How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Moving Truck in Australia?

To hire a moving truck with a professional crew in Australia, expect approx $180 to $480 per hour depending on the size of your home and how many movers the job needs. A one-bedroom move starts at $180/hr with a $540 minimum. A large six-bedroom home runs $480/hr with a $2,880 minimum. A bare DIY truck rental you drive yourself costs $80 to $250 per day, before fuel, insurance and equipment.

The gap between those two numbers is real, and this guide explains exactly what sits inside it — what you’re paying for, what’s included, and where the hidden charges live in cheaper quotes.

Hire a Moving Truck Prices in Australia — 2026

All prices shown are the final rates for the listed moving packages. Each package includes the truck, professional crew, fuel, trolleys, furniture blankets and tie-down straps.

After the minimum period, time is billed in 30-minute increments — $90, $120, $140, $170 and $240 per half hour respectively. You’re never rounded up to a full hour.

The minimum matters, so we publish it. A two-bedroom move booked at $240/hr carries a four-hour minimum whether the job takes four hours or two and a half. That’s not a catch — it’s what allows us to send three movers instead of two and finish in half the time. But you should know it before you book, not after.

Removal Truck Hire vs Driving It Yourself

Let’s be straight about this, because the difference is significant.

People searching to rent movers truck services are weighing two genuinely different things: a vehicle you operate, and a service that arrives ready to work.

DIY is cheaper. There’s no honest way to argue otherwise, a two-bedroom DIY move lands around $310 all-in, against $960 for a three-person crew. What the extra buys is a move that’s finished in three to four hours instead of consuming an entire weekend, done by people who lift for a living, using proper equipment and lifting technique. Insurance isn’t included either way — see our FAQ below — but the risk of something going wrong drops sharply when trained movers handle the load.

Where DIY genuinely wins: studio moves, single-item transport, short local shifts, and anyone with a strong back and two willing friends. Where it stops making sense: stairs, apartments with lift bookings, anything above two bedrooms, and any home containing furniture you’d be upset to lose. A damaged floating floor or a cracked flatscreen erases the savings in a single afternoon.

What Size Truck Do You Actually Need?

Our packages are sized by cubic metres, which is the measurement that actually determines whether your belongings fit.

• 25m³ — one to two bedrooms. Fits a queen bed, a three-seater lounge, fridge, washing machine, dining setting and roughly 25–30 boxes. Package 1 pairs it with two movers, Package 2 with three for a faster two-bedroom turnaround.
• 40m³ — three bedrooms. A standard family home including a study, outdoor furniture and typical garage contents, with three movers.
• 50m³ — four bedrooms. Full lounge suite, multiple wardrobes, all white goods and the bulky extras — treadmills, workbenches, bar fridges — with a four-person crew.
• 75m³ — five to six bedrooms. Three 25m³ trucks running together with six movers. Large family homes cleared in a single coordinated run rather than across multiple trips.

Booking one size too small is the most expensive mistake in moving. A second trip adds drive time, fuel and billable hours — always more than the cost of going up a package. If you’re between sizes, send us photos of each room and we’ll size the job properly before you commit.

When Moving Van Hire Is Enough

Moving van hire — typically 8–12m³ — suits a single large item, a student leaving a share house, or a studio with no white goods. It’s cheaper and easier to park. But once a fridge, a washing machine and a bed frame are in play, a van forces a second trip and the 25m³ truck becomes the better value.

No Travel Fees. No Fuel Charges.

This is the fee that catches most people out, so it’s worth stating plainly:

For any job starting and finishing within 25km of the CBD, we charge no travel fees and no fuel surcharge. Your time is billed from when we start work, not from when the truck left our depot.

Many removalists bill depot-to-depot, meaning a three-hour job quietly becomes four and a half once the drive each way is added. Others apply a separate fuel levy. We don’t do either inside the 25km zone. Beyond it, travel is quoted upfront so you see the figure before you book.

Tolls are the one genuine extra — if a route requires them, they’re passed on at cost, with no markup.

What’s Included — and What Isn’t

Included in every package:

• Your crew — two to six professional movers
• The truck, fully fuelled
• Trolleys, furniture blankets and tie-down straps
• Disassembly and reassembly of standard flat-pack furniture

Quoted separately:

• Travel beyond the 25km CBD zone
• Tolls, where the route requires them
• Specialty items — pianos, pool tables, safes
• Packing materials, if you’d like them supplied
• Storage, if settlement dates don’t align

We publish this list because most companies don’t. When a quote comes in noticeably under ours, the useful question isn’t why it’s cheaper — it’s what sits outside the rate.

The Hidden Costs of Budget Truck Hire

• Budget truck hire always looks strong on the headline rate. The distance between that number and the final invoice is where the frustration sits. Before renting a budget truck, check five things:
• The insurance excess. Rental truck insurance excess can be significant, depending on the rental provider and policy. Check the excess and available cover before booking.
• The fuel policy. Most depots require a full tank on return. Miss it, and they refuel at a premium rate plus a service fee.
• The kilometre cap. Many “unlimited” deals are metro-only. Cross a zone boundary and per-kilometre charges begin.
• One-way drop-off fees. Returning to a different depot adds $50–$150 in metro areas, considerably more interstate.
• Your licence class. Check the vehicle’s GVM and the licence requirements that apply in your state or territory before hiring a truck. Requirements can vary depending on the vehicle and your licence class. Check the GVM on the rental agreement rather than the tonnage in the advertisement; they’re different measurements. Your state road authority publishes the current rules — Service NSW, VicRoads, TMR, the WA Department of Transport or Service SA.

Then there’s the cost that never appears on any quote: injury. Carrying a washing machine down a flight of stairs is exactly how people lose the following fortnight.

Six Ways to Keep Your Move Affordable

1. Be completely packed before we arrive. Every open box is billable time, and this is the single biggest cost lever you control.
2. Disassemble what you can the night before. Bed frames and table legs off saves 30–45 minutes.
3. Declutter first. You’re paying to move volume. A council pickup beats paying to transport things headed for the bin.
4. Avoid month-end. The final three days of any month and all of late January are peak. Availability disappears first, and it disappears fast.
5. Reserve the parking. A permit or a couple of cones out front removes a long carry between door and truck.
6. Book the right package first time. The smartest budget truck hire decision most people overlook is going one size up. A second trip always costs more than a bigger truck.

Conclusion

The cost of hiring a moving truck in Australia depends on the size of your move, the truck capacity, the number of movers required and how long the job takes. DIY truck hire can be cheaper upfront, but a professional moving service includes the truck, equipment, fuel and experienced movers, helping make the process faster and easier.

Before booking, compare more than just the hourly rate. Check the minimum hours, truck size, travel charges, tolls and what is included in the price. Choosing the right truck and crew from the beginning can help you avoid unnecessary trips and additional costs.

If you’re planning a move, Team Removals can help you choose the right moving truck and crew for your requirements. Contact us for a quote based on your move.

Frequently Asked Questions