Free painter invoice template.Painter prices already in it.
Six painting and decorating line items at real 2026 Australian prices, already typed. GST worked out, your ABN checked, every element the ATO requires. Free, nothing uploaded.
Six painting and decorating line items at real 2026 Australian prices, already typed. GST worked out, your ABN checked, every element the ATO requires. Free, nothing uploaded.
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ABN — — —
TAX INVOICE
#1001
Bill to
Customer
Dates
Issued 18/09/2026
Due 02/10/2026
| Description | Qty | Unit | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour, per hour | 1 | $63.00 | $63.00 |
| Day rate, one painter | 1 | $450.00 | $450.00 |
| Interior walls, prepare and two coats, per square metre of wall | 1 | $25.00 | $25.00 |
| Ceiling, prepare and two coats, per square metre | 1 | $20.00 | $20.00 |
| Doors and frames, prepare and paint, per door | 1 | $80.00 | $80.00 |
| Exterior weatherboard, prepare and two coats, per square metre | 1 | $35.00 | $35.00 |
Total price includes GST.
Live preview. This is exactly what prints.
Starting figures, not gospel. Yours depend on your city, your overheads and the job.
ServiceSeeking's house painter guide of 10 February 2026 puts the average at $62.95 an hour from quotes on its platform, and the average day rate at $498.36, which is $62.29 an hour over eight hours. The two figures agree closely, which is why the band is narrow. Only 39% of painting quotes are hourly. 23% are daily, 18% are per square metre at an average of $45.13, and 14% are a fixed job price. The average painting job total is around $2,750.
| Common painting and decorating line item | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Labour, per hour | $63 per hour |
| Day rate, one painter | $450 to $550 |
| Interior walls, prepare and two coats, per square metre of wall | $25 to $45 |
| Ceiling, prepare and two coats, per square metre | $20 to $35 |
| Doors and frames, prepare and paint, per door | $80 to $150 |
| Exterior weatherboard, prepare and two coats, per square metre | $35 to $60 |
| Paint and consumables | At cost plus 15% |
| Access equipment hire, scaffold or boom | At cost |
Rates: ServiceSeeking house painter pricing guide, 10 February 2026 (average $62.95 an hour, average day $498.36, average per square metre $45.13, average job $2,750, split 39% hourly, 23% daily, 18% per square metre, 14% fixed). The per square metre wall and ceiling ranges are narrower than ServiceSeeking's all-jobs average because that average includes exterior, roof and specialist work; they reflect Australian interior painting cost guides for 2026 and should be checked against your own measure and paint cost. Licensing: NSW $5,000, QBCC painting and decorating $3,300, WA painting contractor registration at $1,000, Victoria domestic builder registration at $10,000, no specific licence in Tasmania. GST: ATO tax invoices. No call-out range is given because painters do not generally charge one.
Licence and certificates
Painting is licensed in most states and the thresholds are lower than people expect. NSW requires a contractor licence for residential painting valued over $5,000 including GST in labour and materials. Queensland's QBCC issues a painting and decorating licence and the threshold is $3,300. Western Australia is the strictest, with painting contractor registration required at $1,000 or more. Victoria requires registration as a domestic builder for work of $10,000 or more, so most painters there work under the threshold or register. Tasmania does not require a specific painting licence. Check your own state, put the number on the invoice, and remember the threshold is the value of the whole job, not one invoice.
GST on painting and decorating work
Painting is a taxable supply and 10% GST applies to labour and to the paint you supply. Watch the materials line: paint bought at trade price carries GST you claim back, and the paint you invoice out carries GST you collect. If a customer supplies their own paint, you charge GST on labour only and they hold their own receipt. There is no painting-specific GST exemption. Repainting a residential rental for a landlord is still taxable to you even though the landlord's rent is input taxed.
Payment terms that get paid
Domestic repaints are usually a deposit plus the balance on completion, with 7 day terms. Because paint is bought up front the deposit matters. NSW caps the deposit on residential building work at 10% of the contract price, so on a big repaint stage the payments instead of asking for more up front. Trade work for builders and strata runs on 30 day terms or the statutory maximum: 20 business days after a payment claim for a subcontractor in NSW, a maximum of 25 business days in Queensland. Strata committees meet monthly, so build that into your terms rather than chasing.
Quoting without the argument
State the number of coats and the preparation, because that is the entire difference between two quotes on the same house. Write two coats over a bonding primer, fill and sand all nail holes, cut in to existing cornice, and the customer comparing your price to a cheaper one can see what they are actually comparing. Then extra coats over a strong colour are a variation, not an expectation.
Quote per square metre or as a fixed job price for anything with a measurable surface, and hourly only for patch work and touch-ups where you cannot measure the scope. ServiceSeeking's 2026 data shows painters split about four ways, with only 39% quoting hourly. Per square metre protects you on a big open job, because you are paid for area covered rather than the hours it happens to take. Hourly protects you on a fiddly heritage job where preparation is the real work. Whichever you use, state it on the invoice so the customer can check your maths.
Only if the quote left room for it, which is why the preparation line matters. Write the quote against a stated condition, for example sound walls with minor filling, and name the hourly rate that applies if bare plaster, flaking paint or previous water damage turns up. Then when it does, you send a short variation with a photo before you start, not a bigger invoice at the end. A customer who agrees to a number on Monday does not argue about it on Friday. A customer who sees it first on the invoice always does.
Yes, if you buy it. Who chose the colour is irrelevant. If the paint goes on your account, you claim the GST credit on the purchase and you charge GST on what you invoice out, margin included. If the customer buys it on their own account and you just apply it, then you invoice labour only, with GST on the labour, and they hold their own tax invoice for the paint. Do not mix the two on one job without saying which is which on the invoice, because it makes the GST unclear to their accountant.
Seven things for a sale under $1,000: that the document is intended to be a tax invoice, your identity, your ABN, the date it was issued, a description of the work including quantity and price, the GST amount payable, and which parts of the sale are taxable. At $1,000 or more you also need the buyer's identity or ABN. This tool fills all of them and blocks printing until they are there.
Painting is licensed in most states and the thresholds are lower than people expect. NSW requires a contractor licence for residential painting valued over $5,000 including GST in labour and materials. Queensland's QBCC issues a painting and decorating licence and the threshold is $3,300. Western Australia is the strictest, with painting contractor registration required at $1,000 or more. Victoria requires registration as a domestic builder for work of $10,000 or more, so most painters there work under the threshold or register. Tasmania does not require a specific painting licence. Check your own state, put the number on the invoice, and remember the threshold is the value of the whole job, not one invoice. Alongside the invoice you would normally issue: Lead paint safe work statement for pre-1970 repaints, Product data sheets and paint warranty passed to the owner, SWMS for any work with a risk of a fall over 2 metres.
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