Transparent pricing
Granny flat cost in Australia 2026 —
fixed price, no surprises.
Every line item, every variation, every cash-flow scenario — laid out before you sign. E2ES is one of the few Australian granny flat builders that publishes a full fixed-price schedule with site-variance allowances disclosed up front.
By Yan Zhu · Co-Founder & Chief Data Officer, E2ES
The short answer
A fully finished, turnkey 60 m² two-bedroom granny flat in Melbourne costs $155,000 + GST on a fixed-price contract with E2ES in 2026. The 30 m² Compact Studio is $110,000 + GST. Those are the same prices in Melbourne, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney; what changes between cities is council infrastructure charges, not the build price. Typical time from go-ahead to finished build is about two months — roughly one month of paperwork and one month on site.
- 60 m² two-bedroom, turnkey
- $155,000 + GST — fixed price
- 30 m² studio, turnkey
- $110,000 + GST — fixed price
- Cash you fund yourself
- About 20% ($33,000–$46,500), staged across the contract
- Time to completion
- ~2 months (about 1 month paperwork + 1 month on site)
- Planning permit in Victoria
- Usually not required — see the VC253 small second dwelling rules
- What moves the price
- Site conditions and council charges, both disclosed in writing before you sign
Prices and regulatory references on this page were last verified on · the VC253 rules behind the no-permit pathway
Fixed price by plan (Melbourne / Brisbane / Gold Coast / Sydney)
| Plan | Build price | Tax | Cash down (20% + permits) | Construction loan | Build window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 m² Compact Studio | $110,000 | + GST | $33,000 | $88,000 | 4 weeks on site |
| 60 m² Two-Bedroom | $155,000 | + GST | $46,500 | $124,000 | 4 weeks on site |
Total timeline from your go-ahead: ~1 month of paperwork (design + building permit — no planning permit needed on most Victorian lots under the small second dwelling reform) + ~1 month of construction on site = 2 months decision → finished build. Overlay sites (heritage, bushfire, flood) are flagged in writing before contract.
What's included in the fixed price
- Building permit (Class 1a) including private surveyor fees
- 6-star NatHERS energy assessment
- Structural engineering certification
- Soil test within standard allowance
- Reinforced concrete slab (AS 2870.1 Class M/H, waffle-pod or raft)
- Termite management (Termimesh / Kordon, AS 3660.1)
- MGP10 timber-stud frame (AS 1684, N1 wind class)
- James Hardie Scyon™ Axon™ 9 mm vertical cement-fibre cladding
- CSR Bradford Enviroseal ProctorWrap (Class 4 vapour-permeable)
- Bradford Gold™ R2.0 wall + R3.5 ceiling insulation
- Colorbond Surfmist roof (Lysaght Klip-Lok 700, AS 1562.1)
- Colorbond Charcoal half-round gutter + 100 mm round downpipes
- Aluminium double-glazed windows in Colorbond Monument
- Solid timber entry door, brushed-nickel lever
- Internal plasterboard + paint (Dulux Natural White matt + Lexicon Quarter)
- Silica-free engineered stone benchtop (post-July-2024 ban compliant)
- Matt-white shaker kitchen joinery + cream porcelain tile splashback
- Devanti 600 mm electric cooktop + 600 mm range hood (ducted to outside)
- 304 stainless single-bowl sink + Estilo chrome side-lever mixer (WELS 4-star)
- SPC Hybrid 7 mm flooring (AC4 wear, 100% waterproof core)
- Duratile Crema 600×600 mm porcelain tile (R10 wet-area slip, AS 4586)
- Nero Mecca Care 32 mm T-bar grab rail + adjustable shower set (LHD Silver, AS 1428.1)
- Midea 160 L heat-pump hot water system
- TCL 2.4 kW reverse-cycle AC (inverter, ~6.0 TCSPF)
- Arlec 9 W tri-colour LED downlights (3000K/4000K/5700K, IC-4)
- Plumbing rough-in (cold + hot + waste), WaterMark certified throughout
- Electrical wiring (3 GPO per room minimum, AS/NZS 3000)
- Sewer connection to existing main (up to 10 m included)
- Electrical cabling to switchboard (up to 15 m included)
- 0.2 mm polyethylene vapour barrier under slab (NCC 2022 Part 4.2.8)
- Final inspection + occupancy certificate (Class 1a sign-off)
- Defect liability period (per Master Builders HC 8 (2023) Clause 14)
What's NOT included — site-conditions variance
Per the signed Master Builders HC 8 (2023) building contract Clause 12. We disclose all variations in writing at the free site visit, before you commit.
How costs vary across the 4 cities
Melbourne
$110k–$155k + GST
Free (no Infrastructure Charge in most councils)
Class 1a Building Permit, 4–8 weeks. City of Casey, Wyndham, Brimbank fastest.
Brisbane
$110k–$155k + GST
+$8k–$12k BCC Infrastructure Charge
Code Assessable MCU via private certifier, 4–8 weeks. Logan/Ipswich faster than BCC.
Gold Coast
$110k–$155k + GST
+$15k GCCC IC; +$8k–$15k Coastal Hazard if applicable
Code Assessable MCU, 5–7 weeks. Coastal Hazard Overlay common.
Sydney
$110k–$155k + GST
No state-level IC; council DA fees if not on the CDC path
CDC via private certifier under State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 Ch 3 Pt 1, statutory 20-day determination window, lots ≥ 450 m². Lowest total cost of the four cities.
How owners typically finance the build
Owner-occupied — 20% ex-GST deposit + GST (~$33k–$46.5k including all GST), 80% via construction loan secured against the new building. Owner's existing main-house equity is the security buffer.
Investment property — same structure. Whether the new rent covers the new repayment depends on your interest rate, how much you borrow and what the dwelling actually leases for in your suburb, so we do not project a monthly figure; we show you the inputs and you run them with your own broker and accountant.
SMSF — possible but adds complexity, and the rules (including the SISA s67A limited-recourse borrowing provisions) decide what is and isn't allowed on your fund. We are builders, not licensed advisers: take this to your own licensed financial adviser before you plan around it.
Joint family build — multi-generational households often use the granny flat for a parent. Whether that works out cheaper than residential aged care depends entirely on the means-tested fees that household would actually pay, which the Department of Health publishes and which vary by income and assets — compare your own numbers against the official schedule rather than a headline figure. The other half of the return is optionality: the dwelling can be leased later.
Refinance after handover — once the occupancy certificate is issued, a compliant certified second dwelling is generally counted in a revaluation. How much depends on your lot, your lender and the market at the time; we do not estimate it. Many owners refinance to consolidate the construction loan into the main mortgage at standard rates, freeing up equity for the next investment.
Pricing FAQs
How much does a 60 m² two-bedroom granny flat cost to build in Melbourne in 2026, fully finished and turnkey?
$155,000 + GST on an E2ES fixed-price contract. That is a turnkey figure: it includes the Class 1a building permit and private surveyor fees, 6-star NatHERS assessment, engineering, the engineered concrete slab, frame, cladding, roof, windows, kitchen, bathroom, flooring, reverse-cycle air conditioning, heat-pump hot water, and sewer and electrical connection within the standard 10 m / 15 m allowances. On most Victorian residential lots over 300 m² no planning permit is required under Amendment VC253, so the approval you need is the building permit. Site conditions that fall outside the standard allowances are quoted separately and disclosed in writing at the free site assessment before you sign.
Do the advertised prices include GST?
No — every E2ES price is quoted plus GST: $110,000 + GST for the 30 m² Compact Studio, $155,000 + GST for the 60 m² Two-Bedroom. The cash contribution covers 20% of the ex-GST build price plus all GST; the illustration finances 80% of the ex-GST price, subject to lender approval. Contract payments are staged, and site variations or lender fees may add to the cash required.
Can the fixed price change after I sign?
Only through the site-conditions variations published on this page, under Clause 12 of the signed Master Builders HC 8 (2023) building contract — for example sewer or cabling beyond the included 10 m / 15 m allowances, deeper connection points, rock removal, concrete beyond the 10 m³ slab allowance, Brisbane and Gold Coast council infrastructure charges, and BAL-29+ bushfire or coastal-hazard upgrades where an overlay applies. Every applicable item is disclosed in writing at the free site assessment, before you commit.
Why is the price the same in Melbourne, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney?
Because the build itself is the same specification and the same supply chain in all four cities. What differs is the approval pathway and the council charges layered on top: Victorian councils generally levy no infrastructure charge on a small second dwelling, Brisbane City Council charges roughly $8,000–$12,000 and the City of Gold Coast around $15,000, and Sydney has no state-level infrastructure charge but does have council fees if the job cannot use the complying-development pathway. Those charges are council revenue, not builder margin, and they are itemised in your quote.
Is a cheaper granny flat possible, and what is usually missing from a lower quote?
Lower headline numbers are common and usually mean one of four things: the quote is for a kit or shell rather than a finished dwelling; permits, engineering and the energy assessment are excluded; connections are excluded or capped at a very short allowance; or site variations are left open so the real number arrives after you have signed. The honest comparison is not price against price, it is scope against scope — ask any builder for their inclusions list and their variation schedule, and compare those two documents against the ones published on this page.
How long does the whole thing take from decision to finished build?
About two months on a straightforward lot: roughly one month of paperwork (design plus the building permit, which a private building surveyor issues — in Victoria most small second dwellings need no planning permit) and roughly one month of construction on site. Overlay sites — heritage, bushfire, flood — can change the approval pathway and therefore the timeline; where one applies we tell you in writing before contract rather than after.
Sources and verification
Prices on this page are E2ES fixed-contract prices. Every regulatory figure, charge and standard referenced above traces to one of the primary sources below, each checked on 31 August 2026. Planning instruments and council charge schedules change — confirm the position for your own lot before committing, which is what the free site assessment does in writing.
- 1Small second dwellings, Victoria — The no-planning-permit pathway for a second home of 60 m² or less on most residential lots over 300 m² (Amendment VC253).
- 2Building permit levy — Building and Plumbing Commission (formerly the VBA) — Levy of 0.128 cents in every dollar of the cost of works; no levy payable where the cost of works is $10,000 or less.
- 3State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 (NSW) — Chapter 3 Part 1 governs secondary dwellings, and sets the complying-development pathway used for the Sydney figures — successor to the Affordable Rental Housing SEPP 2009 since 26 November 2021.
- 4Brisbane City Council infrastructure charges — Charges are set by the Brisbane Infrastructure Charges Resolution (No. 15) 2026, in force from 1 July 2026.
- 5City of Gold Coast infrastructure charges resolution — The instrument that sets the Gold Coast charge applied to a secondary dwelling.
- 6Engineered stone prohibition — Safe Work Australia — Manufacture, supply, processing and installation of engineered stone benchtops has been prohibited nationally since 1 July 2024; the benchtop in our inclusions is a compliant silica-free product.
- 7Residential aged care fees — Department of Health, Disability and Ageing — The official basic daily fee and means-tested fee schedule to compare against, referenced in the multi-generational finance note.
- 8On-site wastewater management — EPA Victoria — Applies where a lot is unsewered and the dwelling needs an on-site system rather than a connection to the main.
Free Site Assessment
Start with a
30-minute site visit.
Tell us your address and which of the two plans you're drawn to. We'll review council overlays, confirm feasibility, and come back with a fixed-price quote, indicative rent and yield — all in writing, no obligation.
Sales & Feasibility
+61 480 099 909
hello@e2es.com.au
Office
Suite 631, Waterman Workspace, 44 Lakeview Drive, Scoresby VIC 3179