour on the lobby roster, and static guards at $40–$60 per hour for weekday floor cover during a tenancy move; a tower quote should list the desk hours and the patrol rounds of the car park separately.
Warehouses and yards: Truganina, Laverton North, Campbellfield, Dandenong South - Mobile patrols at $30–$60 per site visit and nightly patrol contracts at $400–$1,200 per month for locked sites, with one overnight site guard at $500–$750 per 10-hour shift when stock or plant has to be watched in person.
Venues and functions: Southbank, St Kilda, Fitzroy - Event security guards at $45–$70 and licensed crowd controllers at $55–$85 per guard per hour, and a private party or wedding with 2 guards for 6 hours at $660–$840 per event; a council-run hall with its own event security charge prices guards at $68–$198 per guard per hour.
Shopping centres: Chadstone, Highpoint, Westfield Doncaster - A tenant's store guard at $40–$60 per hour on weekdays and $55–$75 per hour for late nights and weekends, or one 8-hour weekday shift at $280–$480 per shift; a chain with stores at all three centres should ask for one rate card.
Strips and laneways: Smith Street, Lygon Street, Chapel Street, Bridge Road - Licensed crowd controllers at $55–$85 per guard per hour for Friday and Saturday doors, a static guard at $80–$120 per hour on public holidays, and a patrol visit at $30–$60 to check a shuttered shopfront after close.

What Melbourne Security Guards Jobs Actually Cost

Weekday cover is where Melbourne bookings sit close to the typical figures. A St Kilda Road or Cremorne lobby on a business-hours roster books a concierge officer at about $50 per hour, and a Westfield Doncaster store guard on a weekday about $45 per hour, inside the $40–$60 band. Prices move up the bands when the roster reaches nights and weekends at $55–$75 per hour or public holidays at $80–$120, which is the pattern for Chapel Street Prahran and Lygon Street Carlton venue doors and for weekend shutdown work at Dandenong South plants.

Builds, yards and events are bought in blocks. A Docklands or Box Hill apartment build carries a construction site guard at $45–$70 per hour and one overnight site guard at $500–$750 per 10-hour shift until lock-up, then moves to patrols at $30–$60 per site visit or a nightly contract at $400–$1,200 per month. Southbank functions book event guards at $45–$70 per guard per hour and crowd controllers at $55–$85, and a private party or wedding with 2 guards for 6 hours lands at $660–$840 per event.

What Affects Security Guards Costs in Melbourne

Melbourne guard prices turn on when the hours fall, which officer the job needs, and how far the site sits from the firm's patrol base.

Weekend and public holiday rostering - A weekday day shift is $40–$60 per hour, a night or weekend shift $55–$75 and a public holiday $80–$120, so a Chadstone retailer or a Southbank venue that trades through long weekends should cost those days separately before signing a roster.
Desk, event or door - A concierge officer at $40–$65 per hour, an event guard at $45–$70 and a licensed crowd controller at $55–$85 per guard per hour are three different bookings, and a St Kilda venue quote should name which one each rostered person is.
Guard on site or a patrol - A Laverton North or Campbellfield yard behind locked gates can be checked by patrols at $30–$60 per site visit or a nightly contract at $400–$1,200 per month, where a guard on site all night is one 10-hour shift at $500–$750.
Build stage - Cremorne, Box Hill and Docklands builds need a construction site guard at $45–$70 per hour while plant, copper and tools are open to the street, and less once the building can be locked; the quote should show day and overnight cover as separate lines.
Distance from the patrol base - Per-visit patrol prices move with site size, how long each visit lasts and how far the site is from the firm's base, so a Truganina or Dandenong South site is best quoted by a firm already patrolling that side of the city.
Short bookings and minimums - Most firms set a minimum booking, so a guard for a Smith Street Collingwood stocktake is billed to that minimum; a full weekday booked as one 8-hour shift prices at $280–$480 per shift.

How to Control Security Guards Costs in Melbourne

The biggest saving in Melbourne comes from paying for presence only where presence matters: patrols for locked sites, a guard for the risky hours, and rosters built around the calendar rather than around habit.

West-side warehouses at Truganina and Laverton North can ask one patrol firm to price a nightly contract at $400–$1,200 per month across neighbouring sites, so the patrol car is not crossing the city for one gate.
Book Cremorne and Box Hill construction cover for the open stages only - plant on site, materials delivered, no lockable doors - and switch to patrol visits at $30–$60 each once the building can be locked.
Southbank and St Kilda function organisers can fix the guard count, the crowd controller count and the finish time in writing, so a late bar does not add officer hours nobody signed for.
Chapel Street and Lygon Street venues that only need door staff on Friday and Saturday can roster crowd controllers at $55–$85 per guard per hour for those nights and use a patrol visit to check the premises on the quiet ones.

What a Compliant Security Guards Quote Includes — Cost in Melbourne

Before comparing Melbourne 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 Melbourne: CBD towers, west-side warehouses and Southbank functions

A Melbourne guard quote starts from the shift. Weekday day shifts run $40–$60 per hour (typically $45), nights and weekends $55–$75 per hour (typically $65) and public holidays $80–$120 per hour (typically $100), and firms that price whole shifts quote one 8-hour weekday shift at $280–$480 and one 10-hour overnight shift at $500–$750.

From there the job decides the officer. Hoddle Grid and Docklands lobbies run concierge officers at $40–$65 per hour; Cremorne and Box Hill builds run construction site guards at $45–$70 per hour; Southbank and St Kilda events run event guards at $45–$70 and licensed crowd controllers at $55–$85 per guard per hour; and Laverton North or Campbellfield yards that only need checking run patrols at $30–$60 per site visit or a nightly contract at $400–$1,200 per month. Private parties and weddings with 2 guards for 6 hours price at $660–$840 per event, and a council-run hall's own event security charge is $68–$198 per guard per hour.

Victoria Police says the Licensing and Regulation Division of Victoria Police regulates the private security industry in Victoria, and that to work in Victoria you must have a current Victorian private security licence and/or registration. Ask a Melbourne security company for each rostered guard's Victorian private security licence or registration number and the number of any business licence the company holds, printed on the quote.

Security guards cost by shift type and site in Melbourne

Quick answerMelbourne pricing steps with the job: a Smith Street Collingwood bar books door staff at $55–$85 per guard per hour, a St Kilda Road lobby a weekday desk at $40–$65 per hour, a Truganina warehouse patrols at $30–$60 per site visit, and a Box Hill build a construction guard at $45–$70 per hour with overnight shifts at $500–$750.

The calendar does most of the work on a Melbourne invoice. The same static guard is $40–$60 per hour on a weekday day shift, $55–$75 per hour at night or over a weekend and $80–$120 per hour on a public holiday, so a Chadstone or Highpoint retailer rostering a guard through a long weekend should cost each day at its own rate. Whole shifts sit alongside the hourly lines: one 8-hour weekday shift is $280–$480 and one 10-hour overnight shift $500–$750.

Site type decides whether a guard needs to be there at all. A Docklands tower lobby keeps a concierge officer at $40–$65 per hour; a Dandenong South or Laverton North yard behind locked gates may only need patrols at $30–$60 per site visit or $400–$1,200 per month on a nightly contract; a Southbank or Fitzroy event books event guards at $45–$70 and crowd controllers at $55–$85 per guard per hour; and a private party or wedding with 2 guards for 6 hours prices at $660–$840 per event.

Frequently Asked Questions — Security Guards Cost in Melbourne

What is the price of security guards in Melbourne?

From our Melbourne 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 Melbourne?

A static guard on a weekday day shift costs $40–$60 per hour in Melbourne, with $45 typical, and a concierge or front-desk security officer $40–$65 per hour, typically $50. A Hoddle Grid or Cremorne lobby desk is normally a standing weekday roster; a Bridge Road Richmond shop covering a broken window for a few nights books a static guard for short stints, and each stint is billed to the firm's minimum booking.

How much does event security cost in Melbourne?

Going by our Melbourne 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. Southbank function centres, St Kilda venues and Fitzroy events are the usual Melbourne event bookings; ask the firm to split event guards from crowd controllers, and to state the hours from bump-in to the last guest out.

What does a mobile security patrol cost in Melbourne?

A mobile patrol is $30–$60 per site visit on our Melbourne 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 Melbourne security company hold?

Victoria Police says the Licensing and Regulation Division of Victoria Police regulates the private security industry in Victoria, and that to work in Victoria you must have a current Victorian private security licence and/or registration. In Melbourne, ask for the licence or registration number of every guard on the roster, not only the supervisor, and check the names on the night match the names on the quote.

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

A construction site guard is $45–$70 per hour on our Melbourne 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 Melbourne?

A static guard costs $55–$75 per hour for a night or weekend shift in Melbourne, with $65 typical, and $80–$120 per hour on a public holiday, typically $100. Retailers at Chadstone, Highpoint and Westfield Doncaster and builders in Cremorne and Box Hill should get the weekday, weekend and public holiday rates on one quote before a roster is set, so a long weekend is costed in advance.

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

A private party or wedding with 2 guards for 6 hours is $660–$840 per event on our Melbourne 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 Melbourne wedding at a Southbank or St Kilda venue, ask whether the venue supplies its own door staff, and whether the quoted guards stay on until the venue is cleared.

What does a full security shift cost in Melbourne?

One 8-hour weekday shift for a static guard costs $280–$480 per shift on our Melbourne table, with $360 typical, and one 10-hour overnight site shift $500–$750, typically $650. In Melbourne, ask whether an overnight shift at a Truganina or Campbellfield site includes a written incident log at hand-over, and what is charged if the relief guard is late.