Rural fences: what gets built
Rural fencing is priced by the metre over long runs, so the stock it has to hold, the ground and the number of strainers and gates decide the cost. Say how many metres, what the fence is for and what's there now.
Post and rail
Timber posts with two to four timber rails: the look of a horse paddock or a rural road frontage. Often combined with wire on the paddock side to keep stock in.
Plain and barbed wire
Wire strained between timber or steel strainer posts, with steel droppers or star pickets between. Barbed wire is for cattle, not horses.
Ringlock and hinge-joint
Prefabricated wire mesh for sheep, goats, alpacas and dogs, strained on strainer assemblies and posts, sometimes with a barb or plain wire on top.
Farm gates
Galvanised steel farm gates on strainer posts, single or double, wide enough for vehicles and machinery.
Rural fencing costs
Rural fence prices
| What's charged | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Rural post and wire, ringlock or barbed, long runs (NSW) | $12 – $30 per m | The Quote Yard |
Checked 28 October 2026. The only NSW rural fencing price we found: The Quote Yard's NSW guide (14 August 2026), GST not stated. By our arithmetic that's $12,000 – $30,000 per kilometre. We found no published NSW price for post and rail, and no Maitland or Hunter rural fencer publishes prices.
Strainer assemblies at each corner, gate and change of direction cost more than the line posts between them, so a long straight run costs less per metre than a short one with gates and corners.
Fencing on the Hunter River flats
Rural land around Maitland includes the Hunter River flats. In rural and large-lot zones a new fence is exempt from approval only if it's post and wire or post and rail, no higher than 1.8 m, and, on a flood control lot, doesn't "redirect or interrupt the flow of surface or ground water" (Codes SEPP cl 2.36). In a mapped floodway, Maitland's DCP says new development should avoid fences, and dividing fences that can't be avoided must be "open type fencing that does not restrict the flow of flood waters". See fences on flood-prone land in Maitland.
Rural boundary fences and your neighbour
A boundary fence between two rural properties is a dividing fence under the Dividing Fences Act 1991, so the neighbours share the cost of a sufficient fence after a fencing notice. What's sufficient depends on how both properties are used: a stock-proof fence between grazing blocks may be sufficient where a post and rail frontage isn't needed. See dividing fences in NSW.
What to send us
- The length in metres, and a sketch or aerial photo of the fence line
- The fence type, and the stock it's for
- The number and width of gates
- The ground: flat, sloping, rocky, creek crossings or flood-prone
- Whether an old fence comes out, and whether a neighbour shares it
Related guides
- Fences on flood-prone land in Maitland Why fences on Maitland's flood control lots must let water through, which fence types do, and what to check before a new fence goes up.
Questions about rural fencing in Maitland
Is post and rail safe for horses?
It's the traditional horse fence because it's visible and has no barbs. Barbed wire isn't suitable for horses. Ask the contractor about rail spacing and whether to add a plain or sighter wire.
Does my neighbour have to pay for half of a rural boundary fence?
Usually, for a sufficient dividing fence, after a fencing notice. What counts as sufficient considers how both properties are used, so a stock fence may be sufficient where a dearer post and rail frontage isn't.
Do rural fences need council approval?
In rural and large-lot zones (including R5), a fence up to 1.8 m is exempt only if it's post and wire or post and rail, with no outward-opening gate, hardwood or non-combustible on bush fire prone land, and not blocking water on a flood control lot. A Colorbond or paling fence on those lots needs approval. See the fence approval guide.
What's a strainer assembly?
The braced post set at each end, corner and gate of a wire fence, which holds the wire's tension. They take the most work and materials in a wire fence.
Where this information comes from
The rules and figures on this page come from these published pages, checked on 28 October 2026.
- The Quote Yard: fencing costs NSW 2026 · NSW quote-comparison marketplace (it doesn't do trade work itself), price guide published 14 August 2026; GST not stated
- Dividing Fences Act 1991 (NSW) · NSW legislation, version in force from 1 July 2018 (ss 3, 4, 7–9, 11–13A)
- State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 · NSW planning policy: cl 1.16, 2.25, 2.30AA–2.30AB, 2.33–2.36, 3.29; read from the version in force from 31 October 2025
- Maitland DCP: Hunter River Floodplain (B.3) · Maitland City Council, December 2011 text, part of Maitland DCP 2026 (in effect 14 April 2026)
- Maitland DCP 2026, Chapter 6: Residential Uses · Maitland City Council, in effect 14 April 2026
- Maitland DCP 2026, Chapter 10: Special Precincts, Locality Plans and Urban Release Areas · Maitland City Council, in effect 14 April 2026
