A traffic control quote has to do two jobs at once: win the work, and make sure the invoice never surprises the client. This free traffic control quote builder lays out every line the way clients expect to see it, applies minimum hours, overtime and night, weekend and public holiday rates for each shift, and turns it into a branded quote with a rate schedule and clear terms.
What a traffic control quote should include
Clients compare quotes line by line, and most invoice disputes start with something that wasn't on the quote. Our traffic control quote checklist covers it from the client's side. The builder covers each item:
| Line | What the builder does |
|---|---|
| Scope, site and assumptions | Prints them at the top so everyone sees the same job |
| Shifts | Date, times and hours for each shift, with the rate band it falls in |
| Crew | People × billed hours × rate for each role, with minimums and overtime |
| Penalty rates | A rate schedule showing weekday, night, Saturday, Sunday and public holiday rates |
| Vehicles and specialist plant | Utes by the hour; TMAs, portable signals, VMS and arrow boards by the day or week |
| Plans and permits | TGS design priced, permit and road occupancy fees passed through at cost |
| Mobilisation and travel | Once per job or per shift |
| Cancellation, standby and weather | Editable terms printed on the quote |
| GST and validity | Ex GST, GST and total, with a valid-until date |
How the price is worked out
Rate bands. Each shift is put in a band from its date and times. A public holiday in the state you choose comes first, then Sunday, then Saturday. A shift is a night shift when more than half of it falls between 6 pm and 6 am. A Saturday night is charged at whichever of the two multipliers is higher. You can override the band on any shift.
Minimum hours. Each person is charged at least the crew minimum per shift (4 hours by default). Hourly vehicles are charged at least the vehicle minimum (6 hours by default). The 4-hour figure mirrors the award's 4-hour casual minimum engagement, which is why it's so common; our guide to traffic control minimum hours explains the rest.
Overtime. Hours beyond the overtime threshold (8 by default) are charged at 1.5 times for the first 2 hours, then 2 times. Overtime hours use the higher of the band and the overtime multiplier, so a Sunday shift doesn't get double-loaded.
Equipment. Items priced by the day are charged for each date with a shift. Items priced by the week are charged for every started week between the first and last shift. Type a number in "How many" to override either.
Discount and GST. A discount applies to everything except pass-through charges such as permit fees. GST of 10% is added if you're registered.
Typical rates, and why they're only a starting point
There's no official price list for traffic control. The defaults come from published guides and are there so you're not starting from a blank page:
- traffic controller: $74 an hour weekday daytime, the middle of a published $63 to $85 range
- truck-mounted attenuator with operator: $1,150 a day (published range $800 to $1,500)
- portable traffic signals: $450 a day ($300 to $600)
- VMS board: $250 a week solar, $300 mains
- arrow board: $175 a week ($100 to $250)
- multipliers: night 1.15, Saturday 1.5, Sunday 2, public holiday 2.5
The equipment figures come from a single company's guide. Treat every default as "typical, check your market", and replace them with your own rate card. Rates you type for each role are remembered on your device. No published figure was found for utes, sign trailers, lighting towers or water-filled barriers, so the builder leaves those blank for you to fill in. The traffic control equipment hire guide covers what to check with suppliers.
A worked example
A builder in Sydney needs stop/slow for a kerb and gutter repair: Friday 4 December 2026 from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm, Saturday 5 December from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm, and a 2-hour inspection on Monday 7 December. The crew is two traffic controllers at $74 an hour and a team leader at $82.
| Line | How it's priced | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 2 × Traffic controller | Fri 8 h, Sat 6 h × 1.5, Mon 2 h raised to the 4 h minimum | $3,108.00 |
| 1 × Team leader | Same shifts at $82 an hour | $1,722.00 |
| 1 × Ute at $65 an hour | 8 h + 6 h + 6 h (vehicle minimum on Monday) | $1,300.00 |
| 1 × Arrow board at $175 a week | 4 days = 1 started week | $175.00 |
| TGS design | Once | $450.00 |
| Permit fees | At cost | $300.00 |
| Mobilisation | Once | $150.00 |
| Subtotal | $7,205.00 | |
| GST (10%) | $720.50 | |
| Total inc GST | $7,925.50 |
The Saturday shift is detected automatically and charged at 1.5 times. The Monday inspection shows why minimums belong on the quote: 2 hours of work is billed as 4 per person, and the client can see that before they sign.
Margin vs markup
Add your labour cost per paid hour and the builder shows margin and markup side by side. They're easy to mix up, and mixing them up is a quiet way to under-price every job.
| Margin (profit ÷ price) | Same as markup (profit ÷ cost) |
|---|---|
| 10% | 11.1% |
| 15% | 17.6% |
| 20% | 25% |
| 25% | 33.3% |
| 30% | 42.9% |
In the example, a labour cost of $52 an hour (rising with the same penalty multipliers), equipment costs at 60% of the hire price, the $300 permit fee and $200 of design time add up to $4,661. The quote leaves $2,544 of gross profit: a 35.3% margin, or a 54.6% markup. That's before office overheads, so get your fully loaded cost from the labour cost calculator and our guide to setting a traffic control charge-out rate.
Public holidays and state differences
Public holidays are loaded for every state and territory from November 2026 to December 2027, including Easter, Anzac Day, King's Birthday and Labour Day on their state dates, Melbourne Cup, Canberra Day, Adelaide Cup, WA Day and Picnic Day. Substitute days are marked "check", part-day holidays (Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve evenings in Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory) are flagged, and regional days such as the Brisbane Ekka are left for you to apply. Victoria's AFL Grand Final Friday isn't set until the fixture is out, so set that band yourself.
Pay rules also differ. Night loadings in the award are 115% in the civil stream and 150% in general building, and many workers are on enterprise agreements with higher rates. Check what you pay before you set what you charge: the traffic controller pay calculator helps on the pay side.
Terms that prevent disputes
The terms template covers minimum charges, penalty rates, overtime, standby and waiting time, late cancellation, weather call-offs, signed dockets, permits and validity. Edit the bracketed parts to match your business. Tie the invoice to the daily docket: when every shift is recorded on a signed digital docket, the invoice matches the quote and the client's own signature.
Get legal advice before relying on a template for large contracts, government work or subcontract terms you haven't used before.