Trade 21 of 33Updated May 2026

A research dossier · 41 NSW + 32 QLD + 31 VIC homeowner posts · plus the AU Painting Discussion-Only verbatim corpus

Hiring a Painter
is a price question
with a prep answer.

Painting has the widest honest quote spread of any trade on this site — and the most opportunity for dishonest cuts. The price split between $3,000 and $15,000 for the "same" 3-bedroom job is almost entirely about prep depth, primer choice, and number of coats. Almost none of which the homeowner sees until two years later when the paint lifts.

5×

The honest quote spread for the same 3-bedroom interior.

60–80%

Share of the job that's actually prep, not paint.

A "no-prep" quote saves. Two years from now.

How this page was built

A research dossier, not a referral page.

Sources

Reddit (r/sydney · r/melbourne · r/AusFinance), Whirlpool, ProductReview, the AU Painting Discussion-Only corpus (state-verified distinct-operator quotes), NSW Fair Trading, QBCC, VBA.

Verification

Every dollar range cross-checked across three current quotes in three states. Licence-threshold rules verified against each state. Mistakes get corrected with a date-stamped note.

Funding

No painter pays for placement here. No referral fees. Funded by the supply-side flyer service at flyers.needatrade.com.au.

Before we start

The paint is the easy part.
The prep is the whole job.

Any painter can put colour on a wall. The trade is in what happens before the brush — sugar-soap wash, sanding, filling, sealing, priming, masking, drop sheets, edge cuts. That work doesn't show in the finish. It only shows when the finish stays clean three years later.

The 10 questions below force the prep into the conversation. A working painter welcomes them — the prep is where they earn their margin. A cowboy stalls — the prep is the line they skip to land the cheapest quote.

The cheap painter is the most expensive painter. You just don't find out for two years.

How much should it really cost?

The widest honest spread of any trade on this site. The difference between $3k and $15k for "the same" 3-bedroom isn't usually dishonesty — it's that the three painters are pricing three different scopes.

As a painter I include washing the surface in my quote. Too risky to go off someone else's word… I'm liable.

AU Painting VOCOperator voice · buyer-side mirror

A painter's quote should split into seven lines. If the cheap painter is missing any of them, that's where the savings are coming from — and where the trouble starts.

The seven lines a real quote should show

1Wash + clean. Sugar-soap the walls. Removes oils, kitchen residue. Without it, paint lifts.
2Sanding + filling. Nail holes, cracks, surface roughness. Quality of finish lives here.
3Masking + drop sheets. Floors, fixtures, edges. Cowboys skip this; you pay in cleanup.
4Primer. Specific to surface + paint. Skipping = bleed-through, peeling. Different primer for new plaster vs old enamel vs steel.
5Coats. How many. Two is industry standard. One = "you'll see the old colour through it." Three = darker colours, problem walls.
6Paint quality + brand. Dulux Wash & Wear vs Bunnings bottom-shelf. Branded paint costs more, lasts longer, washes cleanly.
7Cut-in + edges. Ceilings, skirting, architraves. The painter's craftsmanship is visible here for the next 10 years.

Indicative ranges · 3-bedroom interior

AU 2026

Cheap quote (no prep, 1 coat)	$2,800 – $4,500
Mid-tier (light prep, 2 coats, mid paint)	$5,500 – $8,500
Premium (full prep, branded paint, 2–3 coats)	$9k – $14k
Heritage / lead-paint / two-storey	$15k – $30k+
Exterior (weatherboard or render, 3BR)	$8k – $22k

Indicative. Cathedral ceilings, dark-to-light colour changes, heritage finishes, lead-paint testing/encapsulation = upper end.

Ask this, exactly

Save · share · screenshot

"Can you send the quote split into prep, primer, paint brand and product, number of coats, masking, and cut-in — with the dollar amount for each?"

A working painter sends a detailed PDF. A cowboy sends "$4,500 to do the house." That sentence is the trap.

How to tell a real one from a cowboy.

The painting villain isn't door-knockers. It's the cash painter who walks in with a roller, no prep kit, and a quote that's $4,500 because there's nothing in it.

Red flags — in order of how often you'll meet them

!
"No prep needed"
Every wall in every house needs at least a sugar-soap wash and a sand. A painter who tells you otherwise is pricing the cheap quote you're about to take.
!
No primer in the quote
Skip the primer and the topcoat doesn't bond. Bleed-through, peeling, the old colour ghosting through. Saves $200 today. Costs $4,000 in three years.
!
Cash discount
No invoice, no warranty trail, no GST. If the work fails, you have nothing to claim against. Almost always means uninsured work and an unregistered operator.
!
"Whatever paint you like"
A working painter has product preferences. A cowboy doesn't care because the cheap-shelf paint and the premium paint cost them the same labour to apply. You wear the difference for the next decade.
!
No insurance / no licence (where required)
In NSW, painting work over $5k requires a tradesperson certificate. In other states the rules differ. Public liability is essential — a $20 spill on the carpet without insurance is on you.

The verification routine — 5 minutes, free

✓
Licence on the state register if your job is over the state's threshold (NSW: $5k. Others vary).
✓
ABN on abr.business.gov.au. At least 12 months. Entity name matches.
✓
Public liability insurance. Certificate of currency on request.
✓
Two reference jobs. Recent. In your area. Drive past one. The exterior weathered three years tells you everything.
✓
Quote on letterhead. Itemised. Brand and product names on the paint. Not a text.

Ask this, exactly

"Could you send your licence (if required for this size job), your public liability certificate of currency, and the brand + product name of the paint you'll use?"

What licence applies — and when?

Painting is one of the few trades on this site where the licensing rules genuinely change by state. Don't accept the universal "fully licensed" line — ask which licence, in which state, for which dollar amount.

NSWNew South Wales

NSW Fair Trading

Painting work over $5,000 requires a tradesperson certificate.
Above $20,000: Home Building Compensation cover required.
Max deposit: 10%.
Check Service NSW.

QLDQueensland

QBCC

Painting work over $3,300 requires a QBCC licence.
Same threshold triggers Home Warranty Scheme cover.
Check qbcc.qld.gov.au.
Painters above the threshold must be QBCC-licensed.

VICVictoria

VBA

Painters registered with VBA for work over $10,000.
Above $16,000: Domestic Building Insurance required.
Max deposit: 10% ($10k–$20k) or 5% ($20k+).
Check vba.vic.gov.au.

"Fully licensed" only means something if your state requires the licence.

South Australia has no painter licence requirement at all. WA requires it only for high-rise. NSW, QLD and VIC require it above their dollar thresholds. Don't accept "fully licensed" as a universal answer — ask which licence, issued by which body, for which class of work, with the number to check.

Ask this, exactly

"In my state, for a job this size, which licence do you hold and what's the number?"

Half-time

The cheap painter is the most expensive painter.

Quote anatomy, the cowboy test, the licence. The first three put the prep where it belongs — in the conversation, not the surprise. The next seven are how you tell working painters apart from each other, and how the finish stays clean ten years from now.

How long does it actually take?

A 3-bedroom interior is 5–10 working days for one painter, less for a crew. Exteriors take longer because of weather, prep depth, and ladder access. A painter who promises "two days max" is either using a roller-spray combo with no cut-in or building in the variation they'll bill you for later.

A realistic start.

Working painters are usually 4–8 weeks out. "I can start tomorrow" should make you ask why they aren't booked.

A realistic duration.

3BR interior: 5–10 days. 4BR + ceilings: 8–14. Exterior weatherboard: 10–18. Heritage exteriors: weeks longer.

Weather + season.

Exterior paint needs temperature + low humidity. Summer humidity in coastal regions and winter cold inland both rule out exterior days.

Ask this, exactly

"How many working days do you actually need for this scope, and what's your rule if weather pushes it?"

What happens next, step by step.

1Step

Site walkthrough + quote

Painter visits, measures, samples surfaces. Quote returned with brand + product, prep depth, coats, line items.
2Step

Colour + product selection

You pick paint brand, finish (matt/low sheen/gloss), and colours. Painter checks compatibility with existing surface.
3Step

Contract + 10% deposit

Letterhead, licence number where required. Schedule confirmed. Variation rules in writing.
4Step

Prep day(s)

Sugar-soap wash, sanding, filling, masking, drop sheets, primer where needed. The longest single step on a clean job.
5Step

Cut-in + coats

Edges, corners, ceilings cut in by brush. Walls rolled. Drying time between coats — 4 to 24 hours depending on product.
6Step

Walk-through + touch-up

Inspect under daylight + lamp. Touch-ups marked. Final clean. Leftover paint tin labelled with room + colour for your future use.

Patch, refresh, or full repaint?

The scope decision most quotes hide. A targeted patch isn't worse than a full repaint — it's a different job. The painter should price all three honestly, and tell you which fits your situation.

Option A

Patch + touch-up

Fix marks, knocks, problem walls without painting the whole house. Colour matched from the original tin.

Right when: paint is otherwise sound, you have the original tin, problem is localised.

Wrong when: paint is faded everywhere, original tin lost, colour change wanted.

$300 – $1,500

Indicative · AU 2026

Option B · most common

Room refresh

Repaint specific rooms with light prep. Walls and ceilings, sometimes trim. Most common residential job.

Right when: a few rooms tired, colour change wanted, budget-aware.

Wrong when: whole-house overhaul, exterior failing, lead paint suspected.

$1,800 – $5,500

Per 2–3 rooms · AU 2026

Option C

Full repaint

Interior + exterior, walls + ceilings + trim. Full prep. New colour scheme.

Right when: pre-sale, post-renovation, paint is failing across the house.

Wrong when: paint is mostly sound — partial scope saves you thousands.

$9k – $30k+

3BR · interior + exterior

Cowboys default to "full repaint" because it's the biggest job and the easiest to upsell. A working painter looks at the walls and says "this room needs to be redone, that one needs a touch-up." That diagnostic conversation is the moment you find out which painter you're talking to.

Ask this, exactly

"Looking at the walls now, would you say a patch, a partial refresh, or a full repaint — and what made you call it that way?"

Warranty — paint ≠ workmanship.

"5-year workmanship warranty" on a painter's brochure is white noise unless it spells out what's covered, what's excluded, and who's liable. There are three different warranty layers — confusing them is how the cowboy avoids the callback.

Layer 01

Statutory consumer law

Reasonable workmanship for a reasonable period under ACL. Doesn't require a brochure. Always exists.
Layer 02

Painter's workmanship

The operator's own promise — typically 3–7 years. Should specify peeling, blistering, lifting, fade. Excludes physical damage, water ingress from elsewhere.
Layer 03

Paint manufacturer warranty

Dulux / Wattyl / Taubmans warranties last 5–25 years depending on product. The painter is not the manufacturer — read the PDF from the brand directly.
Layer 04

HBC / DBI (above state thresholds)

Statutory insurance only kicks in above each state's threshold. Painting often sits below — confirm with the painter for your job size.

Ask this, exactly

"Could you list the workmanship warranty, the paint manufacturer warranty, and exactly what's covered or excluded — in writing?"

Heritage suburb, lead paint, access.

For painters, the suburb effect is real but specific. It's not "Mosman pays more." It's a handful of structural factors that genuinely double the labour cost.

Heritage terraces
Lead paint, multi-layer history, original finishes. Specialist work — wrong painter and you've made things worse, not better.
Two-storey exterior
Scaffold or harness. Insurance requirement. The "I'll use my ladder" quote is the one where you carry the risk if anything happens.
Coastal corrosion
Salt and sun mean different exterior products. A coastal-specific paint system has different prep and primer rules.
Apartment / strata
Common-property approval. Internal-only painting usually fine; balcony or door painting can need permission.

Travel-zone effects for painters are small in cities but real in regional areas. Ask the painter what their no-surcharge radius is, and whether your suburb is inside it.

Ask this, exactly

"What's in your quote for access — ladder, scaffold, harness — and have you done my kind of property before? Photos?"

Edge cases — get a second opinion for…

Pre-1970 buildings (lead paint)

Lead paint requires testing, containment, and specific PPE / disposal rules. Sanding lead is genuinely dangerous. Specialist contractor essential.
Render or stucco surfaces

Different primer, different paint system. The painter who applies house paint to render gets a year before it crazes.
Heritage / Conservation Area

Council pre-approval on exterior colours. Original-material match for original finishes. Specialist painter required.
Steel / metal surfaces

Rust treatment, etch primer, specific topcoats. Wrong system = rust through the new paint in 18 months.
Spray-painted ceilings

Smooth or sprayed-stipple ceilings need different techniques. Patching is hard if the original is sprayed.
Dark-to-light colour change

Needs at least 3 coats, sometimes a tinted primer. Two-coat job won't cover. Ask about coats explicitly.
Mould-prone surfaces

Bathrooms, laundries, north-facing inland walls. Anti-microbial primer + mould-resistant topcoat. Often skipped in cheap quotes.
Cathedral / high ceilings

Scaffold or extension equipment. Not a "two-day job." Cost can be 1.5–2× standard.
Roof painting / restoration

Different trade (often a roofer with painting capability). Don't accept a house painter for a roof.

After they leave.

Paint problems show up in the first three months (touch-ups, drips, missed cut-in) or after two years (lifting, peeling, fading). The defects period and the labelled leftover tin handle the first wave. The warranty handles the second.

Defects period in writing.

3 months minimum on touch-ups, drips, missed coverage. Callbacks for these are free.

Labelled leftover tins.

Each room's leftover paint kept, labelled with room + brand + product + colour code. Saves $400 the next time you nick a wall.

Colour schedule.

Document of every paint used — brand, product, colour code, sheen. Stored digitally and as a printed page in the kitchen drawer.

12-month check-back.

A working painter happily visits 12 months later to look at the surfaces. A cowboy can't be found.

Ask this, exactly

"What's your defects period, will you leave labelled leftover tins, and would you come back at the 12-month mark to look?"

If you've read this far

A painter who quotes the prep before the colour is not a unicorn. It's the bar.

We can introduce you to painters in your area who already work this way — itemised quote, brand named, prep priced, warranty in writing. No paid placement. No referral fees from painters.

✓ We don't take referral fees from tradies✓ Verified means answers all 10✓ No spam. No upsell.

Find a vetted painter Interior · exterior · heritage

Or keep reading — the next 32 trades use the same template.

← Back to all 33 trades

Trade 21 of 33.

Hiring a Painteris a price question with a prep answer.

A research dossier, not a referral page.

The paint is the easy part. The prep is the whole job.

"Fully licensed" only means something if your state requires the licence.

Patch + touch-up

Room refresh

Full repaint

A painter who quotes the prep before the colour is not a unicorn. It's the bar.

Hiring a Painter
is a price question
with a prep answer.

The paint is the easy part.
The prep is the whole job.