Insights · Body corporate & strata
The short answer. Published 2026 cost guides put professional garden maintenance in Melbourne at roughly $45-$80 per hour, with national guides quoting $40-$100 and specialised or ride-on work up to about $120 per hour. But owners corporations rarely buy gardening by the hour. Most engage a fixed contract paid from the administrative fund. So the useful question isn't the hourly rate; it's what a year of grounds care should cost for your type of complex.
What the market charges in 2026
Australian cost guides published over the past year land in a consistent band. Melbourne-specific guides quote $45-$80 per hour for garden maintenance, national directories quote $40-$100 per hour with an average around $60, and larger properties needing a ride-on mower are commonly quoted around $120 per hour for that machine time. Regular, scheduled work is consistently priced below one-off visits (one national guide puts recurring mowing at $40-$50 per hour against $60 for a one-off) because a maintained site takes less time each visit than a neglected one.
It's worth knowing why a contractor's rate is roughly double an employed gardener's wage (salary data puts employed gardeners around $28-$34 per hour in Victoria). The contractor's rate has to carry public liability insurance, machinery and fuel, a vehicle and trailer, travel between sites, green-waste disposal fees, superannuation and admin. A quote well below the market band usually means one of those things is missing, and the one that's missing is usually insurance or the green-waste disposal.
Ranges compiled from published Australian gardening cost guides current at July 2026 (Melbourne and national directories). They are market indications only. Every site prices individually.
How owners corporations actually buy grounds care
For an OC, gardening is a line in the administrative fund (the same budget that carries insurance, cleaning and minor repairs) and it's approved by owners at the AGM. Committees and managers typically tender the work and engage a contractor on a fixed monthly or annual price for a defined scope, rather than paying by the hour. That structure exists for a good reason: levies are set annually, so the committee needs the grounds cost to be predictable twelve months out, whatever the weather does.
Visit frequency follows Melbourne's growing season. Most common-property programs run weekly or fortnightly from spring to autumn, stretching to fortnightly or monthly through winter when growth slows. A well-scoped contract builds that seasonality in, rather than charging the February visit rate in July.
Indicative annual budgets by complex size
The honest way to turn hourly market rates into an annual figure is simple arithmetic: visits per year × hours per visit × the market rate band of $50-$80. Here's what that produces for three common complex types. These are illustrative calculations on published rates, not quotes, and real programs vary with everything in the next section.
- Small walk-up block : lawn, edges and a few beds, about an hour a fortnight: 26 visits × 1 hr ≈ $1,300-$2,100 a year (roughly $110-$175 a month).
- Mid-size townhouse complex : shared lawns on a ride-on, hedges and entry beds, 2-3 hours a fortnight: about 65 hours a year ≈ $3,250-$5,200 (roughly $270-$435 a month).
- Larger multi-building site : weekly in season, fortnightly in winter, 3-4 hours a visit: about 130-135 hours a year ≈ $6,650-$10,650 (roughly $555-$890 a month).
If a fixed-fee quote for your complex lands inside the band this arithmetic produces, it's priced on market. Confirm whether quotes are GST-inclusive when comparing.
Seven things that move the price
- Lawn area and machinery. Open lawns a ride-on can cover cost far less per square metre than tight strips that need a push mower and line trimmer.
- Frequency and seasonality. A schedule tuned to growth (more in spring, less in winter) costs less over a year than a flat weekly schedule.
- Access. Locked gates, basement storage, tight corridors and stairs all add minutes to every single visit, forever.
- Hedging load. Long boundary hedges and screening plants are the biggest hidden variable. They're slow work and generate the most green waste.
- Green-waste volume. Disposal costs real money. Confirm removal is included, or the tidy quote leaves clippings in your car park.
- Reporting and compliance. Service reports, insurance certificates and induction requirements take time; contractors who provide them price them in.
- Starting condition. A site that's been let go usually needs a priced catch-up visit before a recurring program can hold it.
Hourly or fixed fee?
Hourly suits one-off jobs. For an OC, fixed-fee wins on three fronts: the committee can budget levies against a known number, the seasonal risk sits with the contractor rather than the owners, and there's no incentive for visits to quietly stretch. The trade is that the scope has to be written properly (what areas, what frequency by season, and what's included) so both sides are pricing the same job.
Red flags in a cheap quote
A price well under the market band is usually missing something. The common gaps: no evidence of public liability insurance (ask for a Certificate of Currency, not a verbal yes), green waste excluded or dumped on site, no written scope so the job shrinks over time, travel or call-out fees added per visit, and no reporting, which means the committee is paying for work it can never verify happened. The cheapest quote that then generates complaints, chase-up emails and a mid-year contractor change is not the cheapest quote.
What to put in your tender or quote request
You'll get comparable, honest prices if every contractor is pricing the same thing. Ask for: a walkthrough before quoting; a written scope naming each area; visit frequency by season; inclusions spelt out (mowing, edges, hedges, beds, weed control, blowing, green-waste removal); a current Certificate of Currency; how the work is reported each visit; and references from comparable sites. For what good looks like in writing, see the Kanga Standard , our own service charter, covers exactly these points.
Want a real number instead of a range? We maintain body corporate and strata common areas across south-east Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula on fixed monthly fees, with a service report after every visit. See the body corporate service, or request a free walkthrough and quote , usually with a reply the same business day.
Common questions
How much does body corporate gardening cost per year in Melbourne?
Using published 2026 market rates of roughly $50-$80 per hour for regular maintenance, a small walk-up block might budget around $1,300-$2,100 a year, a mid-size townhouse complex around $3,250-$5,200, and a larger multi-building site around $6,650-$10,650. These are indicative figures only. Real programs are quoted after a site walkthrough.
Is it cheaper to pay a gardener hourly or a fixed monthly fee?
Published guides consistently price regular, scheduled maintenance below one-off hourly work, and a fixed monthly fee moves the seasonal risk onto the contractor rather than the owners corporation. For committees, the bigger advantage is budgeting: a fixed fee is predictable for levies and easy to present at the AGM.
What should a body corporate grounds quote include?
A written scope naming the areas covered, the visit frequency by season, what is included (mowing, edges, hedges, beds, weed control, green-waste removal), evidence of public liability insurance, and how the work is reported. If green waste or travel is excluded, the headline price is not the real price.
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