Water Bore Drilling & Installation in Perth — questions and answers
The questions Perth homeowners actually ask about bores, answered with figures from named sources. Cost, the watering rules that still apply to bore users, and what your ground means for the job.
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How much does water bore drilling cost in Perth?
A new domestic water bore in Perth is published at A$3,000 to A$5,000 plus GST by The Retic Gurus, and at A$2,500 to A$5,000 start to finish by Perth Bores. The Retic Gurus band covers drilling the hole, 100mm slotted casing and screen with a base plug, a stainless steel submersible pump, gravel packing and air developing, the electrical wire-up including cable, conduit and pump switch relay, and the discharge pipe and bore box. The two sources disagree at the bottom of the band and only one states GST, so both are shown rather than averaged into a figure neither supports.
Is a burnt-out bore pump motor covered by home insurance?
Sometimes the motor is, and often the biggest part of the job is not — check your own policy before assuming either. Motor burnout, also called fusion, is cover for an electric motor burning out, and Australian insurers sell it as an optional extra or bundle it into higher tiers. Suncorp's home cover, as one published example, defines it as the burning out or fusing of electric motors, applies a A$100 motor burnout excess, and requires the motor to be ten years old or less. The part worth reading twice: that same policy states it will not cover the cost of extracting or reinstalling a submersible pump — and a bore pump is a submersible pump, so pulling it out of the hole and putting it back is exactly the labour a bore owner is facing. Your policy may differ. Read the product disclosure statement rather than taking a tradesperson's word for it, including ours.
| Job | What it covers | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| New bore, drilled and installed | Borehole, casing and screen, submersible pump, gravel pack, wire-up and bore box. Plus GST. | A$3,000–5,000 |
| New bore — second published band | A second Perth source quotes start-to-finish installation lower at the bottom end. GST not stated on that figure. | A$2,500–5,000 |
| Rebore, per metre of depth | Drilling again — deeper, or in a new position — priced by the metre. Plus GST. | A$85–85 |
| Pump repriming | The common no-water call-out when the pump has lost its prime rather than failed. | A$130–130 |
Ranges reflect typical Perth jobs and vary with access, site conditions and scope. Every figure on this page is a published band from a named Perth source, not a quote for your job. The two sources disagree at the bottom of the drilling band — A$3,000 against A$2,500 — and only one of them states GST, so both are shown rather than averaged into a number neither source supports. Depth, ground type and access move the final figure more than anything else. A firm price comes from a site visit — call (08) 6311 4037 or use the quote form.
Process
How deep is a water bore in Perth?
It depends on your address, and published Perth figures span about 12 metres in low-lying areas to over 80 metres at high points such as near the water tower in City Beach. That is roughly a seven-fold spread inside one metropolitan area, so a depth quoted without an address is not a quote. The method changes with the ground as well as the depth: on the coastal plain sand a bore is drilled, cased, screened and gravel-packed, while in the Kalamunda and Roleystone hills the rig is a pneumatic hammer working into laterite and granite, where water sits in fractures rather than in sand. The WA Government publishes a Perth groundwater map showing the estimated depth to the watertable and the depth of the Superficial aquifer, which is the right thing to look at before anyone quotes you.
Can I water any day I like if I have a bore?
No. Garden bore users in Perth are on the sprinkler roster exactly as scheme water users are: two rostered days a week, set by the last digit of your house number, and sprinklers once a day either before 9am or after 6pm, from 1 September to 31 May. A sprinkler switch-off applies from 1 June to 31 August each year, when sprinklers cannot be used at all. Anyone found using sprinklers between 9am and 6pm, during the switch-off, or outside their rostered days can be fined A$100, and the Water Corporation enforces it. A bore changes what you pay for the water, not when you are allowed to put it on the lawn.
Timing
How quickly can someone get to me?
Enquiries are passed to a Perth bore contractor the same business day. Whoever calls you back works your part of the metropolitan area, because a Hills job and a coastal-plain job are not the same rig and not always the same operator.
How long does it take to drill and install a bore?
Published Perth timing is about a week from start to finish. Virgin Bores describes most Perth bores as drilled in a day — drilled, cased, gravel-packed and then air-developed or flushed — with another day for the stainless steel submersible pump installation, and about a week end to end once scheduling is included. Rock in the Hills is the variable that most often stretches it, because progress there is measured against granite rather than sand.
Permits and approvals
Do I need a licence for a garden bore in Perth?
Generally no — Western Australia does not require a licence for a garden bore watering under 2,000 m² of domestic garden and lawn from the shallow watertable aquifer. Three conditions have to hold together, and page copy that collapses them into one is doing you a disservice: the use is domestic rather than commercial, the area watered is under 2,000 m², and the water comes from the shallow watertable rather than an artesian aquifer. Above 2,000 m², for commercial use, or on an artesian aquifer, a licence is required and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation is who issues it. The WA Government states the exemption as a general position rather than an absolute one, so your own block and your own use are what settle it.
Source: WA Government — garden bores, frequently asked questions
Service area
Which suburbs do you cover?
We cover the Perth metropolitan area, and the four corridors on the Suburbs page are the ones we describe in detail because they drill differently: Joondalup–Wanneroo and Canning Vale–Armadale on the sand plain, Kalamunda–Roleystone in the hills, and Ballajura–Malaga where the retic is usually the reason for the call. If your suburb is not named, ring and ask rather than assuming — the boundary is about ground and access, not about a list.
Who am I actually calling?
This site is operated by a marketing company, not by a drilling contractor. We take your enquiry and pass it to a Perth bore contractor who covers your area, and we are paid by that provider for the connection — you are not charged anything. We do not drill, we do not hold any trade accreditation ourselves, and we do not quote your job. The contractor who calls you does all three.