Published
The short answer
Replacing a fence costs the new fence plus taking the old one out. A NSW quote marketplace puts removal of a timber or Colorbond fence at $20 – $40 a metre "including disposal" (The Quote Yard, August 2026, GST not stated), and a 20 m Colorbond replacement is worked through below. On a dividing fence, neighbours usually share the cost of a sufficient fence half each.
Old fence removal cost per metre
Removal covers pulling off the sheets or palings and rails, digging out the posts and their concrete footings, and taking it all away. Some prices include the tip fee and some add it on top, so check which before comparing quotes.
Old fence removal prices per metre
| Removal | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Removing and disposing of the old fence (Sydney) | add $15 – $30 per m | North Shore Fencing and Gates |
| Timber or Colorbond fence removal, including disposal (NSW) | $20 – $40 per m | The Quote Yard |
| Old timber fence removal, disposal extra (NSW) | $10 – $30 per m | The Quote Yard |
| Old fence removal (national guide) | $15 low · $30 typical · $50 high per m | What's The Damage |
| Timber paling fence removal, including disposal (national guide) | $15 low · $25 typical · $45 high per m | What's The Damage |
Checked 5 November 2026. No Maitland fencing business publishes a removal price. North Shore Fencing and Gates is a Sydney contractor; its 2025 guide includes GST and disposal. The Quote Yard is a NSW quote marketplace that doesn't state GST: its fencing guide (14 August 2026) includes disposal, its timber guide (8 September 2026) adds disposal on top. What's The Damage's national figures (November 2026) include GST. Fibro fences cost more to remove: see the asbestos fence removal guide.
Each row is one publisher's own figure. They aren't averaged or combined, and none of them is a quote for your fence.
What it costs to replace a 20 m fence
The Quote Yard's NSW guide works through twenty metres of standard Colorbond on a flat suburban boundary with reasonable access: "$1,700 to $3,000 installed, plus $400 to $800 to remove the old fence". By our arithmetic, that removal figure is the same $20 – $40 a metre over 20 m.
For a timber replacement, use the timber fence cost guide. The Colorbond fence cost guide has the other published Colorbond prices. Rock, slope, a taller fence and gates add to either.
Getting rid of an old fence in Maitland
If you take the old fence away yourself, Maitland's waste facility on Mount Vincent Road, East Maitland, takes scrap metal for $0, and treated or painted timber with nails at $53.50 per 100 kg (minimum $21). Clean, untreated timber is $35 per 100 kg, and concrete, such as old post footings, $30 per 100 kg (minimum $18, no commercial loads). The fees include the NSW waste levy and GST. Council says the facility is being upgraded, so check it's open before you go.
Old treated pine palings and posts shouldn't go on the fire or into the garden. The NSW EPA says treated timber "should be safely disposed of, and never burnt or buried", that its sawdust and shavings shouldn't be used for mulch or compost, and that CCA-treated timber shouldn't be left on the nature strip where someone might take it for firewood.
Old fibro fences
A fibro sheet fence may contain asbestos: more than 10 m² must be removed by a licensed asbestos removalist, and the Maitland facility takes asbestos by booking only. See asbestos fence removal for the costs and rules.
Replacing a dividing fence: who pays
Under the Dividing Fences Act 1991, "fencing work" includes the "replacement" of a dividing fence (s 3), so replacing a fence between neighbours follows the same rules as building one: the cost of a sufficient fence is shared equally (s 7), after a fencing notice (s 11). The dividing fences guide covers the notice and what happens if you can't agree.
Repair or replace an old fence?
If the posts are sound and only a few palings, sheets or rails are damaged, a repair usually costs less. If several posts along the run are rotten or leaning, ask for both prices in one quote. Repair prices are on fence repairs.
Fencing over $5,000 in NSW
A replacement worth more than $5,000 including GST is residential building work, built under a contractor licence that covers fencing, with a written contract that gives the licence number. See how to check a fencer's licence.
Questions about fence replacement cost
Do I need approval to replace a fence?
Not usually, if the new fence meets the exempt development rules, such as 1.8 m behind the house and 1.2 m and partly open at the front, and the lot isn't a flood control lot (see your planning certificate). In a heritage conservation area, removing an old fence isn't exempt demolition under the Codes SEPP, so check with council first. See the fence height and approval guide.
Can I take the old fence down myself before the fencer comes?
Ask for the quote without removal if you'd like to. If it's a shared dividing fence, agree it with your neighbour first. Don't take down a fence that's part of a pool barrier until a compliant barrier is in place, or any fence in a heritage conservation area without checking with council. Don't break up an old fibro fence: it may contain asbestos.
Does the new fence have to match the old one?
No, but on a dividing fence your neighbour only has to pay half of a sufficient fence, so a dearer style that only you want is your extra cost.
Where these figures come from
The prices and rules on this page come from these published pages, checked on 5 November 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
- The Quote Yard: timber fence cost NSW 2026 · NSW quote-comparison marketplace, price guide published 8 September 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
- Maitland City Council: using Maitland Waste Facility · Council fees for the Resource Recovery Facility, Mount Vincent Road, East Maitland; undated page, fees include the NSW waste levy ($180.20 a tonne) and GST; read 5 November 2026
- NSW EPA: safe disposal of treated timber · NSW Environment Protection Authority guidance, updated 7 June 2024
- Dividing Fences Act 1991 (NSW) · NSW legislation, version in force from 1 July 2018 (ss 3, 4, 7–9, 11–13A, 18, 21, 25)
- 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 Local Environmental Plan 2011 · NSW legislation: cl 5.10 (heritage), cl 5.21 (flood planning), Schedule 5 (heritage conservation areas); version in force from 19 September 2025
