A quote template for Australian function venues and caterers

Lead with the GST-inclusive total

The ACCC says businesses must show the total price of a service as a single figure, including taxes and any unavoidable extra fees. You can break the price down, and most function quotes should, but the total must be displayed at least as prominently as the parts. A quote that says 'A$95 per head' in large type and 'plus GST, room hire and service' in small type underneath is the pattern the regulator targets.

For corporate bookers, add a GST column so their finance team can see the credit they will claim. Put the ex-GST figures in that column rather than making them the headline. If you quote a business client ex-GST by agreement, write 'ex GST' next to every figure, not only once at the top.

Rounding matters too: quote per-head prices that land on whole dollars after GST, and clients stop querying cents.

Structure the quote the way functions are sold here

Most Australian function quotes are built from four blocks. Room hire, sometimes waived against a food and beverage minimum spend. Food per head, often as a two- or three-course alternate drop, a canapé package priced by the hour, or a grazing table. Beverages as a package for a set number of hours, or a bar tab with a cap. And extras: AV, a dance floor, security, a cake-cutting fee, a late finish.

Give every block a quantity and a unit price. When a 21st birthday drops from 90 to 70 guests, you and the client should be able to see exactly which lines move and which don't. If you offer a minimum spend instead of room hire, write the minimum as a dollar figure, say what counts towards it, and say what happens if the bar spend falls short: most venues charge the shortfall as room hire.

• Room or venue hire, with hours included and the hourly rate after that
• Food package per head: canapés by the hour, alternate drop, buffet or grazing
• Beverage package by hours, or a bar tab with a limit
• Children's meals and supplier meals at their own rates
• Security, cloaking and cleaning fees where they are compulsory
• Sunday or public holiday surcharge as a percentage

Quote Q-26-0318 (version 1)

Sunday wedding reception for 110 guests at a riverside function venue in Brisbane

• The 10% line is a Sunday surcharge covering penalty rates, which the ACCC confirms hospitality venues may still charge.
• All prices exclude GST in the line columns; the quote total is shown including GST.
• Final numbers and dietaries due 14 days before the wedding.

What your quotation must show in Australia

Weekend, public holiday and card surcharges

Hospitality venues commonly add 10% on Sundays and 15% on public holidays to cover penalty rates. The ACCC confirms these hospitality surcharges remain allowed. What must change is card payment surcharging. From 1 October 2026, the ACCC says the Visa, Mastercard, American Express and eftpos networks bring in no-surcharge rules, so a clause adding 1.5% for credit card payments on the final balance will not survive past that date for those cards.

Rewrite the payment clause now. Options that stay within the rules are pricing the cost of card acceptance into the per-head rates, or offering a small discount for paying the balance by bank transfer. State any Sunday or public holiday surcharge on the quote as a percentage and apply GST to it, because it is part of the price of the function.

Minimum numbers, final numbers and dietaries

Set a minimum number of adults for the package and a final numbers date, usually 7 to 14 days before. Charge for the confirmed number even if fewer arrive, and price late additions at the per-head rate subject to capacity. Ask for dietary requirements and allergies with the final numbers, because the kitchen needs them to order and to prepare the allergen declarations Food Standards Australia New Zealand expects for unpackaged food.

Write down what the per-head rate includes in staff terms too. A beverage package includes service; a bar tab usually does too; a BYO arrangement usually attracts a corkage fee per bottle. Clients forget these distinctions by the time the invoice arrives.

Deposits, cancellations and the consumer guarantees

A typical schedule is a 20% to 30% deposit to confirm, a second payment 60 days out and the balance 7 days before. State whether the deposit is a part-payment of the price or a separate security bond. The ATO distinguishes the two: a part-payment is payment for the supply when received, while GST on a genuine security deposit becomes payable only when it is forfeited or applied to the price.

Cancellation fees should reflect what you actually lose, rising as the date approaches. The ACCC reminds businesses that consumer guarantees cannot be removed by terms and conditions, so avoid blanket 'no refunds under any circumstances' language, which misstates the law if the service is not delivered as promised.

Validity, date holds and acceptance

Put a validity period on the quote, 14 days is common, and say the date is held only once the deposit is paid. Number each version and date it. For wedding enquiries in spring, when Saturdays book fast, a short hold of 48 to 72 hours on a tentative booking stops a second couple being quoted the same date.

End with an acceptance block: name, signature or typed acceptance, date, deposit due and how to pay. Include your ABN on the quote, because the tax invoice that follows must carry it and business clients like to check it early on the ABN Lookup.

Before sending, read the quote as the client's parents would. If they cannot tell what the A$12,000 buys, the line descriptions need more work, not the price.

Quotation questions from Australia