GREAT SOUTHERN LOCK
Guide · Prices
How much does a locksmith cost in Melbourne?
Nobody wants to ring three locksmiths while standing in the rain. Here is what the work costs across Melbourne, what actually drives the number, and how to avoid the outfits that quote low and charge high.
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The short version
Across Melbourne in 2026, published price guides put standard business-hours work in the range of roughly $125–$315, with an after-hours residential lockout more commonly landing between $210 and $525. Rekeying a single cylinder sits around $85–$230, and replacing a lock outright around $125–$370. Car work varies far more, because it depends entirely on the vehicle.
Be clear about what those numbers are. They are market ranges collected from Melbourne price guides, not our price list. We do not publish a fixed price for your job, because we do not know your door, your car or the hour yet. What we do instead is give you a figure on the phone, before anyone gets in the van, and stick to it.
The five things that actually move the price
1. The hour you ring
This is the single biggest factor and it is not a trick. A Tuesday at 10am and a Sunday at 2am are different jobs with different costs behind them. Expect an after-hours call-out to run meaningfully above the daytime figure. Any locksmith who quotes you the same number for both is either about to change the number when they arrive, or is not actually available at 2am.
2. Whether a key still exists
Opening a door is one job. Originating a key from nothing is another. If any working key exists anywhere — a spare at your mum's, a copy at the agent's — the job is usually faster and cheaper. For cars, "all keys lost" means the key has to be generated from the vehicle's own data, and that is a genuinely different piece of work from cutting a spare.
3. What the lock is
A standard deadlatch on a timber door is routine. A hundred-year-old mortice in an Albert Park terrace, an aluminium shopfront, a restricted-key cylinder or a high-security European lock each take longer and sometimes need parts that are not on every van. Say what you have when you ring and the quote will be accurate rather than optimistic.
4. The car, specifically
Car keys are the widest range in the trade. A basic transponder key for a fifteen-year-old Corolla and a proximity smart key for a recent European car are not comparable jobs. Make, model and year, given on the phone, is the difference between a real price and a guess. There is a fuller breakdown on our car key replacement cost guide.
5. How many doors
Rekeying is priced largely per cylinder, so four external doors is not four times the hassle but it is more than one. Counting your doors before you ring — front, back, laundry, garage personnel door, side gate — gets you a single accurate number instead of a surprise at the end.
What a fair quote sounds like
A locksmith who is quoting you honestly will ask questions before giving a number: what kind of door, what kind of lock, whether a key exists, where you are, what time it is. Then they will give you a figure or a tight range, and tell you what would change it.
A quote that arrives instantly, with no questions and a suspiciously round low number, is the classic pattern behind the call-out scams the ACCC has warned about for years — a "$65 call-out" that becomes several hundred dollars once a drill is already in the door. We have a separate guide on spotting a locksmith scam, and it is worth two minutes before you ring anyone.
Three ways to pay less
- Wait until morning if it is safe to. If you have somewhere to be and nobody is shut in a car, a daytime call-out is materially cheaper than a 1am one.
- Find out who else has a key first. A housemate, a partner, an agent. Twenty minutes of waiting beats any call-out fee.
- Rekey rather than replace. If the hardware is sound, rekeying kills every old key without buying new locks. Replacement is for locks that are worn out, damaged or out of date — not for locks whose only problem is that someone else has a key.
What we do
You ring the mobile and speak to a locksmith. You get a price before anyone travels, and it does not change once we arrive unless you ask for different work. Cutting, programming and lock stock travel with us, so most jobs finish in the one visit. Call-outs across Melbourne's inner south-east, 24 hours.
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
Why will you not just publish a price list?
Because a published number for a job we have not seen is either padded to cover the worst case or too low to honour. What you get instead is a real figure on the phone once you have described the job, and no change on arrival unless the work itself changes.
Is there a call-out fee on top of the quote?
No. The number you are given on the phone is the number for the job, not a starting point with travel added later.
Do you charge more at night and on weekends?
Yes, and you are told the figure up front. After-hours work costs more across the whole trade; the difference between operators is whether they tell you before or after they arrive.
Is it cheaper to rekey or replace a lock?
Rekeying is almost always cheaper, because you keep the hardware and only change what the key does. Replacing makes sense when the lock is worn out, damaged, well out of date, or when you want a restricted key system.
How much do locksmiths charge in Australia?
Published Australian price guides for 2026 put routine business-hours locksmith work in the range of roughly $125 to $315. After-hours residential lockouts more commonly land between $210 and $525. Rekeying a single cylinder sits around $85 to $230, and replacing a lock outright around $125 to $370. Car keys sit outside those ranges entirely, because the price depends on the vehicle rather than the door. Those are market ranges, not our price list — we give you a firm figure on the phone before anyone gets in the van.
How much is the average locksmith charge?
There is no useful average, and any locksmith quoting one before hearing the job is guessing. The same trade covers a $95 key cut and a $900 all-keys-lost proximity key for a late-model European car. What matters is the range for your specific job, which is why we ask three questions on the phone — what the lock or car is, whether any working key still exists, and the hour — and then give you a number.
How much does a local locksmith charge?
A local mobile locksmith in Melbourne charges for the call-out, the labour and any hardware, usually quoted as one figure rather than itemised. Expect the daytime end of the range for a straightforward lockout or rekey, and meaningfully more after midnight. The thing to check is not the headline number but whether the quote is firm: ask whether the figure you are given on the phone is the figure on the invoice.
What is the typical call out fee for a locksmith in Melbourne?
Many Melbourne locksmiths charge a separate call-out fee of roughly $60 to $150 on top of the job, and some add it again for after-hours work. We do not. The figure you are quoted on the phone includes getting to you, and it does not change when we arrive. If a quote sounds unusually low, ask directly whether a call-out fee is added on top — that is where a $90 job becomes a $280 one.
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.
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