How to Price Electrical Jobs in Australia (2026 Guide)
Setting the right charge-out rate is one of the most important — and most underestimated — decisions an electrician makes. Too low, and you work hard for nothing. Too high, and you lose jobs. Here's how to get it right.
Why most electricians underprice their work
The most common mistake is charging by the hour without accounting for all the actual costs of running your business. If you charge $80/hr and your tradesman rate in Queensland is $65/hr, you're not making $15/hr — you're likely making nothing once you factor in tools, vehicle, insurance, super, sick days, and unbilled hours spent on admin, quoting, and chasing invoices.
Getting your pricing right starts with understanding your true cost per billable hour. That number is almost always higher than most electricians expect.
Step 1: Calculate your cost per billable hour
Start by totalling your annual business costs. For a sole trader electrician in Australia, this typically includes:
- Labour: Your own wage or your employee's Award rate + super (currently 11.5% for 2024–25) + WorkCover/workers' compensation
- Vehicle: Rego, fuel, servicing, insurance (CTP + comprehensive), and depreciation
- Insurance: Public liability (minimum $5–10M), tools insurance, income protection
- Tools and equipment: Replacement, calibration, hire for specialised jobs
- Licensing and compliance: Electrical contractor licence, CPD, union fees
- Software and admin: Job management software, accounting, mobile phone, internet
- Marketing: Website, advertising, Google My Business
- Unbillable time: Quoting, admin, driving between jobs, safety training
Add all of these up for a 12-month period. Then divide by your number of billable hours per year. Most sole traders bill around 1,000–1,200 hours per year (not 2,000 — the rest goes to non-billable activities).
Step 2: Add your target margin
Your cost per billable hour is the floor — it's what you need to break even. To build a profitable, sustainable business, you need to add a margin on top. For most electrical businesses, this is 20–40%.
Using the example above: $100.90 × 1.30 (30% margin) = $131.17/hr charge-out rate, which you'd round to $130–$135/hr.
In 2026, standard electrician charge-out rates in Australia typically range from $110–$180/hr depending on location, specialty, and demand. Commercial and high-voltage work commands a premium. Metropolitan areas (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane) are at the higher end.
Step 3: Price materials with a markup
Materials should not be passed through at cost. Standard practice for Australian electricians is to mark up materials by 20–30%. This covers your time sourcing materials, purchasing, transport, wastage, and the risk of price fluctuations.
Keep a materials catalogue with your buy price and sell price for commonly used items. This makes quoting faster and ensures you're consistently applying your markup. Trade Track's materials catalogue lets you do exactly this — import from Xero, set your markup, and pull items into quotes in seconds.
Step 4: Quote jobs, don't just quote hours
Quoting by the hour creates price sensitivity. Clients compare your hourly rate to a cheaper competitor and miss the value you bring. Where possible, price jobs as fixed amounts. This rewards your efficiency and expertise rather than punishing it.
A detailed, itemised quote builds confidence. Show your client the labour hours, materials, and a clear total. Professional PDF quotes sent by email look credible and reduce the chance of losing work to a cheaper competitor with a handwritten scrawl.
Step 5: Review your pricing quarterly
Costs change. Award rates increase. Fuel goes up. Insurance renews at a higher premium. Your pricing needs to reflect your current costs, not what you set five years ago. Review your charge-out rate every quarter and adjust if your margin is being eroded.
Job management software like Trade Track makes this easier — you can see at a glance which jobs were profitable and which weren't, and adjust your quoting accordingly.
Make quoting and job profitability tracking easier
Knowing your correct charge-out rate is only useful if your quoting process applies it consistently. Trade Track lets you set your labour rates per staff member, maintain a materials catalogue with your buy and sell prices, and build accurate quotes in minutes. When the job is done, you can see exactly what it cost versus what you quoted.
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