How Much Does Artificial Turf Cost in Australia? (2026)

The short answer

Supply-only artificial turf in Australia runs from about $15 per square metre for entry-level product up to around $60/m² for premium grass with a 40mm-plus pile. Professional installation typically adds another $30–70/m², so a fully installed lawn usually lands somewhere between $50 and $130 per square metre depending on the turf you choose and how much site prep your yard needs.

For a typical 40m² backyard, that means roughly $2,100–2,800 if you do the work yourself, or $3,000–4,500 professionally installed. Those are wide ranges, so the rest of this guide breaks down exactly where the money goes and where you can sensibly save.

Supply-only prices by tier

Most turf sold in Australia falls into three rough tiers, and pile height is the quickest way to tell them apart.

Tier	Pile height	Typical price (supply only, inc. GST)	Best suited to
Budget	15–25mm	$15–30/m²	Low-traffic spots, rentals, side paths
Mid-range	25–35mm	$30–45/m²	Family backyards, general landscaping
Premium	35–45mm	$40–60/m²	Front lawns, showpiece areas, bare feet

Our own range follows the same three tiers, from a 20mm starter turf through to a 40mm premium. See current pricing on the product pages, where the instant calculator lets you price your exact size in a few seconds rather than guessing from a per-metre figure.

If you're not sure which tier suits your yard, the pile height guide walks through the trade-offs in detail. The short version: taller pile looks lusher but flattens faster under heavy traffic, and shorter pile is tougher but less plush underfoot.

What professional installation costs

Expect $30–70/m² for professional installation on top of the turf itself. That's a big range, and here's what pushes a quote toward either end:

• Existing surface. Laying over prepared soil is cheap. Ripping out an old lawn, breaking up concrete or dealing with heavy clay all add labour and disposal costs.
• Access. If a bobcat can drive in, prep is fast. If every barrow of crusher dust has to come through a hallway or up stairs, you'll pay for the extra hours.
• Shape and edges. A plain rectangle is quick. Curves, garden beds, paving edges and tight cuts around posts all take time and create more waste.
• Job size. Small jobs cost more per square metre because the installer's call-out, setup and minimum charge get spread over fewer metres. A 15m² courtyard might cost $70/m² to install while a 100m² yard comes in at $35/m².

Always get an itemised quote. Some installers include base materials and disposal in their rate; others quote labour only and the extras appear later. Two quotes that look $500 apart can actually be near-identical once you line up what's included.

What DIY actually costs

Laying turf yourself is genuinely doable on a flat, accessible yard, and our how to lay artificial turf guide covers the full method. But DIY isn't free. Budget for:

• Base materials: $10–20/m². Crusher dust or road base, weed membrane, joining tape, securing pins and sand infill. This is the line item people forget most often.
• Tool hire: $150–300. A plate compactor runs about $100–150 a day, and a turf cutter is worth hiring if you're removing an existing lawn.
• Delivery: $50–200. Turf ships as bulky rolls on a truck, not in a satchel. Regional addresses cost more.
• Green waste disposal. A skip bin or several tip runs if you're pulling out old lawn and soil.

DIY typically saves you $25–50/m² versus paying an installer, which on a decent-sized yard is real money. The honest trade-off: base prep is 80% of the result. A perfectly compacted, level base makes cheap turf look good, and a lumpy base makes premium turf look terrible. If you're not confident getting the base flat, that's the part worth paying for.

What drives the price of the turf itself

Two rolls can look similar in photos and be $25/m² apart. Here's what you're actually paying for.

Pile height

Taller fibres mean more yarn per square metre, which is the single biggest cost driver. A 40mm turf simply contains a lot more plastic than a 20mm one.

Density

Stitch rate (stitches per m²) determines how packed the surface is. Denser turf stands up better, hides its backing, and resists flattening. Low-density turf relies on sand infill to look full, and it shows gaps sooner.

Backing quality

The latex or polyurethane backing holds every tuft in place. Cheap single-coat backings shed fibres and can delaminate in a few summers of Australian UV. A solid double-coated backing with proper drainage holes costs more upfront and is a big part of why warranties differ between products.

Yarn shape

Flat yarns are cheapest but crush easily. Shaped yarns (C-shape, W-shape, diamond and similar) have a spine that springs back after being walked on, and they diffuse sunlight so the lawn reads matte rather than shiny. This is one of the clearest visible differences between budget and premium turf.

Worked example: a 40m² backyard, mid-range turf

Say you've got a 40m² rectangular backyard and you've picked a mid-range 30mm turf at $35/m². Rolls come 3.71m wide, so between roll layout and cutting around edges you should order roughly 5–10% extra — call it 44m². (The yard measuring guide shows how to plan your roll layout so the waste stays closer to 5%.)

Item	DIY	Professionally installed
Turf, 44m² @ $35/m²	$1,540	$1,540
Base materials	$400–800	usually in install rate
Tool hire	$150–300	n/a
Installation labour	n/a	$1,600–2,400 (40m² @ $40–60)
Delivery	$50–150	often included
Total	$2,150–2,800	$3,150–3,950

So on this job, DIY saves roughly $1,000–1,200 in exchange for a solid weekend or two of physical work. Neither answer is wrong. If your base is already close to level and you're handy, DIY stacks up well. If the yard needs excavation or you want it done in a day, the install fee buys a lot.

Hidden costs people miss

A few things reliably blow out first-time budgets:

• Waste from cuts. The 5–10% extra isn't optional. Rolls are 3.71m wide, so a 4m-wide yard needs two runs and leaves a long offcut you've still paid for.
• Old lawn removal. Digging out and dumping 40m² of turf and topsoil can mean a skip bin at $300–500 before a single roll arrives.
• Edging. Timber, steel or paver edging to pin the perimeter isn't always in the quote.
• Extra infill. Bags of kiln-dried sand add up on larger areas, and high-traffic lawns benefit from a top-up after the first year.
• Freight surprises. Bulky-goods delivery to regional areas can be triple the metro rate. Get the delivered price before comparing suppliers.

Buying online vs a landscape yard

Landscape supply yards let you stand on samples in person, which genuinely helps, and you can take stock home the same day. The trade-off is overhead: a physical yard with staff and stock holding builds margin into every metre, and range is limited to what's on the rack.

Buying direct online is usually cheaper per square metre for equivalent spec, and you order the exact length you need rather than rounding to what's in stock. The sensible middle path: order free samples online first, feel them in your own yard's light, then order. Check the returns policy before you buy either way — cut-to-length rolls generally can't be returned, which is another reason to measure carefully and sample first.

Frequently asked questions

Is cheap artificial turf worth buying?

Cheap turf ($15–25/m²) is a reasonable choice for low-traffic areas like side paths, rentals or a spot the kids will outgrow, but it flattens faster, looks shinier, and its backing usually carries a shorter warranty. For a main lawn that gets daily use, mid-range turf around $30–45/m² is typically the better value over a 10–15 year life because it keeps its looks for far longer.

Is artificial turf cheaper than a real lawn over 10 years?

Usually yes, once you count everything. A real lawn is cheap to establish but costs money every year in water, fertiliser, mowing fuel or a mowing service, whereas artificial turf is a large one-off cost of roughly $50–130/m² installed with only occasional brushing and rinsing afterwards. Most households come out ahead somewhere between year 5 and year 8, and our artificial grass vs real lawn comparison runs the full numbers.

How much does it cost to turf a typical backyard?

A typical 40m² Australian backyard costs roughly $2,100–2,800 as a DIY job using mid-range turf, or about $3,000–4,500 professionally installed. The spread depends mainly on the turf tier you choose, how much site preparation the yard needs, and access for machinery and materials.

Do advertised turf prices include installation?

Almost never — advertised per-square-metre prices are supply only, and installation is a separate cost of roughly $30–70/m² on top. When comparing quotes, confirm whether base materials, old lawn removal, edging and delivery are included, because these extras commonly add $500–1,500 to a suburban backyard job.