Bobcat Hire Rates in Australia: What It Actually Costs

Bobcat hire in Australia typically runs from around $275 to $440 a day, depending on the machine size and the hire company. Weekly and monthly rates bring the effective daily cost down sharply, and the difference between two quotes on the same machine can be more than 30%.

Those numbers come from two hire businesses that publish full rate cards on their websites: AJM Hire Co in Mandurah, Western Australia, and Mega Hire in Acacia Ridge, Brisbane. Most hire companies do not publish rates online at all. Kennards Hire's skid steer page, for example, shows machines but no prices. The figures below are reference points, not industry averages.

What bobcat hire costs

Machine size is the biggest factor. A smaller machine like an S70 starts at $308 a day on Mega Hire's card, while a larger S770 runs to $440. Mid-range machines sit around $385 to $396 a day.

Hire period matters just as much. AJM Hire Co publishes daily, weekly and monthly rates, and the weekly rate is where the real saving starts.

On both machines, a week costs exactly three daily hires. So from the fourth day onward, a weekly booking is cheaper than paying by the day. The monthly rate kicks in at around 23 days, where stacking weeks and loose days starts to cost more than the four-week rate.

AJM also offers machine-plus-trailer bundles at $315/$975/$3,405 for the HUSKI 4 and $330/$1,020/$3,570 for the HUSKI 5.

Why quotes vary so much

The same nominal machine class can price very differently between firms. AJM lists a HUSKI 5 at $290 per 24 hours. Mega Hire lists its equivalent, a Bobcat S100 / Huski 5, at $385 a day. That is a 32.8% difference for the same size machine, in two different states.

Some of that gap is what each firm bundles into its rate. One may include a trailer, the other may charge delivery separately. One prices a 24-hour hire, the other prices a day. Neither of these two cards states whether rates include GST. None of that is visible until you put two quotes side by side.

The practical takeaway: get at least two quotes on the same size class. It takes five minutes and, between these two firms, moved the number by a third.

Dry hire vs operated hire

Both rate cards above are dry hire, meaning you get the machine and operate it yourself. Neither AJM nor Mega Hire publishes an operated hire rate on its skid steer page. If you need someone to run the machine, ask whether the business offers that and what it costs, because operated hire is typically charged by the hour and priced separately.

What the rate card does not tell you

A published rate is the starting point, not the final cost. Before you book, confirm these items, because most are not on the rate cards checked for this guide:

Delivery. AJM bundles a trailer into a combined rate rather than pricing delivery as a separate line. Mega Hire's rate card is silent on delivery fees entirely and keeps that information on a separate page. Getting the machine to site is an additional cost worth pricing upfront.

Bonds and damage waivers. Mega Hire's card mentions neither. A term absent from a web page is not a term absent from a hire contract.

Attachments. A skid steer without the right bucket or auger does not do much. Confirm what is included and what costs extra.

Hire period definition. AJM prices a 24-hour hire. Mega Hire prices a day. These are not always the same thing, and overrunning can trigger an additional charge.

GST. Neither card states whether its rates include or exclude GST. Settle this before comparing two numbers.

Bobcat is a brand, not a machine type

Bobcat is a registered trademark of Bobcat Company. In Australia, it is used loosely to mean any skid steer loader. Mega Hire describes its fleet as "skid steer loaders, commonly known as Bobcats", while AJM Hire Co advertises "Skid Steer, Bobcat Hire" and actually lists Toyota Huski machines. A business advertising bobcat hire may supply a completely different brand. Ask for the machine by size class and operating capacity rather than by brand name.

When hiring stops making sense

At AJM's published monthly rate, running a HUSKI 5 for a full year would come to $39,585 (13 four-week periods, because AJM's month is four weeks, not a calendar month). AJM states that long-term hire rates are available on request, so a year-long hire would be negotiated rather than billed at the card rate. But the order of magnitude is the point: once hire invoices become a predictable monthly cost rather than an occasional one, it is worth putting a purchase quote and a finance structure alongside them.

If you are hiring one week in four, the same machine costs roughly $11,310 a year. If you are hiring most weeks, you are paying for a machine you do not own.

Our guide to chattel mortgages covers one of the finance structures used for owning plant of this kind.

All rates referenced above are from AJM Hire Co and Mega Hire's own websites, as published on 13 August 2026. Rates at other businesses will differ.

This article is general information only and is not financial advice.