What Is Included In A Standard Builder Package?

Walk into any display home and it looks spectacular. Stone benchtops, ducted air conditioning, engineered timber floors, a double garage with epoxy coating. What they don't tell you is that you're looking at $60,000 to $100,000 worth of upgrades dressed up as a standard home. Understanding what a builder's base price actually includes is one of the most important steps in buying a new home — and one of the most commonly skipped.

The Core Structure: What Almost Every Package Includes

Regardless of builder, the structural components are fairly consistent across the industry. A standard package will include:

• Concrete slab (Class M or H depending on soil conditions — upgrades apply for reactive soil sites)
• Timber or steel wall and roof frame
• Roof cladding — typically Colorbond steel (colour choices are usually limited without an upgrade)
• External brickwork or cladding to the full perimeter
• Internal plasterboard walls and ceilings
• A standard front door and set of internal doors
• Basic window and sliding door package
• Gutters and downpipes

Kitchens: Where the Gaps Start to Show

A standard kitchen package is functional but rarely what you see in the display. Typical inclusions at the base price level are:

• 20mm laminate benchtops (not stone)
• Polyurethane or laminate cabinetry in a limited colour range
• One or two overhead cabinets
• Stainless steel undermount sink (though not always undermount — check carefully)
• 600mm cooktop and oven (upright freestanding in many cases)
• No dishwasher, or a basic entry-level model
• No rangehood canopy — often a slide-out or undermount model

Stone benchtops — 20mm Caesarstone or similar — are now one of the most commonly asked-about upgrades. Most volume builders charge $3,000–$8,000 to upgrade from laminate to stone, depending on the kitchen size and stone type.

Bathrooms and Wet Areas

The standard bathroom fit-out is one area where builders frequently differ. Most include:

• A bathtub (usually freestanding is an upgrade — expect an alcove bath as standard)
• Standard wall tiles to the shower recess (often 1800mm high, not floor-to-ceiling)
• A frameless or semi-frameless shower screen in at least one bathroom
• Basic tapware from a builder-approved range
• Vanity with laminate or acrylic benchtop
• Toilet suite (cistern type, not in-wall)
• One exhaust fan per wet area

Floor-to-ceiling tiles, niches, double vanities, and heated towel rails are almost always upgrades. In a 4-bedroom home, buyers routinely spend $8,000–$20,000 upgrading bathroom finishes alone.

Flooring: Carpet, Tile, and the Hybrid Gap

Most builders include a combination of carpet to bedrooms and lounge areas, and ceramic floor tiles to wet areas and main living zones. What varies enormously is the quality of those inclusions.

The carpet in a base package is typically a mid-pile nylon product in a limited range of neutral tones. The tiles are usually a 600x600mm or smaller porcelain product. Neither is bad — but neither is what you see in a display home.

Hybrid timber flooring throughout the main living areas — one of the most popular upgrades — typically costs $8,000–$18,000 depending on home size and product choice.

Electrical and Lighting

Standard electrical inclusions are often surprisingly minimal. Most base packages include:

• A standard number of double GPOs (power points) per room — often fewer than you'd want
• Basic LED downlights or oyster lights (not pendant fittings or feature lighting)
• One TV antenna point and one phone point
• A single pendant fitting location over the kitchen island (the fitting itself may be an upgrade)
• Hot water system — often a basic electric unit unless solar or heat pump is specified

What Is Almost Never Included

This is where many buyers get caught out. The following items are almost universally excluded from standard packages:

• Driveway and crossover
• Landscaping, turf, garden beds, or retaining walls
• Fencing (side and rear)
• Letterbox and clothesline
• Flyscreens and security screens
• Blinds, curtains, or window furnishings
• Air conditioning (beyond basic provisions in some cases)
• Solar panels and battery systems
• Garage fit-out — shelving, epoxy, additional power points
• TV antenna installation
• Site costs beyond the standard allowance

How to Use This Knowledge When Comparing Builders

The only way to make a fair comparison between two builders is to compare like for like. Two quotes for the same home design can look very different on paper, but once you strip out upgrades and add back excluded items, the total cost of ownership can shift dramatically.

Ask each builder: "What is included in this price and what am I responsible for after handover?" Then use a comparison platform or your own checklist to put each quote on equal footing.

Frequently Asked Questions