Two kitchens with the same floor plan can land tens of thousands of dollars apart. One keeps its layout, flat-packs its cabinets and laminates its benchtops, while the other moves walls, reroutes plumbing and finishes in natural stone, and neither owner has been quoted dishonestly.
That spread is exactly why kitchen renovation cost Australia searches return such wildly different numbers. The question has no single answer, but it has a structure, three levels of renovation, a handful of components that eat most of the money, and a few decisions that move a quote further than all the handles and splashbacks combined.
This guide prices each level on published Australian figures, then breaks the total into its components so you can check any quote against the same scope.
Three levels of kitchen renovation
Trades marketplace hipages, in its home renovation cost guide, bands whole kitchen jobs by how much changes. Treat these as the map, with the component detail in the next section as the street view.
Budget renovation, $5,000 to $15,000
A budget renovation, in hipages’ description, means simpler alterations rather than a new room. Think new cupboards, replacement light fixtures and appliances, and a tile splashback, with the existing layout, plumbing and wiring left exactly where they are.
This is the level where flat-pack cabinetry and laminate surfaces do the heavy lifting, and where your own labour, assembling cabinets, painting, demolition, can substitute for paid hours. The licensed work stays licensed even here, because plumbing, gas and electrical connections are never a DIY saving.
- Covers, cupboards, fixtures, appliances, a splashback
- Keeps, the layout, and every service connection in place
- Watch, quotes that quietly assume layout changes you never asked for
Standard renovation, $20,000 to $30,000
The standard kitchen renovation is the national middle, the band hipages gives as the general guide for a full new kitchen at $20,000 to $30,000. Cabinetry is new rather than resurfaced, benchtops step up in material, and appliances are replaced as a coordinated set.
Most family kitchens live here. The layout usually survives largely intact, perhaps with an island added or a run extended, and a contractor commonly coordinates the trades because the job now spans builders, plumbers and electricians in sequence.
- Spends on, new cabinetry, better benchtops, a full appliance set
- Includes, licensed trades sequenced across the job
- Timeline, hipages puts kitchen work at two to ten weeks by scale
Premium renovation, from $40,000
A premium renovation starts at around $40,000 on hipages’ figures, and its defining feature is not the stone, it is the layout change. Walls move or come out, the sink and cooktop relocate, and every trade does more work because the room itself is being redesigned.
From there the ceiling is set by appetite rather than by the band. Custom joinery, integrated appliances and natural stone can carry a premium kitchen far past the starting figure, which the component table below shows line by line.
- Defining move, a changed layout, not just richer finishes
- Trades, builders, plumbers and electricians all doing more
- Ceiling, none fixed, appetite and structure decide
Where the money goes, component by component
Whole-job bands orient you, but quotes are written in components. Service.com.au’s 2026 kitchen cost guide prices each component as a typical range at three levels, with the warning that your total depends on where you land in each row.
| Component | Budget | Mid-range | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabinetry | $5,000 to $10,000 | $10,000 to $20,000 | $20,000 to $40,000 |
| Benchtops | $1,000 to $3,000 | $3,000 to $8,000 | $6,000 to $15,000 |
| Appliances | $4,000 to $8,000 | $8,000 to $15,000 | $15,000 to $30,000 |
| Labour | $5,000 to $10,000 | $10,000 to $15,000 | $15,000 to $20,000 |
| Hardware | $200 to $1,000 | $500 to $1,500 | $1,000 to $3,000 |
| Splashback | $800 to $2,000 | $1,500 to $3,000 | $2,500 to $6,000 |
| Flooring | $2,000 to $4,000 | $3,000 to $6,000 | $5,000 to $12,000 |
Read the table as Service.com.au intends it, a budgeting frame rather than a quote. Cabinetry is the largest line at every level, and the jump from pre-made to fully custom cabinets is the single widest swing in the whole budget. Benchtops and splashbacks reward a closer look for the same reason, and our guide to custom kitchen splashbacks and benchtops works through those choices in detail.
At the budget level the Service.com.au build is pre-made melamine or laminate cabinets, sometimes flat-packed for self-assembly, with laminate benchtops and basic appliances. Mid-range keeps laminate or melamine cabinetry with some custom elements and steps benchtops up to porcelain, timber or quartzite, while premium means custom or semi-custom cabinetry in solid timber or premium board, natural stone benchtops and splashbacks, and appliances such as integrated fridges and combi ovens.
Flat-pack or custom, the cabinetry fork
Cabinetry deserves its own section because it is where budgets are won and lost. Service.com.au’s comparison puts pre-made melamine or laminate cabinets at about $5,000 to $10,000, cabinets with some custom elements at $10,000 to $20,000, and fully custom cabinetry at $20,000 to $40,000.
A standard-size flat-pack kitchen can cut the cabinet bill further, particularly if you assemble it yourself. The caution is in the inclusions, because a cabinet package can exclude benchtops, appliances, installation and the licensed trade connections, so compare the complete scope rather than the box price.
Layout changes the cabinet count before materials do. The same guide’s cabinet-only allowances run from about $6,800 for a galley in melamine to $19,700 for a U-shaped kitchen in a country style, with islands adding a run of cabinetry a galley never needs.
What pushes the price up
Moving services is the classic quote-expander. Relocating a sink means moving water and drainage, shifting a cooktop can mean a new gas line or circuit, and both hipages and Service.com.au land on the same advice, keep the sink, cooktop and dishwasher where they are and you keep labour down.
Structural change sits above even that. Removing walls to open the kitchen up is among the changes hipages says pays off best in value, and its FAQ names structural work the most expensive category of renovation change, so the open-plan dream is worth having with your eyes open.
The hidden layer arrives after demolition. Service.com.au lists the usual suspects, repairs found once the old kitchen comes out such as water damage or old wiring, plus demolition and rubbish removal, plastering and painting, design fees, delivery charges and any approvals the job needs.
Holding the budget
Get several quotes for the same written scope. Service.com.au’s method is to fix the layout, cabinet material, benchtop, appliance list and who supplies them, splashback and flooring before asking, then ask each business what is excluded, because a quote given without seeing the room can move once the old kitchen comes out.
Hold a contingency on top. hipages recommends a 10 to 20 percent emergency fund for unexpected surprises, and its budgeting advice repeats the same range, which on a standard kitchen is real money set aside rather than optimism.
An on-site measure before you sign makes the price firmer, and listing appliances separately in every quote makes that line easy to compare, including against prices you can check yourself.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most expensive part of a new kitchen?
Cabinetry, on Service.com.au’s figures, especially custom cabinetry, which runs to $20,000 to $40,000 in a premium kitchen. Premium appliances, at $15,000 to $30,000, and natural stone benchtops, at $6,000 to $15,000, come next.
What hidden costs should I plan for?
The guide lists demolition and rubbish removal, repairs found once the old kitchen comes out, such as water damage or old wiring, moving plumbing, gas or power, plastering and painting, design fees, delivery charges, and any council or building approvals. Ask each quote to say which of these it includes.
How much does a galley or small kitchen cost?
A galley is one of the cheapest layouts to fit out. Cabinets alone run about $6,800 in melamine, $9,900 in a contemporary style and $15,200 in a country style on Service.com.au’s allowances, and you add benchtops, appliances, splashback and labour from the component table for a full budget.
Do I need a licensed tradesperson for a kitchen renovation?
Yes for the connections, use appropriately licensed specialists for plumbing, gasfitting and electrical work. In New South Wales, kitchen renovation work over $5,000 including GST needs the appropriate contractor licence, and in Queensland, home warranty cover applies to insurable residential work above $3,300 including materials, labour and GST, so check your state regulator for your job.
The bottom line
A new Australian kitchen costs $5,000 to $15,000 at the cosmetic level, $20,000 to $30,000 as a standard full renovation, and from $40,000 once the layout itself is on the table, with cabinetry the biggest single line inside every band. Price your own project by fixing the scope first, then testing quotes component by component.
Renovating in Melbourne specifically? Our Melbourne kitchen renovations guide covers the local picture in depth.
