Most tradies set their hourly rate the same way. They ring a mate, check what the bloke down the road charges, and knock a bit off to win the job. Then they wonder why they're flat out all year and still can't get ahead.
Your rate isn't a guess at what the market will wear. It's a sum. Here's what Queensland tradies are charging, why the employee wage is the wrong yardstick, and the five-minute calculation that tells you what your hour is actually worth.
Key Facts: Tradie Hourly Rates in Queensland
- Published Queensland cost guides put electricians at around $80 to $130 an hour incl. GST, with call-out fees of $60 to $100.
- An employed Queensland sparky's base pay is around $53 an hour, so a business owner's charge-out rate needs to be roughly double that.
- Most solo tradies bill 25 to 30 hours a week, not 38, once travel, quoting and admin come out.
- On our worked example, a solo tradie wanting $90,000 a year needs to charge about $96 an hour ex GST, or $105 incl. GST.
- Every hour you can't bill pushes your rate up, so plugging the gaps matters as much as the rate itself.
What Queensland Tradies Charge Per Hour in 2026
These are the ranges homeowners see when they look up costs online. They're estimates, not a survey of what you should charge, but they tell you where your price lands in the customer's head.
Trade | Typical hourly rate | Call-out fee |
|---|---|---|
Electrician (Queensland) | $80 to $130 incl. GST | $60 to $100 |
Electrician (national) | $80 to $150 | $50 to $150 |
Plumber (national) | $80 to $200 | $60 to $150 |
Carpenter (national) | $55 to $130 | Varies |
Plasterer (national) | $50 to $120 | Varies |
Tiler (national) | $50 to $100 | Varies |
Painter (national) | $40 to $100 | Varies |
The national figures don't say whether GST is included, so treat them as a rough guide. After-hours work commonly runs much higher, around $130 to $280 an hour for electricians and $150 to $300 for plumbers.
Why the Employee Wage Is the Wrong Yardstick
An employed Queensland electrician earns around $53 an hour base pay, and a plumber around $50. Award wages also went up 4.75% from 1 July 2026. Plenty of tradies who go out on their own start by charging a bit more than they used to earn. That's where the trouble starts.
Your old boss paid for the ute, the tools, the insurance, the phone, the accountant, your super, your holidays and every hour you spent driving between jobs. Now you pay for all of it, out of the hours you can actually bill. That's 'The Invisible Invoice', or, as it's better known, 'the costs you forgot to charge for'.
The Sum: What Should a Tradie Charge Per Hour?
Four numbers give you your minimum hourly rate:
What you want to earn. Your pay for the year, before tax.
Super. Employees get 12% super on top of their pay. As a sole trader nobody pays it for you, so build it into your rate.
Your business costs. Ute, fuel, insurance, tools, phone, software, licences, accountant. Pull last year's figures from your bank statements.
Your billable hours. The hours you can actually charge a customer for in a year. Be honest here, it's the number that matters most.
The sum: (pay + super + business costs) ÷ billable hours = your minimum hourly rate, ex GST.
The worked example
Here's a solo Brisbane sparky. These figures are illustrations, not industry statistics. Swap in your own.
Item | A year |
|---|---|
Pay he wants to take home (before tax) | $90,000 |
Super at 12% | $10,800 |
Ute, fuel, rego and servicing | $15,000 |
Tools and equipment | $5,000 |
Insurance | $4,000 |
Accountant | $3,000 |
Phone and software | $3,000 |
Licences and memberships | $1,500 |
Total he needs to bring in | $132,300 |
Billable hours (30 a week × 46 weeks) | 1,380 |
Minimum hourly rate | $95.87 ex GST ($105.46 incl. GST) |
That's his floor, with no profit and no buffer for a quiet month. Most business advisers would add a margin on top, so he can put money aside and still pay himself when it rains.
Billable hours change everything
Same costs, same pay. Only the billable hours change.
Billable hours a week | Hours a year (46 weeks) | Minimum rate ex GST | Minimum rate incl. GST |
|---|---|---|---|
25 | 1,150 | $115.04 | $126.54 |
30 | 1,380 | $95.87 | $105.46 |
35 | 1,610 | $82.17 | $90.39 |
Ten extra billable hours a week is worth over $30 an hour. That's why chasing quotes at night, returning missed calls and doing invoices on the weekend costs you more than you think. None of it is billable.
Let the Command Centre do the sum
If you'd rather not do this on the back of an envelope, the Tradie Muscle™ Command Centre has a Rate Calculator that runs exactly this sum with your own figures. It sits alongside the other business tools: a BAS Estimator so the quarterly bill isn't a shock, a Project Profitability check to see which jobs actually made money, an Invoice Tracker for who owes you what, and a Payment Allocator that splits each payment into the buckets you set, like tax, super and costs, so you know what's actually yours to spend. Set your rate once, then check every few months that your jobs are still earning it.
What About GST?
If your business turns over $75,000 or more a year, you must register for GST and add 10% to your price. Quote your rate clearly as incl. or ex GST, because customers compare the number they see. If you're not sure where you sit, check with your accountant or BAS agent. This article is general information, not tax advice.
The Verdict: Is It Time to Put Your Rate Up?
Do this if
- You set your rate by copying someone else's
- You're flat out but your bank balance isn't moving
- You haven't changed your rate since before July's award increase
- You've never worked out your real billable hours
Don't do this if
- You've done the sum this year and you're already above your minimum
- Most of your hours go unbilled, because fixing that comes first
- You're quoting fixed prices that already cover your costs and margin
Hourly Rate FAQs
What is the average hourly rate for a tradie in Queensland?
Published Queensland cost guides put electricians at around $80 to $130 an hour incl. GST. Other trades vary widely, so work out your own minimum from your costs and billable hours rather than copying an average.
Should I charge a call-out fee?
Many Queensland tradies do, commonly $60 to $100 for electricians. It covers your travel and time getting to the job, which you can't bill any other way.
How many hours a week can a solo tradie actually bill?
Usually 25 to 30, not 38. Travel, quoting, picking up materials, chasing payments and admin all eat into the week. Track yours for a fortnight to find your real number.
Do I add GST to my hourly rate?
Only if you're registered for GST, which you must be once your turnover hits $75,000 a year. If you are, add 10% and say clearly whether your price is incl. or ex GST.