Supply + install: hybrid $70-$120 per m², laminate $55-$100, engineered timber $110-$230 and carpet $45-$120. Most homeowners spend $70-$140 per m² installed across all materials - and the difference between a cheap job and a dear one is usually hiding under the floor, not in it.
All figures are supply + install per m² unless stated. One basis warning: carpet is sold in broadloom metres - one broadloom metre is a 3.66 m-wide roll cut 1 m long, about 3.66 m². A $60/m² carpet is $219.60 per broadloom metre, and rooms that do not divide neatly by 3.66 m waste more. Our calculator converts for you.
| Material | Installed per m² | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid (SPC/WPC) | $70-$120 | Typical range across 2026 installer guides; budget jobs from ~$60, premium/wide-plank to ~$150 |
| Laminate | $55-$100 | Standard product + install; up to ~$150 all-in with premium product, trims and prep |
| Engineered timber | $110-$230 | Premium, wide-board or glue-down jobs to ~$300 |
| Carpet | $45-$120 | ~$65/m² is the mid-market average (hipages, Carpet One, Yellow Pages agree); premium wool/blends to $200+ |
Useful when a quote bundles everything into one number - or when you are supplying the product yourself.
| Component | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid supply only | $30-$110/m² | Budget $30-$45, mid $45-$70, premium $70-$110 |
| Laminate supply only | $20-$100/m² | Budget $20-$35, mid $35-$60, premium $60-$100 |
| Engineered timber supply only | $60-$220/m² | Grade, species and board width drive the spread |
| Carpet material only | $20-$150/m² | Polypropylene ~$20, nylon $40-$60, wool $50-$100, wool blends $125-$150 |
| Floating install labour (hybrid/laminate) | $25-$45/m² | Click-lock, pre-finished boards |
| Engineered timber install labour | $35-$70/m² | Floating $35-$55; standard reconciled band to $70 |
| Engineered glue-down labour | $80-$140/m² | Indicative - rests on a single installer's published guide |
| Herringbone / chevron labour | $80-$120/m² | Single-source band (Imperial Flooring); the 30-50% pattern premium over straight lay is the consistent direction |
| Carpet laying labour | $20-$40/m² | Mid ~$35. Ignore any guide quoting $55-$75/m² as "labour only" - that figure only reconciles as supply + install |
| Add-on | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Underlay - floating floors | $5-$12/m² | Laminate foam $3-$6, foam + moisture barrier $6-$10, acoustic $10-$18. Most hybrid has underlay attached - never pay for it twice |
| Underlay - engineered acoustic | $6-$15/m² | Often mandatory in apartments under strata by-laws |
| Removal + disposal, general | $10-$30/m² | Imperial Flooring / Flooring Expert |
| Removal by old floor type | $8-$60/m² | Carpet $8-$18, floating floors $10-$20, vinyl/timber $12-$35, tiles or glued floors $30-$60, plus $200-$600 a job for heavy disposal |
| Subfloor levelling | $25-$60/m² | Applied to the area that needs it, rarely the whole floor. The most common hidden cost in flooring |
| Moisture barrier (basic) | $5-$12/m² | On concrete slabs under floating floors |
| Epoxy damp-proof membrane | $25-$50/m² | Indicative, single-source - only where a slab tests damp; moisture testing itself $150-$300 a job (same source) |
| Stairs | $50-$150/step | Reconciled planning band - published per-step figures range from $30 to $250+ depending on material and whether it is a full step cost or a labour extra |
One line item we could not price honestly: skirting, scotia and trims have no standalone per-metre rate we could cross-check, so installers either bundle them into the install rate or quote them on the day. Ask which yours has done.
The #1 driver: a 2-3x spread inside every material. Hybrid supply goes from $30-$45/m² budget to $80-$110 premium as the wear layer thickens and planks widen; carpet goes from $20/m² polypropylene to $275 alpaca at the extreme.
Per-m² pricing makes area linear, but cutting waste is real: allow ~10% extra product on a straight lay and ~15% on diagonal or herringbone. Carpet wastes by the roll cut, not by percentage.
Prep and levelling at $25-$60/m² is the most common hidden cost. The flatness tolerance (AS 1884) is about 3 mm over 2-3 m, and most existing slabs and board floors miss it - which is why levelling is not really optional.
$8-$18/m² for carpet versus $30-$60/m² for tiles or glued floors. For this line, the floor you are removing matters more than the floor you are laying - tile removal is the item people most often forget entirely.
Floating click-lock is cheapest. Glue-down engineered and herringbone/chevron patterns push labour to $80-$140/m² territory - roughly 30-50% more than a straight floating lay.
A staircase can add four figures. Apartments usually require acoustic underlay under strata by-laws. A damp slab adds testing and possibly an epoxy membrane at $25-$50/m².
The job: mid-range hybrid flooring, 80 m² (living area + 3 bedrooms) in a ground-floor house, straight floating lay, existing carpet to remove, concrete slab mostly flat with minor levelling, underlay attached to the boards, no stairs.
Supply: mid-range hybrid $45-$70/m² x 80 = $3,600-$5,600, plus 10% cutting wastage = $3,960-$6,160. Install labour: $25-$45/m² x 80 = $2,000-$3,600. Underlay: attached, $0. Carpet removal + disposal: $8-$18/m² x 80 = $640-$1,440. Minor levelling on about a quarter of the area (20 m² x $25-$45) = $500-$900.
Guide estimate: $7,100 - $12,100 ($89-$151 per m² all-in)
Sanity check: before add-ons, the core works out to $75-$122/m² - inside the published hybrid band of $70-$120/m². One real published example (Imperial Flooring) prices a 50 m² hybrid job at $116-$121/m² all-in including prep and removal, and our all-in range brackets it. Note the honest wrinkle: with removal and levelling added, the all-in rate can run above the headline $70-$120 band. That is not an error - the headline band does not include ripping up and levelling your old floor, and the flooring calculator says so when it happens.
QLD: "Floor finishing and covering (hard sector)" is its own QBCC licence class, and building work over $3,300 must be done by a licensee - unlicensed work also sits outside the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme.
NSW: there is no dedicated flooring licence for most installation work (a carpentry licence can be required for structural floors). General residential building rules apply over $5,000, with Home Building Compensation cover for larger jobs - check the current position with NSW Fair Trading.
Apartments: changing floors in a unit is not a cosmetic renovation under strata law - you generally need approval, and hard flooring on upper floors must meet acoustic requirements in your by-laws (installers work to AAAC star ratings). Budget for acoustic underlay ($6-$18/m²) and get the approval before you order.
All figures are guides, not quotes. Flooring quotes for identical scope still vary 10-20% between installers - and most of the variation is in what they have assumed about your subfloor. A measure-up that includes lifting a corner of the old floor is worth more than a per-m² rate over the phone.
Prices cross-checked against Imperial Flooring Australia (2026 guide), Timber Flooring Clearance (2026 guide), The Flooring Guys, Hybrid Floors Australia, Flooring Expert, JT Flooring Warehouse, hipages, Canstar and Yellow Pages; licensing per QBCC licence-class documents - October 2026.
Supply + install: hybrid $70-$120 per m², laminate $55-$100, engineered timber $110-$230 and carpet $45-$120. Most homeowners spend $70-$140 per m² installed across all materials - and the difference between a cheap job and a dear one is usually hiding under the floor, not in it.
The biggest drivers are material tier, area + wastage, subfloor condition and removing the old floor. 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 the way an installer builds a quote - supply, labour, then each add-on as its own line.