The rates are starting points. Soil type, fall, rock and how far the barrow has to travel change them more than anything else in this trade. If your hourly figure is a guess, fix that first with the charge-out rate calculator — plant and tip fees make landscaping unusually expensive to under-price.
A worked example: backyard makeover, 120 m²
Suburban block, side gate wide enough for a mini-excavator, existing lawn and one dead garden bed to come out. Landscaper registered for GST.
| Line | Qty | Rate | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site clearing, strip existing lawn and bed, excavator hire and operation | 1.5 | $880.00 | $1,320.00 |
| Disposal — estimated 4 loads of spoil and green waste, incl. tip fees | 4 | $310.00 | $1,240.00 |
| Retaining wall — treated pine sleepers, 600mm high (per lineal metre) | 11 | $265.00 | $2,915.00 |
| Supply and lay turf, incl. underlay and soil prep (per m²) | 78 | $28.00 | $2,184.00 |
| Garden beds — soil, mulch, plants to plan | 1 | $1,450.00 | $1,450.00 |
| Irrigation — drip to beds, pop-ups to lawn, controller | 1 | $1,180.00 | $1,180.00 |
| Subtotal | $10,289.00 | ||
| GST (10%) | $1,028.90 | ||
| Total inc GST | $11,317.90 | ||
| Deposit to book in (20%) | $2,263.58 | ||
| Balance on completion | $9,054.32 |
Disposal is estimated in loads, not absorbed. That single choice is the difference between a job that makes money and one that funds the local tip — and it is honest, because nobody knows how many loads come out of a garden until it is out.
What to put on a landscaping quote
- Business name, ABN — and your builder or landscaping licence number if your state licenses structural landscaping above a value.
- Staged scope. Clearing, hard landscaping, soft landscaping, irrigation. Stages let the customer defer part of it instead of walking away from all of it.
- Quantities in the right unit — square metres for turf and paving, lineal metres for walls and edging, cubic metres for soil and mulch.
- The access you are assuming, in writing. "Priced on machine access via the eastern side gate, minimum 900mm clear." If it turns out to be barrow-only, that sentence is what makes it a variation rather than an argument.
- Disposal. Estimated loads, whether tip fees are included, and what an extra load costs.
- Plant and material schedule. Species, pot size and quantity; sleeper type and treatment; turf variety. "Plants" is not a specification.
- Exclusions. Rock or shale requiring a breaker, buried services, contaminated or filled ground, retaining above the height your state allows without engineering, drainage connections, council approvals, and reinstating anything damaged by machine access.
- Establishment and watering — who waters the new turf, and for how long your warranty on plants runs.
- Whether GST is included, how long the price holds, and your deposit and progress payment terms.
- The variations sentence.
Common mistakes, and what each one costs
- No access assumption. The machine does not fit, the job becomes barrow-and-shovel, and it takes three times as long for the same money.
- Tip fees absorbed. Four unexpected loads at a few hundred each is the entire margin on a mid-sized job.
- No rock clause. Sandstone shelf at 300mm turns a day of excavation into three, and without an exclusion it is your three days.
- Vague plant lists. The customer imagined advanced 45L specimens, you priced 200mm pots, and neither of you was lying.
- Nothing about watering. New turf dies in a fortnight if nobody waters it, and the phone call blames the turf.
- One lump sum on a $15,000 job. Stages let people say yes to something. A single number makes it all-or-nothing, and "nothing" is a common answer.
Three things that win the job
Quote in stages with prices against each. Hard landscaping now, planting in spring. You are far more likely to get stage one than a deferred maybe on everything.
Show them the plan, even a rough one. A sketch with dimensions beside the price makes the number make sense. Landscaping is bought on the picture in the customer's head — put yours on paper.
Follow it up. These are big discretionary purchases and they sit. Two short messages in the following fortnight recover a real share — wording in the quote follow-up templates.
Yamate keeps your rates, your standard exclusions and your staged scopes, so a quote is a few taps rather than a blank page — then turns the accepted quote into the invoice without retyping it. Sign up before 30 September 2026 and lock in the Founder plan at $19/mo — forever. It's $29/mo after that. No lock-in, cancel anytime. Prices in AUD.
FAQ
What should a landscaping quote include?
A staged, line-by-line scope with proper quantities, the access you are assuming, disposal and tip fees, a plant and material schedule, exclusions for rock and buried services, whether GST applies, and your deposit and progress payment terms.
How do I price site access?
State the access the price assumes, in writing, with the gate width or route. Access is the single largest hidden variable in landscaping — a job that becomes barrow-only can take several times as long for the same money.
Who pays tip fees?
Whoever the quote says. Most landscapers estimate the number of loads, include that many, and state a per-load rate for anything beyond — which is honest, because nobody knows what comes out of a garden until it is out.
Should I take progress payments?
On larger jobs, generally yes: a deposit to book in, a payment when hard landscaping is complete, and the balance at the end. Deposit and progress payment rules for domestic building work vary by state, so check what applies where you work.
Do I charge GST on a quote?
Only if you are registered, which is generally required once turnover reaches $75,000 — a threshold landscaping crosses faster than most trades. See when a sole trader has to register.
Next steps
General information for Australian tradies, not tax, legal or financial advice. Every figure this page produces is an estimate based on what you type in. Licensing, written-contract, home-warranty and deposit rules are set by each state and territory — check yours before relying on this page.