Please note that price information in this article was based on data from 2011, and may now be outdated.
If you’re moving around the corner you might want to consider a removalist that charges by the hour. $25 to $74 per hour are your bargain basement rates for a basic move, which typically doesn’t include any frills like transit insurance.
Also, read the fine print and look out for added costs, things like a “back-to-base” fee or a fuel levy might hike up the price. $92 an hour will get you a standard removal including insurance – which covers any damage to your belongings while in transit – at least two men and a three to six tonne truck. To be super safe you might want to splash out on a premium service, which will set you back between $109 and $200. For the extra money you get peace of mind with special “all risks” insurance, which covers any mishaps that might occur while packing or unpacking. And keep in mind that removalists generally charge in 15 or 30 minute blocks, so you won’t have to pay for them to see out the hour killing time in the truck with a meat pie.
Paying a flat rate for a removalist will cost you anywhere between $511 and $726. Figuring out what you should be paying isn’t always easy as there are many different factors that can affect the total job price such as the volume of contents, the number of trips needed, the distance between the pick-up and drop-off locations and the amount of traffic on the road. As a rough guide, you can expect the smaller quotes around the $500 mark are for a one-bedder. It jumps a little to $551 for a two-bedroom place and then a decent whack extra for a three-bedroom house, with the national average hovering at about $699. Add on a fourth bedroom and you’ll pay less than $30 more.
Those in Victoria take this title, paying $86 per hour for a removalist, less than the $92 national average. Even NSW scrapes in under this average, paying $90 – Queensland doesn’t fare so well. Those up north are paying the most at $96 an hour, almost 10 percent more than the national average.
It doesn’t get too much better for Queensland residents when paying by the job either. They pay $606 for a one-bedroom move compared to the NSW average of $264. It does get better as the number of bedrooms increases, with Queenslanders paying $713 for four bedrooms, which is the same as those in NSW. Victorian prices however, soar, as the job gets larger with residents there asked to fork out $1,113 for a four-bedroom house.
When you receive an invoice for removalists remind yourself of what they have saved you from spending at the chiropractor and enjoy your new home pain and callous free.