Typical market prices by fence type, worked examples from 15m to 45m, what pushes a quote up, and a free online instant estimate for your own fence line in about 2 minutes.
A standard 1.8m timber paling fence typically costs about $120 to $190 per metre installed in Melbourne, based on published industry cost guides.
These are market ranges, not our prices. For a figure for your own boundary, draw your fence line on our free online instant estimate. It takes about 2 minutes.
The quickest way to answer "how much will my fence cost?" is to price your actual fence. Search your address, click along the fence at each corner (or type the metres), and our free fence cost calculator gives you a free online instant estimate for a timber paling fence (building in steel? use the Colorbond fence calculator). No callbacks, no sales visit. Your written price follows a free on-site measure and written quote.
Get my instant estimate →"How much will my fence cost?" is the first question almost every Melbourne homeowner asks, and the honest answer is it depends on your fence and your site. This guide gives you the published market ranges for each fence type, works them through for common backyard lengths, explains what actually moves the price, and shows you how to get an estimate for your property in about two minutes.
These are typical Melbourne market ranges for a fully installed fence (materials, posts, concrete footings and labour), taken from published 2025 and 2026 industry cost guides. They are a guide to the market, not our price list: your own figure depends on the factors further down, and our free online instant estimate prices your actual fence line.
| Fence type | Typical installed price (market range) | Published source | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard timber paling, 1.5 to 1.8mSee our timber paling fence cost per metre guide | About $120 to $190 per metre | Working band across Airtasker (Melbourne timber paling about $150 to $170), What's The Damage and Melbourne installer cost guides, 2025 to 2026 | Standard boundary and backyard fences |
| Lapped and capped paling, 1.8mLapped and capped: is it worth it? | About $135 to $180 per metre (the same guide puts a standard 1.8m treated pine paling at about $84 to $115 on a simple job) | What's The Damage, Melbourne timber paling costs, October 2026 | Privacy with no gaps, and a capped top that protects the palings |
| Privacy paling, 2.1m | About $150 to $250 per metre | Melbourne installer cost guides, 2025 to 2026 | Maximum privacy (over 2m usually needs a building permit) |
| Hardwood paling | About $120 to $200 per metre | Melbourne installer cost guides, 2026; What's The Damage puts hardwood palings and posts at about $170 to $200 (October 2026) | A richer look and longer life |
| Colorbond, 1.8m, basic install | About $100 to $180 per metre | Melbourne installer cost guides and What's The Damage, 2025 to 2026 | Low maintenance, won't rot or warp |
| Colorbond, 1.8m, fully inclusive | About $180 to $260 per metre | Higher-end Melbourne cost guides that include concrete footings and old fence handling, 2025 to 2026 | Comparing like for like against an all-in quote |
Published installed figures for Colorbond range widely with inclusions, so check whether a quote is a basic install or fully inclusive before you compare it. A 2.0m paling fence usually prices between the 1.8m and 2.1m figures. A side or rear boundary fence up to 2m generally needs no building permit in Victoria, but taller fences normally do, and front fences, corner blocks and planning overlays have their own rules, so check our fence permit guide and your council before going higher.
The bottom of these bands usually means lighter posts, wider post spacing, two rails and no plinth. Full-spec builds, with hardwood posts, three rails, a plinth board, concrete on every post and a registered builder, sit at the top of the band or above it. They cost more up front and are built to last longer.
What goes into that price is broken down in our paling fence cost guide, and the post choice in hardwood vs treated pine fence posts.
Industry note: published "per metre" prices online are usually a starting point that excludes removal, slope, gates and access, which is exactly why two quotes for "the same" fence can differ by hundreds of dollars. An accurate estimate has to look at your actual fence line.
Here is what the published market range for a standard 1.8m timber paling fence ($120 to $190 per metre installed) works out to for common backyard lengths, with the half share each neighbour would usually pay on a shared boundary.
| Fence length | Typical total (market range) | Half share, each neighbour |
|---|---|---|
| 15 metres | About $1,800 to $2,850 | About $900 to $1,425 |
| 20 metres | About $2,400 to $3,800 | About $1,200 to $1,900 |
| 30 metres | About $3,600 to $5,700 | About $1,800 to $2,850 |
| 45 metres | About $5,400 to $8,550 | About $2,700 to $4,275 |
Before you budget off this table:
A 20 metre, 1.8m timber paling fence at the typical $120 to $190 per metre comes to roughly $2,400 to $3,800 installed, plus removal if the old fence has to come out. If it is a shared boundary fence, Victoria's Fences Act 1968 generally has neighbours share the cost of a sufficient dividing fence equally (see who pays for a dividing fence), so each side would pay about $1,200 to $1,900.
Enter your address, draw your fence line on the map, and see your free online instant estimate straight away. No callbacks, no pushy sales visit.
Get my instant fence estimate →Two homes on the same street can get very different quotes. These are the factors a good fencer prices around:
Comparing quotes line by line? Use our 12-point checklist on how to compare fence quotes in Melbourne.
Walk the fence and check three things:
If the posts are solid and only a few palings or a rail are damaged, a small repair is the cheaper move, and that kind of job usually suits a handyman. Once posts have rotted, the fence leans, or the repairs keep coming, replacement is usually better value across a new paling fence's typical 15 to 20 year life (see how long does a fence last in Melbourne). We build full fence replacements rather than small repairs: our fence replacement guide walks through the process. Fence down after a storm? See fence blown down in a storm: who pays and what to do.
If the fence sits on a boundary you share with a neighbour, you may both be responsible for the cost under Victoria's Fences Act 1968, which is where the half-share column above comes from. There is a formal Fencing Notice process for seeking a contribution, explained in our who pays for a dividing fence in Victoria guide, and our free Fencing Notice tool helps you prepare one. If your neighbour won't engage, see neighbour won't pay for the fence: your options. For your situation, check with the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria. We can split the written quote across both owners from the start.
We build timber paling and Colorbond fences across Melbourne from our base in Heatherton:
Most Melbourne fences are priced per metre installed. Published 2026 cost guides put a standard 1.8m timber paling fence at about $120 to $190 per metre, a 2.1m privacy paling fence at about $150 to $250, and Colorbond at about $100 to $180 for a basic install or $180 to $260 fully inclusive. A typical 20 to 30 metre backyard boundary in timber paling therefore lands around $2,400 to $5,700 before old fence removal and gates. These are market ranges, not our prices. For your own fence line, the free online instant estimate at expanse.builders gives you a figure in about 2 minutes.
In 2026 a standard 1.8m timber paling fence in Melbourne typically costs about $120 to $190 per metre installed, based on published industry cost guides. Lapped and capped palings, 2.0m and 2.1m heights and hardwood palings cost more, and full-spec builds with hardwood posts, three rails and a plinth sit at the top of the band or above it. Old fence removal and gates are usually extra. A 20m standard paling fence lands around $2,400 to $3,800 before removal. For your exact figure, draw your fence line on the free online instant estimate at expanse.builders; your written price follows a free on-site measure and written quote.
At the typical published range of $120 to $190 per metre for a standard 1.8m timber paling fence, a 30 metre fence comes to about $3,600 to $5,700 installed. If it is a dividing fence shared 50/50 with your neighbour, each side would pay about $1,800 to $2,850. Old fence removal, gates and sometimes GST are extra, depending on the quote.
A 20 metre, 1.8m timber paling fence at the typical published $120 to $190 per metre comes to about $2,400 to $3,800 installed, or about $1,200 to $1,900 each if you split a dividing fence with your neighbour. Add old fence removal if the existing fence has to come out, plus any gates.
At the typical published $120 to $190 per metre, a 15 metre timber paling fence works out at about $1,800 to $2,850, or about $900 to $1,425 each on a shared boundary. Short runs often cost more per metre, because set-up, delivery and disposal are spread over fewer metres, so expect a 15 metre job toward the top of that range or above it.
The biggest cost drivers are length (short runs cost more per metre), height (2.0m and 2.1m cost more than 1.8m), the spec (post type, rail count, lapped and capped palings), removal and disposal of the old fence, sloping or stepped ground, difficult access for materials, and the number of gates. With Colorbond, what the quote includes, such as footings and old fence removal, makes a big difference.
If the posts are solid and only a few palings or a rail are damaged, a small repair is cheaper, and that kind of job usually suits a handyman. Once posts have rotted, the fence leans, or you are patching it every year, replacement is usually better value across a new fence's 15 to 20 year life. We build full fence replacements rather than small repairs.
No. After your free online instant estimate, the on-site measure and written quote are free and no-obligation, with no deposit to book. Measures need 24 hours' notice, so same-day visits are not available.
Start with a free online instant estimate for your fence line, then book a free on-site measure and written quote. No obligation, no deposit to book, and measures need 24 hours' notice. Hardwood posts are standard on every timber fence we build, old fence removal is its own line, gates are priced separately, and vegetation removal and plant protection are not included, so we state them up front.
Start my instant estimate → Call 0433 938 540General information to help you budget, current at October 2026. It is not a quote or financial advice. Price figures are third-party market ranges from published cost guides, not our prices, and they change over time. Your written price follows a free on-site measure. Dividing fence and permit rules can change, so check with your council or the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria for your situation.
Sources: market ranges from What's The Damage, Melbourne fencing costs, What's The Damage, timber paling fence cost Melbourne and What's The Damage, fence removal cost Melbourne (October 2026), Airtasker, fencing cost guide, and published Melbourne installer cost guides (2025 to 2026); vic.gov.au: Fencing in Victoria; Fences Act 1968; Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria. This guide is general information, not legal advice.