// AUSTRALIAN TRADIE RATES AND BENCHMARKS 2026
How much does a roofer cost in Australia?
As of August 2026, most roof repairs in Australia cost $150 to $4,000: replacing broken tiles runs $300 to $1,000, fixing a leak $250 to $800, and ridge capping repairs $400 to $1,200. Roofers who quote hourly charge $40 to $90 per hour, though most roofing work is priced per job or per day.
Last updated: 18 August 2026. Sources: 5 industry datasets.
// THE DATA
Hourly rates in detail
Roofing is priced differently from ground-level trades: only 20% of roofing quotes are hourly, with 32% per day, 25% per square metre and 18% per linear metre (ServiceSeeking, 2 Mar 2026). Where an hourly rate is quoted, ServiceTasker's guide band is $40 to $90 per hour and ServiceSeeking's hourly quotes average $113.42 from a $40 minimum. The gap is a skew rather than a contradiction: hourly quotes cluster on complex repair and access work, and ServiceSeeking's own day-rate data ($485.06 average from $200, across 32% of quotes) implies about $60.63 per hour over a standard 8-hour day.
| Rate | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| National range | $40 to $90 per hour | ServiceTasker, 30 Oct 2023; ServiceSeeking hourly quotes from $40, 2 Mar 2026 |
| 2026 marketplace average | $113.42 per hour | ServiceSeeking, 2 Mar 2026 (only 20% of roofing quotes are hourly) |
Bars: WhatsTheDamage, verified Aug 2026, single-sourced per-job bands. Shaded band: the $200 to $1,200 span of the charted jobs, not a published national range. No typical dot renders because no cross-source average exists for repair jobs.
Prices are what customers are quoted, including GST where the business is registered.
Because most roof work is quoted per job, the useful benchmarks are repair bands rather than hourly rates. As of August 2026, a tile replacement job runs $300 to $1,000 and a minor leak repair $250 to $800 (WhatsTheDamage, verified August 2026), with ServiceTasker putting the wider leak-repair band at $250 to $2,000 and individual replacement tiles at $10 to $50 each. Melbourne quote data adds detail: a single tile at $50 to $100 supplied and fitted, one to five cracked tiles at $280 to $550, and a leak find-and-fix at $200 to $650 (Home Upkeep, updated 1 Aug 2026).
Ridge capping is its own market. Repairs run $400 to $1,200 (WhatsTheDamage, August 2026), full repointing and rebedding $500 to $3,000 (ServiceTasker), and Melbourne pricing lands at $40 to $65 per linear metre for repointing or $70 to $120 per metre to rebed and repoint (Home Upkeep, 1 Aug 2026). Gutter work attached to roofing jobs is priced per metre: gutter replacement at $40 to $110 and downpipes at $35 to $90 per metre (WhatsTheDamage), or $200 to $2,000 per job (ServiceTasker).
Full roof restoration, the clean-repair-repoint-recoat package, runs $2,500 to $6,000 for a typical house (WhatsTheDamage, August 2026); ServiceTasker's wider band is $2,000 to $15,000 or more for large or badly weathered roofs. Per square metre, ServiceSeeking's 2026 average across quoted roofing work is $51.98 from a $10 minimum, with 25% of quotes priced that way, and ServiceTasker puts tile roof repair at $40 to $80 per square metre.
Quick labour cost estimator
$200 to $410 around $292 at the typical rate, including a sole-trader call-out fee
Slider estimate uses the sourced $40 to $90 hourly band with ServiceSeeking's day-rate-derived $60.63 equivalent as the midline, plus a Melbourne sole-trader call-out fee of $80 to $140 (single-sourced). Most roof work is quoted per job, so treat this as a labour-only sense check, not a quote.
// CALL-OUT FEES
Call-out fees
Roofers charge to attend more often than most trades, because nothing about a roof can be diagnosed from the driveway. A professional roof inspection or condition report runs $200 to $500 per visit (WhatsTheDamage, verified August 2026). Melbourne quote data, single-sourced, puts standard call-out fees at $80 to $140 for a sole trader, $150 to $220 for a mid-size firm, and $200 to $350 for specialists (Home Upkeep, updated 1 Aug 2026). Many roofers credit the fee against the repair if you go ahead; ask before booking.
Height is the honest reason attendance costs what it does. Fall-protection rules mean harnesses and edge protection before work starts, steep or two-storey roofs can need scaffolding or a safety rail before anyone touches a tile, and wet tiles are unworkable, so weather cancels roofing days in a way it never cancels indoor trades. That is why quotes for identical damage can differ by hundreds of dollars between a single-storey and a two-storey home.
Worked example: find and fix a tile roof leak
- 2 hrs on the roof at $40 to $90/hr
- $80 to $180
- Call-out fee, sole trader (Melbourne benchmark)
- $80 to $140
- Published leak find-and-fix band, Melbourne
- $200 to $650
Illustrative worked example combining the sourced figures above; it is a derivation, not a published statistic.
// THE COST FLOOR
Why rates are what they are: the cost floor
An employed roofer's award minimum wage, including all-purpose allowances, is $31.43 per hour (Fair Work, Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 (MA000020), 2026). The rate a roofer business charges customers is $40 to $90 per hour. The difference pays for the ute, insurance, tools, super, unbillable hours and the business's risk.
The gap pays for the ute, insurance, tools, super, unbillable hours and the business's risk.
Add 12% super to the $31.43 award floor and an employed roof tiler costs $35.20 an hour before ladders, roof racks, fall-protection gear, insurance or a single rained-off day is paid for. A roofer charging $40 an hour clears less than $5 over bare employee cost, which is why sustainable hourly quotes sit toward the top of the $40 to $90 band and most roofing work is priced per job instead.
The $35.20 employee-cost figure is a derivation, the award hourly rate multiplied by 1.12 for the Superannuation Guarantee, not a published statistic. Award classification: Level 3 (CW/ECW 3) roof tiler, slate-ridger or roof fixer, weekly hire, residential, incl. industry and tool allowance (the pay guide lists the classification by name).
// FREE TOOL
Work out your own rate
Per-job pricing hides the hourly rate inside it, and on a roof the unbillable time (inspections, quoting, weather delays) is bigger than in most trades. Feed your wage target, gear and insurance costs into the calculator to see the hourly floor your job quotes need to clear.
Charge-out rate and day rate calculator Opens with the roofer preset loadedCharging right but still not booked out? Web Blend builds websites and lead systems for roofers.
See the Lead System →// COMMON QUESTIONS
Roofer cost questions
Straight answers to the questions people actually search, from the same dataset as the tables above.
Get in touchHow much does a roofer cost in Australia?
Most roof repairs cost $150 to $4,000 as of August 2026, with typical jobs landing between $1,000 and $2,500 (ServiceTasker). Roofers who quote hourly charge $40 to $90 per hour, but most roofing work is priced per job, per day or per square metre.
How much does it cost to replace broken roof tiles?
A tile replacement job runs $300 to $1,000 (WhatsTheDamage, August 2026). Individual replacement tiles cost $10 to $50 each (ServiceTasker), while Melbourne 2026 quotes put a single tile at $50 to $100 supplied and fitted, and one to five cracked tiles at $280 to $550.
How much does a roof leak repair cost?
A minor leak repair costs $250 to $800 (WhatsTheDamage, August 2026), and ServiceTasker's wider band is $250 to $2,000 depending on how far water has travelled. Finding and fixing a simple leak in Melbourne runs $200 to $650. Repairing early is cheaper: leaks spread to sarking, battens and ceilings.
How much does roof restoration cost per square metre?
ServiceSeeking's 2026 average for per-square-metre roofing work is $51.98, from a $10 minimum, with 25% of quotes priced that way. ServiceTasker puts tile roof repair at $40 to $80 per square metre. A full restoration package on a typical house totals $2,500 to $6,000.
What does ridge capping repair or repointing cost?
Ridge capping repairs run $400 to $1,200 (WhatsTheDamage, August 2026) and full repointing and rebedding $500 to $3,000 (ServiceTasker). Melbourne rates are $40 to $65 per linear metre to repoint, or $70 to $120 per metre to rebed and repoint (Home Upkeep, August 2026).
Why does roof work cost more than ground-level trades?
Height. Fall-protection rules mean harnesses, edge protection and sometimes scaffolding before work starts, quoting requires an on-roof inspection ($200 to $500 per visit), and rain stops roofing in a way it does not stop indoor trades. Steep or two-storey roofs push the same repair hundreds of dollars higher.
Do roofers charge a call-out fee?
Commonly, yes. Melbourne 2026 quote data puts standard call-out fees at $80 to $140 for sole traders, rising to $200 to $350 for specialists (Home Upkeep, single-sourced), and a formal roof inspection or report runs $200 to $500. Many roofers credit the fee against the repair.
// METHODOLOGY & SOURCES
Sources and methodology
Ranges on this page combine 5 published Australian datasets and cost guides, cross-checked on 18 August 2026; award wage floors come from official Fair Work pay guides effective 1 July 2026. This page is part of the Australian Tradie Rates and Benchmarks dataset. This dataset is reviewed and republished every July following the Fair Work annual wage review.
- ServiceSeeking, roofer prices 2026
Page date: Published 2 Mar 2026. Accessed 18 August 2026.
- ServiceTasker, roof repair cost guide
Page date: Published 30 Oct 2023. Accessed 18 August 2026.
- WhatsTheDamage, roofing cost guide
Page date: Last verified August 2026. Accessed 18 August 2026.
- Home Upkeep, roof repair cost Melbourne (call-out fees and per-tile pricing)
Page date: Published 26 Mar 2026, updated 1 Aug 2026. Accessed 18 August 2026.
- Fair Work pay guide, MA000020 (effective 1 Jul 2026)
Page date: Pay guide effective 1 Jul 2026, published 2 Jul 2026. Accessed 18 August 2026.
Every figure on this page with its range, unit and source. Free to reuse with attribution and a link.
// KEEP EXPLORING