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Understanding fence panels in Australia

What panel fencing costs in 2026

Panel fencing is priced per linear metre installed, and the spread across materials is wide. In 2026 a Colorbond or steel sheet fence at 1800mm costs roughly $95 to $160 a metre installed on a straightforward flat site, making it one of the cheapest durable options in the market. Prefabricated timber lattice panels are cheaper again at $70 to $120 a metre but are screening rather than boundary fencing. Composite or PVC panels run $180 to $290 a metre. Aluminium slat panels, the modern architectural look, are $250 to $450 a metre. Modular concrete sleeper panel systems sit around $170 to $300 a metre and considerably more if they retain soil. DIY materials only typically strips 40 to 50 percent off the installed rate, since panel systems are prefabricated and the labour component is a large share of the price.

Counting panels and posts

The set-out arithmetic is simple and it drives the whole material order. Divide the total run by the bay width to get the number of panels, then add one to get the post count. A 24m run in standard 2.4m bays is 10 panels and 11 posts. A 24m run in 1.8m bays is 13.3 bays, so 14 panels with one cut down and 15 posts. Bay width is fixed by the system, not by you, and the common options are 1800mm, 2400mm and 3000mm. Wider bays reduce the post count and lower the cost per metre, but they load each post more heavily. Note that end posts, corner posts and gate posts are usually a different, heavier section to intermediate posts in most systems, so they must be ordered separately rather than assumed to be part of the post count.

Panels cannot follow the ground

This is the practical limitation that surprises people who have only ever had paling fences. A prefabricated panel is a rigid rectangle, so it runs level between two posts and cannot be raked to follow a slope. On any fall, the run has to be stepped, with each panel sitting level and a step down at each post. That leaves a triangular gap under the low edge of each panel, which is either left open, infilled with a plinth board or concrete sleeper, or accommodated by digging the ground away. Colorbond systems sell a plinth or infill panel specifically for this, at $35 to $80 a metre. On a steep run the accumulated stepping can look severe, and it is one reason paling or slat fencing, which can be raked, is still preferred on sloping blocks.

Wind load, cyclone regions and warranty

A solid panel fence is a sail. Unlike a gapped paling or slat fence, a Colorbond or composite panel presents a continuous surface to the wind, and all of that load goes into the posts and the footings. Manufacturers publish maximum bay widths and required post sections for different wind classifications, and the requirements tighten sharply for exposed sites, coastal frontages, and the cyclone regions of northern Queensland, the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia. Going to 2100mm or 2400mm height increases the load significantly. If you use a wider bay or a lighter post than the manufacturer specifies for your wind classification, the warranty is generally void, and the failure mode in a storm is the whole fence going over rather than a single panel. Ask the supplier to confirm the specification against your address, not just the product.

Approvals and dividing fence rules

In most Australian councils a side or rear dividing fence up to 1800mm needs no approval. Above that, or on a front boundary, corner block with sight line requirements, heritage area, or where the fence retains soil, you should check before ordering. Panel fences on a boundary are subject to the same dividing fences legislation as any other fence, meaning adjoining owners are generally each liable for half the cost of a sufficient dividing fence, enforceable only if you serve a written fencing notice before work starts and allow the statutory response period, commonly 30 days. Under the betterment principle, if the local standard is Colorbond at 1800mm and you want aluminium slat at 2100mm, the neighbour owes half of the standard and you pay the difference. Where a modular concrete sleeper system retains any soil, it stops being a fence and becomes a retaining structure, which usually falls to the owner who benefits from the retained land rather than being shared.

Durability, colours and replacement

Steel panel fencing is popular because it does not rot, does not need painting and holds its appearance for a long time, with typical service life of 15 to 25 years and manufacturer warranties commonly covering the coating for 10 to 15 years in non-marine environments. Coastal sites within a few hundred metres of breaking surf need a marine grade specification or the warranty will not apply. The practical weakness is impact damage, since a dented panel cannot be straightened and has to be replaced. That makes colour availability a long term issue: standard stocked colours can be matched years later, whereas a discontinued or special order colour can be impossible to source after a storm, leaving you with a visibly mismatched panel. Choosing from the current stocked range is worth more than a small aesthetic preference.

Ordering and installation checks

Before ordering, walk the line with a tape and record the exact run lengths between corners and gate positions, because panel systems are ordered as a bill of materials rather than by the metre. Ask for that bill of materials to be itemised: panels, intermediate posts, end posts, corner posts, gate posts, rails, plinths, caps and fixings. Confirm the post hole depth and diameter the manufacturer requires for your height and wind classification, since this is where a cheap installation quietly cuts corners. If you are installing yourself, set a string line and dig every hole before concreting any post, because the panel spans a fixed distance and a post 30mm out of position will not accept the panel and cannot be moved once the concrete has gone off.