GREAT SOUTHERN LOCK
Guide · Emergency
How long does a locksmith actually take?
Two questions matter when you are standing outside your own front door: how long until someone arrives, and how long once they do. Here are honest numbers for Melbourne’s inner south-east.
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of every day - Inside the hour
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Melbourne’s inner suburbs - No fix, no fee
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Arrival: usually 20 to 60 minutes
Across Melbourne's inner south-east, a realistic arrival window is 20 to 60 minutes, depending on where the van is when you ring and what is happening on the roads. Late at night the roads are clear and it is often the shorter end. On a weekday at 5:30pm on Punt Road, it is not.
What genuinely moves that number:
- Distance and traffic. St Kilda to Brighton at midnight is fifteen minutes. The same trip at peak is triple.
- Events. The MCG and AAMI Park change Richmond and Cremorne completely on event days.
- Whether we are already on a job. If the honest answer is ninety minutes, you will be told ninety minutes, so you can ring someone else if that does not work.
Be careful with a “15 minutes” promise
A guaranteed 15-minute arrival, quoted before anyone has asked where you are, is one of the oldest patterns in locksmith call-out scams. It usually comes from a call centre dispatching whoever is nearest, with a low headline price that changes once a drill is already in your door. Our guide on spotting a locksmith scam covers the rest of the pattern.
An honest operator asks where you are before promising a time.
The job itself
| Job | Typical time on site |
|---|---|
| Standard house or flat lockout, non-destructive entry | 5–20 minutes |
| Car lockout, door opened | 5–20 minutes |
| Rekeying one cylinder | 15–30 minutes |
| Rekeying a whole house, keyed alike | 1–2 hours |
| Spare car key cut and programmed | 20–45 minutes |
| All keys lost, key originated from the vehicle | 45 minutes–2 hours |
| Broken key extraction | 10–40 minutes |
| Deadlock fitted to a timber door | 45–90 minutes per door |
These are ranges, not promises. A seized century-old mortice in an Albert Park terrace is not the same job as a modern deadlatch, and anyone quoting a single number for every door has not asked enough questions.
What makes it faster
- Describe the door and lock properly on the phone. The right gear comes out of the van the first time.
- Make sure someone can meet us. Sounds obvious. Is not always true.
- Have ID ready. You will be asked to show a right to be there, and having it in your hand saves five minutes.
- Say if there is a common entry or intercom. Apartment buildings change the approach entirely.
If a person or a pet is shut in a car, ring 000 first. Emergency services will open that door immediately and at no cost. Do not wait for a locksmith and do not ring around for quotes. Sort the replacement key afterwards.
Talk to a person
Every question on this page has a specific answer for your actual lock, car or building. One call, straight to the mobile, 24 hours.
- No call centre
- Price before any tool comes out
- ABN 73 112 836 867, insured
Questions
Common questions
Are you actually open at 3am?
Yes, 24 hours, and the phone goes to a locksmith rather than a call centre. After-hours work costs more than a weekday morning and you are told that figure before anyone gets in the van.
Can you give me an exact arrival time?
A realistic window, yes. An exact minute, no — anyone who gives you one has not driven Punt Road. If we are running late you get a call, not silence.
Will you open the door without damaging it?
That is the aim on every job and it is what happens on the large majority of them. Drilling is a last resort for locks that cannot be picked or have already failed, and you are told before it happens, not after.
Do you charge a call-out fee on top?
No. The number you get on the phone is the number for the job.
How long do emergency locksmiths take?
Across Melbourne's inner south-east, a realistic arrival window is 20 to 60 minutes depending on where you are and what the traffic is doing. The job itself is usually shorter than the drive: a standard lockout is often open within ten minutes, a single-cylinder rekey around twenty, and a car key from scratch anywhere from thirty minutes to a couple of hours depending on the vehicle. Treat a guaranteed 15-minute arrival as a sales line rather than a plan.
Locked out, or need a key cut right now?
One call goes straight to the mobile — no call centre, no queue. You speak to a locksmith, not a switchboard. Can't talk? Text a photo of the lock and we'll come back with a firm price.