Tiles landed in Melbourne

The tiles we priced

150 m2 of 600 x 600 matt porcelain, one production batch, 10 percent spares, palletised.

Landed in Melbourne, line by line

Every line from the factory gate to your site. Low, middle and high use the low, middle and high of every published rate at once. Estimate: no delivered Elje job sits behind this figure yet.

By the container

About 1,000 m2 in its own 20 ft container into Melbourne: about $18,080 landed, $15 to $22 per m2. Estimate.

Shipped with a kitchen

On its own, a tile order pays the full set of fixed charges and Elje's minimum fees. Added to a kitchen in the same shipment it adds about $2,244 to the kitchen's landed price ($1,713 to $2,961), because the port, broker, delivery and Project Plan are already paid. Estimate.

Against Melbourne prices

Supply only is the fair comparison with a landed price; installed prices include labour, which you pay either way.

Retail, supply only, inc GST, 600x600 and 600x1200 porcelain. WTD (Oct 2026): mid-range porcelain $50 / $70 / $120, large format 600x1200+ $50 / $85 / $160. National chains seen 17 Oct 2026: Beaumont 600x600 $62.50 to $67.95, 600x1200 $149, 595x1192 travertine-look $132; National Tiles 600x1200 $59.95 to $129.95; Tile Cloud 600x1200 $74.31 to $138.89. Value chains run lower: Amber $37.77 sale ($62.95 RRP), The Tile Collective $28.95 to $38.95.

Di Lorenzo and Johnson Tiles show no online prices. National figure used. WTD tiling $42 to $105 per m2.

Is it worth it?

It depends how you ship them. 150 m2 on its own lands at about $41 per m2, close to what local porcelain costs ($50 to $150 per m2). With a kitchen they add about $15 per m2, and a full 20 ft container lands at about $18 per m2. Estimate.

The Melbourne market

Melbourne sits about 5 percent above Brisbane on the cost index, level with Perth. Rider Levett Bucknall forecasts a flat 4 percent a year rise in building costs, the gentlest of the capitals. Stone fabricators charge 15 to 20 percent more per metre than in Brisbane or Adelaide, and Melbourne's big tile houses do not publish online prices.

How it gets to Melbourne

Foshan factory to Nansha, Shekou or Yantian, a direct service to the Port of Melbourne, then a short run to the suburbs.

Australia's busiest container port, with terminals at Swanson Dock (DP World, Patrick) and Webb Dock (VICT), a few kilometres from the city.

Outer suburbs and growth corridors: container at the kerb. Inner suburbs: depot unpack and a small truck is usually easier.

What moves the number

• Weight, not volume. Tiles fill a container's weight limit long before its space. A shared container charges the larger of cubic metres and tonnes, so 150 m2 of porcelain pays for about 3.4 tonnes.
• Quantity. Around 1,000 m2 of 600 x 600 porcelain fills a 20 ft container by weight. At that size the landed price per m2 drops sharply.
• Size and thickness. Large formats and 20 mm outdoor pavers weigh more per m2 and break more in transit.
• One batch. Order every tile for the project from one production batch, with 10 percent spares. A second batch will not match.
• Testing. Slip rating reports for wet areas, and an asbestos-free test report for any new tile body.

What it has to comply with

• Wet areas and outdoors need an AS 4586 slip rating (P3 wet indoor, P4 outdoor is common). Ask for the P rating report, not a European R rating.
• Australia bans asbestos. The ABF can test ceramic imports at the importer's cost, so get the test report before shipping.
• Porcelain tiles: tariff 6907.21.90, general duty 5 percent, Free from China with a certificate of origin. Mosaics under 7 cm are Free anyway.

Notes for Melbourne

Cool and changeable. Kitchens and bathrooms run cooler and drier than in Queensland, so standard moisture-resistant board in wet rooms is normal.

• Melbourne gets the most sailings from South China of any Australian port, so there is more choice of vessel and shared container.
• Inner-city Victorian and Edwardian houses have narrow side lanes and laneway access. Plan the delivery before the container is booked.
• Plumbing and building practitioners are registered with the Victorian building regulator. Imported certified products are installed the same way as local ones.

Questions