Aluminium slat fences: what gets built
An aluminium slat fence is made of powder-coated slats fixed between posts, with a gap between each slat. The slat size, the gap and the height decide how private it is, and the quote starts from the length, the height, the gates and what has to come out first.
Side boundary and privacy fences
Horizontal slats with narrow gaps for privacy along a side or back boundary, up to 1.8 m, or as a screen around a courtyard, bins or an air conditioner.
Slat front fences
Lower slat fences with wider gaps along the street, so the fence stays open enough for the front-fence rules. Picket and heritage styles are on front fences.
Aluminium slat gates
Pedestrian, double driveway and sliding gates framed to match the fence, with a latch or lock. See gates.
Aluminium pool fences
Aluminium tubular panels with vertical bars and a self-closing, self-latching gate, built to the NSW pool barrier rules. See pool fencing.
Aluminium slat fence costs in Maitland
Aluminium slat fence and gate prices
| What's charged | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Aluminium slat fence, installed (Sydney) | $150 – $250 per m | North Shore Fencing and Gates |
| Timber-look aluminium slat, installed (Sydney) | $200 – $300 per m | North Shore Fencing and Gates |
| Aluminium slat (NSW) | $180 – $350 per m | The Quote Yard |
| Aluminium slat fence (national guide) | $170 low · $270 typical · $400 high per m | What's The Damage |
| Aluminium pedestrian gate, installed (Sydney) | $800 – $1,400 | North Shore Fencing and Gates |
Checked 5 November 2026. No Maitland business publishes aluminium fence prices. North Shore Fencing and Gates' Sydney guide (2025) includes GST. The Quote Yard's NSW guide (14 August 2026) doesn't state GST. What's The Damage's national figures (November 2026) include GST. Pool fences are priced on the pool fence cost guide.
Slat width, gap size and height change the price per metre, and gates are priced on their own. Aluminium pool fence prices are on the pool fence cost guide.
Does an aluminium fence need council approval in Maitland?
In Maitland's residential zones, the NSW Codes SEPP makes a back or side fence up to 1.8 m exempt development, so it needs no approval. A front fence is exempt up to 1.2 m if it's at least 20% open above 400 mm, with no solid part wider than 350 mm and gaps of at least 25 mm, so a tight-gap privacy slat fence along the street needs approval. A fence with metal parts has to be "low reflective, factory pre-coloured", so ask for the finish in the quote. On bush fire prone land an exempt fence has to be non-combustible or hardwood, and in these zones none of it is exempt on a flood control lot. On rural and R5 large lots, only post and wire or post and rail fences are exempt, so an aluminium slat fence there needs approval. The fence height and approval guide sets out the conditions.
In Maitland's heritage conservation areas, a front fence or a fence along a street needs approval, and the Maitland DCP 2026 asks for open fences in materials that suit the house. For a new house in the RU1, RU2, C3 or C4 zones that needs development consent, the DCP's rural chapter says front fences are not to be "powder coated metal fencing".
Aluminium fencing over $5,000 in NSW
An aluminium fence or gate around a home worth more than $5,000 including GST is residential building work. The NSW Government's fencing licence page says metal fabrication includes metal fencing, so it's built under a contractor licence in the fencing or metal fabrication category, with a written contract that gives the licence number. See how to check a fencer's licence.
What to send us
- The fence length in metres and the height
- Horizontal or vertical slats, the gap and the colour you'd like
- What's there now, and whether it comes out first
- Any gates, with the opening widths
- Whether a neighbour shares the boundary
Questions about aluminium fencing in Maitland
Is an aluminium slat fence cheaper than Colorbond?
Usually not. In The Quote Yard's NSW guide, aluminium slat runs $180 – $350 a metre against $85 – $150 for a 1.8 m Colorbond fence (August 2026, GST not stated).
Can an aluminium slat fence be a dividing fence?
Yes. Under the Dividing Fences Act 1991, a neighbour only has to pay half of a sufficient fence, so if they'd accept a cheaper fence, the extra cost of slats is usually yours. See the dividing fences guide.
How private is a slat fence?
It depends on the gap. Narrow gaps hide most of the yard from the side; wider gaps let in light and air.
Where this information comes from
The rules and figures on this page come from these published pages, checked on 28 October 2026.
- North Shore Fencing and Gates: fencing cost guide Sydney 2025 · Sydney fencing contractor (Lindfield), price guide titled 2025; "all quoted prices include GST"
- The Quote Yard: fencing costs NSW 2026 · NSW quote-comparison marketplace (it doesn't do trade work itself), price guide published 14 August 2026; GST not stated
- What's The Damage: fencing cost Australia · National cost guide (it passes enquiries to tradespeople), updated November 2026; prices include GST
- State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 · NSW planning policy: cl 1.16, 2.25, 2.30AA–2.30AB, 2.33–2.36, 3.29; read from the version in force from 31 October 2025
- Maitland DCP 2026, Chapter 4: Heritage · Maitland City Council, in effect 14 April 2026
- Maitland DCP 2026, Chapter 6: Residential Uses · Maitland City Council, in effect 14 April 2026
- NSW Government: fencing work licence · Building Commission NSW licence page, last updated 23 June 2026
- Dividing Fences Act 1991 (NSW) · NSW legislation, version in force from 1 July 2018 (ss 3, 4, 7–9, 11–13A, 18, 21, 25)
