What's included in $130/hr operated tipper hire? Short version: the truck, the HR-licensed driver, all the on-site time, the insurance, and the admin. The fuel surcharge (18%) and GST (10%) sit on top, itemised. Tip fees and material costs (if applicable) are passed through at cost. No hidden lines.
This guide breaks down exactly what's in the $130 number, what's on top of it, and what isn't included — so you can budget the job honestly without surprises on the invoice.
What the $130/hr covers (the headline rate)
- The truck. SITRAK G5S 6×4, ~10m³ bed, ~15-tonne payload, Euro 6, Allison automatic. Maintenance, registration, depreciation — all in.
- The HR-licensed operator. Our regular operator. Wage, super, leave loading, training — all in. You don't pay separately for the labour.
- All on-site time. Loading at supplier yards, dumping at your site or the tip, the cycling between locations. Billed from when the truck arrives at your job.
- Pre-job vehicle inspection. Operator runs a 17-point inspection before leaving the depot. No charge — built in.
- Site induction + SWMS sign-off. Operator brings our SWMS, runs through it with your supervisor on arrival, signs digitally on the operator's phone. About 2 minutes. Not billed separately.
- Job completion sign-off. Same operator-phone process at the end of the job. Generates the invoice automatically. No admin charge.
- Public liability insurance ($20M). BizCover policy 118U557369BPK. Covers damage and incidents on your site. Built in.
- Commercial vehicle insurance. Truck Assist policy 63764428, any-driver extension. Built in.
What's on top of $130/hr (itemised, no surprises)
- 18% fuel surcharge. Calculated on the hourly rate × hours billed. On a 4-hour minimum, that's $93.60 added. On a 10-hour day, $234. Fixed percentage, not a moving target tied to weekly diesel prices.
- 10% GST. Standard Australian GST. We're GST-registered (ABN 56 694 496 118). Itemised on the invoice.
Pass-through costs (at cost, no markup)
- Tip fees if we're hauling spoil, fill or rubble away. Charged at the tip site's rate, receipts attached, no markup. Clean fill to soil-recovery yard usually $20–$40/tonne. Mixed waste to landfill usually $80–$200/tonne.
- Material costs if we're delivering sand, gravel, road base, topsoil. Charged at supplier rate, receipts attached, no markup.
Upfront amounts (not extra costs — secured against the job)
- $200 flat deposit at booking via Stripe pre-auth. Deducted from the final invoice. Locks the slot.
- $2,000 bond pre-auth. Released within 24 hours of clean return. Not charged unless damage occurs.
Both amounts sit on your card as pre-auths until the job's done. They're not extra cost lines — the deposit comes off the final invoice and the bond is released back to you on a clean return.
What's NOT included
- Tip site or supplier admin fees — if a tip site charges the customer (you) an admin fee for a new account, that's between you and them. We don't see it. Most established sites have account-only access we use, no admin fees apply.
- Site-induction by your team. If your project requires us to attend a separate inducted-induction session before the first job (Tier-1 commercial sites sometimes do this), the operator's time at the induction is billed at the hourly rate.
- Wait time for delays not caused by us. If we arrive on time and the site isn't ready (excavator not on yet, supervisor not on-site to sign induction, access blocked by another trade), the wait time is billed at the hourly rate from the booked start time.
- Cleaning fees on returned truck. If the load left material spilled in the bed or the tarp was damaged, a $100–$200 cleaning fee may apply (rare; almost never invoked).
- Damage repairs from a damage claim. Up to the $5,000 insurance excess, the customer pays the excess. Damage above the excess is covered by insurance.
Worked example — a real invoice
Civil contractor in Burleigh Heads, fill removal job, half-day on-site, 30m³ moved across 3 loads to a soil-recovery yard.
| Line | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Operator + truck (4 hrs × $130) | — | $520.00 |
| Fuel surcharge (18%) | $520 × 0.18 | $93.60 |
| Tip fees (3 loads × ~12 tonnes × $30/t) | pass-through | $1,080.00 |
| Subtotal (ex GST) | $1,693.60 | |
| GST (10%) | $1,693.60 × 0.10 | $169.36 |
| Less deposit | −$200.00 | |
| Balance due | $1,662.96 |
Bond ($2,000) released back within 24 hours of clean return.
Why we publish this
Most operated tipper hire pricing is opaque. You get an hourly rate quoted, you book the job, and the invoice arrives at the end with a fuel surcharge you didn't know about, tip fees marked up 30%, and a "wait time" line you can't verify.
We publish the breakdown so you can plug a real number into your project budget upfront. The number we quote is the number you'll see on the invoice — same maths, every job.
For a job-specific quote, send us the brief: site address, what you're moving, rough volume, dates. We'll text back same day with a firm price using exactly the structure above.