How much does a kitchen renovation cost in Australia?

Kitchens tend to have the widest cost spread of any room in the house, largely because cabinetry, benchtops and appliances can each be sourced at wildly different price points while still technically delivering "a new kitchen." Understanding the categories below makes it much easier to work out roughly where your own project is likely to sit before you start collecting quotes.

At the lower end, a purely cosmetic refresh — new cabinet doors and handles, a repaint, updated splashback and benchtop without changing the layout or plumbing — commonly costs somewhere between $8,000 and $20,000. One step up, a budget renovation using flat-pack cabinetry with a broadly similar layout commonly runs somewhere between $15,000 and $25,000, and is a common choice for homeowners who want a genuinely new kitchen without custom joinery pricing.

A mid-range renovation, generally including new cabinetry, stone benchtops, upgraded storage, a splashback, lighting, flooring and modern appliances, commonly costs somewhere between $25,000 and $45,000. At the premium end, a fully custom kitchen with bespoke joinery, high-end stone and integrated appliances commonly runs from around $45,000 up to $100,000 or beyond, depending on the size of the kitchen and how elaborate the finishes are. Taken together, industry figures for a complete kitchen renovation nationally commonly land somewhere in the mid-$30,000s to mid-$40,000s, though as with bathrooms this single figure matters less than knowing which of the categories above actually describes the scope you are planning.

Cabinetry is consistently the single largest line item in a kitchen renovation budget, commonly accounting for somewhere around 30 to 40 percent of the total spend, particularly where custom storage solutions or premium door finishes are involved. This is worth keeping in mind when two quotes for what looks like a similar kitchen come back at noticeably different prices — the gap is very often in the cabinetry specification rather than anything else in the job.

Location and per-square-metre pricing both move the numbers too. Sydney commonly sits somewhat above the national picture, while Adelaide and Hobart are commonly a bit below it. As a rough per-square-metre guide, a budget kitchen using flat-pack cabinets and laminate benchtops commonly runs somewhere around $1,500 to $2,000 per square metre, a mid-range kitchen commonly around $2,500 to $3,500 per square metre, and a luxury kitchen with bespoke joinery and stone surfaces can commonly exceed $4,000 per square metre.

Beyond the headline price, it is worth planning for material lead times, since stone benchtops and custom cabinetry commonly take somewhere around six to eight weeks to arrive once ordered — our separate article on how long a kitchen renovation takes covers this alongside the on-site stages in more detail, and it is one of the more common reasons a project's timeline stretches beyond what a homeowner initially expects.

None of the figures above are a quote for your own kitchen, and actual pricing depends on layout, finishes, appliance choices and your location. This article is general information, not a substitute for a written quote from someone who has actually seen the space. Our directory lists Australian bathroom and kitchen renovators by area if you are ready to start comparing options.

Frequently asked questions