A standard full bathroom renovation costs $15,000-$35,000. Cosmetic, layout-kept jobs run $8,000-$15,000, and premium work $35,000-$60,000+. The HIA puts the national average actually spent at $26,747. Here is where the money goes - and the one decision that moves the price most.
Bathroom pricing has a quiet trap: "budget" figures from marketplaces describe cosmetic, like-for-like work, while renovator-quoted full strip-outs and HIA actual-spend data cluster much higher. Both are real - they are just pricing different jobs. We label which is which.
$8,000-$15,000
Layout unchanged, like-for-like fixtures (hipages, via Canstar and Savings.com.au). A simple renovation of a small bathroom sits at $10,000-$15,000 on Service.com.au's figures.
$15,000-$35,000
Full strip-out renovation (hipages). Service.com.au calls $15,000-$30,000 the range most people budget for; Mertico's 2025 guide gives $15,000-$25,000.
$35,000-$60,000
Premium tier usually means layout change, relocations and high-end fixtures (Canstar / Three Birds Renovations; CAP Bathrooms gives $35,000-$80,000+).
$60,000+
Fully custom work with structural change and designer fixtures. Separately, one publisher puts a small bathroom full renovation at $20,000-$27,000 (Yellow Pages) - far above Service.com.au's $10,000-$15,000 simple small-bathroom figure, because it describes a full renovation rather than a simple layout-kept job. We publish both with their scope labels; they are never averaged.
A small bathroom or ensuite costs less than a large one, but not in proportion to its floor area - the same trades still visit, the same waterproofing rules apply, and the toilet, basin and shower cost about the same whatever the size of the room (Service.com.au). Typical sizes: an ensuite is 3-5 m² of floor, a main bathroom 6-10 m². Per-m² cross-checks run $2,300-$4,600/m² (hipages and ServiceSeeking, via RenovationCalculator.au), with smaller rooms at the top of that band because fixed costs dominate.
Actual quotes vary by scope more than by postcode: Service.com.au's published full-renovation quotes over the 12 months to October 2026 had a median of $16,500, with the middle half between $4,500 and $25,000 - and the source itself warns some of those quotes are labour-only.
Cross-checked ranges for each part of a full renovation. Labour is typically 40-60% of the total job.
| Line item | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Demolition / strip-out | $800-$3,000 | A straightforward strip-out is usually $500-$1,500; the wider band covers difficult access and disposal. |
| Plumbing (rough-in + fit-off, layout kept) | $1,500-$5,000 | Plumbers charge about $100-$150/hr. Moving fixtures is extra - see drivers below. |
| Electrical | $600-$4,000 | Densest overlap across sources is $800-$2,500. Electricians run about $70-$95/hr plus a call-out. |
| Waterproofing | $700-$1,500 | Allow up to $3,000 in Sydney or for large wet rooms. Must be done to AS 3740 - see licensing below. |
| Tiling (floor + walls, supply + install) | $2,500-$9,000 | Room size and tile choice drive this more than any other line; floor-to-ceiling tiling and stone sit at the top. |
| Vanity / cabinetry | $300-$6,000+ | Budget prefab $300-$700, mid-range $800-$2,500, high-end $3,000-$6,000+ (Service.com.au fixture table). |
| Toilet | $150-$3,000+ | Budget $150-$500, mid $600-$1,200, high-end $1,300-$3,000+. |
| Bath | $300-$8,000+ | Acrylic $300-$800, freestanding mid-range $1,000-$2,500, stone or cast iron $3,000-$8,000+. |
| Shower screen | $400-$4,000+ | Framed $400-$800, semi/frameless $900-$1,800, custom frameless $2,000-$4,000+. |
| Tapware | $100-$3,000+ | Budget $100-$300, mid $400-$1,000, designer $1,100-$3,000+. |
Our calculator prices a 6 m² main bathroom, mid-range tier, layout kept, no bath, frameless screen, 22 m² of tiling: demolition $1,500 + plumbing $3,000 + electrical $1,400 + waterproofing $1,100 + tiling $3,080 + fixtures $4,600 = about $14,700, within a $9,700-$23,700 range. That point sits at the bottom of the standard band - correctly, because the example keeps the layout and skips the bath. Add a freestanding bath and it rises by about $1,750; move one fixture and it rises by about $3,250. It is also below the HIA average spend of $26,747, because HIA actuals include the layout changes, baths and premium selections this example leaves out.
The #1 controllable driver: +$1,500-$5,000 or more (Service.com.au). Moving the toilet or shower - or converting a bath to a walk-in shower - is what pushes a small bathroom out of the simple band toward the middle tier.
The widest swing in the budget. Fixtures and fittings are 20-35% of a small standard bathroom's cost, and the gap between budget and designer selections is measured in tens of thousands across a whole room.
Tiles are 15-25% of a typical budget. Floor-to-ceiling tiling, large-format tiles, mosaics and natural stone all push the tiling line toward its $9,000 top.
Wet-area waterproofing must meet the National Construction Code, which accepts the NCC wet-area provisions or AS 3740 (Waterproofing of domestic wet areas), and you should ask for a waterproofing certificate on completion. In NSW and Queensland, waterproofers must be licensed; in Queensland waterproofing is its own QBCC licence class, and a waterproofing certificate (Form 43 or Form 12) is required when the work exceeds $3,300. Plumbing and electrical work must always be done by licensed tradespeople - in NSW a licence is needed for that specialist work whatever the job costs.
Prices cross-checked against hipages, Service.com.au, Canstar, Mertico, CAP Bathrooms, YourStory Property, Blue Leaf Bathrooms, RenovationCalculator.au and HIA figures, October 2026.
A standard full bathroom renovation costs $15,000-$35,000. Cosmetic, layout-kept jobs run $8,000-$15,000, and premium work $35,000-$60,000+. The HIA puts the national average actually spent at $26,747. Here is where the money goes - and the one decision that moves the price most.
The biggest drivers are moving plumbing, fixture tier and tiles and tiled extent. Each one is worked through with prices in the guide above, and the calculator prices them for your job.
Use the free calculator linked from this guide - it prices your job with the same installed ranges used here, in about 30 seconds. It is a guide range, not a quote: your contractor confirms a fixed price after seeing the job.
No - they are researched guide ranges, cross-checked across at least two published sources, not quotes. Prices move with your area, the condition of the site and the scope you choose. Get itemised quotes in writing, and check the tradesperson's licence with your state building authority before you book.
The calculator builds your estimate line by line from the ranges in this guide - room type, tier, layout and fixtures - in about a minute.