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What a locksmith costs

How much does a locksmith cost in Geelong?

Short answer: a standard house lockout is $145 all up, and that is the whole number — call-out, travel, time and GST. Here is what everything else costs.

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New keys cut and a letterbox lock replaced in Geelong
$145Standard house lockout, all up
$0Call-out when you go ahead
24/7Same price at 2am as 2pm
2,000+Locks opened, changed and fitted

The number you get on the phone is the number on the invoice

Nearly everyone ringing a locksmith is braced for a surprise at the end. That is a reasonable thing to expect, because the trade has earned it — an advertised $89 turns into $300 once somebody is at your door and you have stopped ringing around.

So I do it the other way around. You get one number before I leave, and that number covers the call-out, the drive, my time and the GST. If something on the door changes the job, you hear the new price before I touch anything.

Price list

Everything I charge, on one page.

Prices below include GST unless marked otherwise. Hardware is charged at cost and quoted before it goes on.

Standard house lockout — the one most people ring about

$145all up, GST included
  • Call-out, travel and my time, wherever I am driving from
  • Same price at 2am, on a weekend or on a public holiday
  • Non-destructive entry first — drilling is a last resort, not a shortcut
  • A proper tax invoice with GST itemised
  • Fitting a new lock during a lockoutThe add-on rate because I am already at your door. The lock itself is charged at cost, most standard locks $45 to $90, and you hear that price before it goes on.+$35
  • Rekey, per cylinderKeeps your existing hardware and re-pins it to a new key. Every old key stops working. Usually less than half the cost of replacing locks.$50
  • Deadbolt fitted to a prepared doorExisting holes, straight swap.$175
  • Deadbolt fitted to an unprepared doorMarked out, bored, morticed and the strike cut into the frame. Roughly twice the work of a swap.$245
  • Keypad or digital lock fitted$195 on a prepared door, $265 on an unprepared one. Codes set up and tested before I leave. Hardware quoted separately by model.from $195
  • Window lock supplied and fittedFirst window on the visit; each further window on the same visit is $55, because the drive and the setup only happen once.$85
  • Double cylinder swapped to key/knobA lock that needs a key to get out is a fire risk, and in a rental it does not meet the minimum standards. Common in older Corio, Norlane and Bell Park stock.$175
  • Extra keys cut$12 a key, $25 for a labelled set.from $12
  • Wasted tripOnly if you cancel after I have driven out — for example if you get back inside before I arrive. There is no call-out fee when the job goes ahead.$45
  • Commercial, shopfronts and restricted keysToo variable to publish honestly. Tell me what the door is and I will quote before I start.Quoted

Why publish any of this. Because the only reason to hide a price is that it is going to change once you are committed. Mine does not, so there is nothing to hide.

The $89 problem

What the advertised price usually leaves out.

An $89 headline is almost always the attendance fee on its own. By the time you have an invoice it has collected the labour, the hardware at retail plus a margin, a travel charge, an after-hours loading and then GST on the lot. Nobody quoted you wrongly — they just quoted you one line out of six.

The tell is simple: ask for the total, including GST, before anyone leaves their depot. If the person on the phone will not give you one, you already know how the invoice ends.

What people ask about price

How much does a locksmith cost in Geelong?
A standard house lockout with Lock Services is $145 all up — call-out, travel, time and GST in one number. Rekeying is $50 a cylinder, a deadbolt fitted to a prepared door is $175, and a keypad lock fitted starts at $195 plus the hardware. You get the number on the phone before I leave.
Why do some locksmiths advertise $89?
Because $89 is the call-out, not the job. The lock work, the travel, the after-hours loading and the GST get added once someone is standing at your door and you have stopped ringing around. I publish one number instead, and that number is what lands on the invoice.
Do you charge more at night or on weekends?
No. A lockout at 2am on a Sunday is the same $145 as a Tuesday lunchtime. There is no after-hours loading, no weekend surcharge and no public holiday rate.
Is there a call-out fee?
Not when the job goes ahead — it is already inside the price. The only time a call-out applies is $45 if I have driven out and the work doesn't happen, for example if you get back in before I arrive.
How much to change the locks on a whole house?
It depends whether you rekey or replace. Rekeying keeps your existing hardware and re-pins it to a new key at $50 a cylinder, which is usually less than half the cost of new locks and means every old key stops working. Replacing makes sense when the hardware is worn out or doesn't meet the standard.
What does it cost to fit a smart lock?
$195 to fit on a door that already has the right holes, $265 if the door has to be bored and morticed. The lock itself is quoted separately because the price depends entirely on the model — and I'll tell you what it costs before I fit it.
Do you give quotes over the phone?
Yes, and I'd rather do it that way. Describe the door and what's happened and I'll give you a price before I get in the van. If I can't be certain without seeing it, I'll tell you the range and what would move it.

Not urgent?

Send me the details and I’ll come back with a price.

If you’re locked out right now, ring me instead — that’s always faster. For everything else, this gets you a number without a phone call.

I answer these myself, usually the same day. Nothing goes to a call centre and nobody else gets your number.

Would rather talk? Call 0415 395 981 or send a text.

Want the number before I leave?

Tell me what has happened and what the door is, and I will give you the price on the phone.

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