The short answer
Why this page has no price list
Most sites in this category publish a price range. It is good for traffic and bad for buyers, because attachment pricing in Australia moves with the exchange rate, specification, rotation options and the carrier bracket. A figure published this quarter is routinely wrong by the next one, and a buyer who anchors on it arrives at a quote convinced they are being overcharged when they are not.
The more useful thing is the structure underneath the number. If you know what moves the price, you can interrogate a quote properly, work out why two suppliers are $8,000 apart, and tell the difference between a genuinely competitive offer and one that has quietly left the bracket, the hose kit and the freight out.
Where a figure is genuinely stable — tax thresholds, depreciation rates, utilisation thresholds — this page states it and cites the source.
An attachment has five costs, not one
- 01
Purchase
Driven by carrier class, steel grade, rotation, and whether you take a turnkey kit. The largest single number and the one that stops mattering fastest as hours climb. - 02
Wear parts
The dominant running cost, and it varies enormously by category. Teeth, blades, chains, bars and tips. Budget it monthly, not annually. - 03
Carrier wear
Mulching and grinding put continuous load on a machine built for intermittent load. Pumps, coolers and final drives feel it, and service intervals tighten. - 04
Downtime
Parts availability in Australia is the difference between a two-day repair and a six-week one. On a machine earning daily, this is the largest hidden cost in the category, and what differs by state decides how much you should hold yourself. - 05
Capital
What the money would otherwise have earned, and what the attachment is worth when you are done with it. Rarely modelled, and it moves the answer on marginal purchases.
Why the invoice stops mattering
What the attachment itself costs per hour
Capital collapses as hours rise; wear parts do not move. Above roughly 500 hours a year the purchase price has stopped being the number that decides anything, which is the whole argument for costing by the hour rather than by the invoice.
Carrier, operator and fuel are excluded here on purpose — you carry those whether or not you own this attachment. Change any of the inputs in the cost per stump calculator and the same arithmetic runs on your own figures.
What moves the purchase price
| Driver | What it changes | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|
| Carrier class | The single biggest step. A model built for a 20 tonne machine carries more steel, bigger bearings and a larger motor than one built for 5 tonnes. | The exact model, not the series. A BI300 and a BI500 are both tree shears. |
| Steel grade | Abrasion-resistant steels such as Hardox on tines, blades and wear plates cost more and deform less. Mild steel in a wear position is a false economy. | Which components are abrasion-resistant steel and which are not. |
| Rotation | Continuous 360° rotation, and the rotator specified to deliver it, is often the largest single option on the quote. On some categories it is most of the productivity difference. | Whether rotation is included, which rotator, and what it costs to replace. |
| Turnkey kit | Machine-specific mounting bracket plus hose kit. Costs more up front and is nearly always worth it. | Whether the bracket is machine-specific and who warrants it. |
The bracket is not where to save money
Wear parts by category
| Category | Main consumable | Replacement rhythm | What accelerates it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forestry mulchers | Teeth and tips | Monthly budget line in abrasive ground | Stony or sandy soil, ground contact, working below grade |
| Stump grinders | Teeth | Monthly in abrasive ground | Sandy or stony soil, buried metal, urban fill |
| Grapple saws | Chains and bars | Weekly conversation | Dirty timber, ground contact, incorrect chain tension |
| Tree shears | Blade rebuild | Periodic | Hardwood, buttressed stems, oversize diameter |
| Stump cutters | Blade and jaw rebuild | Periodic | Oversize material, embedded stone |
| Log and forestry grabs | Tine wear, rotator service | Low | Ground scraping, side loading |
| Mechanical pruning | Blades and cutting bars | Varies by tool | Dirty bark, wire, dead hardwood |
| Tillage and compaction | Flighting, teeth, plate | Low to moderate | Rocky ground, reactive clay |
The wear parts guide covers each category in detail, including why ground rather than timber decides tooth life. The useful question is not “what does a set of teeth cost” but “what does a set of teeth cost, how many hours does a set last in ground like mine, and how long does a replacement set take to arrive”. A cheaper set that lasts half as long is more expensive, and a cheap set that takes six weeks to land is not a set at all.
Three buyers, three different answers
Arborist running 150–200 hours a year
At this utilisation the purchase price dominates and wear parts barely register. Hire or subcontract is usually the right answer, and if you do buy, buy for resale value and simplicity rather than for the lowest cost per hour. A tool that sits in the yard eleven months a year does not repay a premium specification.
Purchase price dominates
Civil contractor running 300–500 hours a year
The crossover band. Buy if the tool unlocks work you currently turn away, because the marginal revenue matters more than the marginal cost per hour. Wear parts start to show up in the monthly figures and parts lead time starts to matter. This is where the turnkey kit argument is strongest, because downtime now costs real money.
Wear parts become visible
Vegetation or clearing contractor above 500 hours a year
Ownership almost always wins, and the purchase price becomes a secondary consideration. Wear-part pricing, parts availability in Australia and the service network decide the total cost. At this level a six-week parts wait is a revenue event, and buying on invoice price alone is the most expensive decision available.
Parts supply decides the total
The utilisation test
Rough guidance, and it is guidance rather than gospel. Below about 200 hours a year, hire or subcontract. Between 200 and 500, buy if the tool unlocks work you currently turn away. Above 500, ownership almost always wins, and wear-part supply becomes more important than purchase price.
The trap is counting the hours you hope to run rather than the hours you have actually run in the last two years. An attachment bought on optimistic utilisation is the most common bad purchase in this category, and it is usually visible in the yard within a season. The hire versus buy page works through the decision properly.
Tax treatment, stated accurately
The instant asset write-off threshold is $20,000 per asset, and in the 2026-27 Budget it was announced to be made permanent from 1 July 2026 for small businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million. As at mid-2026 the enabling legislation had not passed Parliament, and until it does the standing legislated threshold for assets first used from 1 July 2026 is $1,000.
For an attachment costing more than the threshold, the asset joins the small business pool and depreciates at 15% in the first year and 30% in each year after. There is a timing trap worth knowing: the test is that the asset is first used or installed ready for use within the income year, not ordered or paid for. An imported attachment sitting on a wharf on 30 June does not qualify.
General information, not advice
Making two quotes comparable
Itemise before you compare
- Exact model, not the series name
- Carrier make, model and operating weight the quote is built for
- Rotation: included or optional, and which rotator
- Mounting bracket: machine-specific or generic
- Hose kit and fittings, or supply-only
- Case drain line where the motor requires one
- Freight: ex-works or delivered to your depot
- Installation and commissioning labour
- Warranty term, and what it covers on wear items
- Wear-part pricing in writing
- Wear-part lead time and what is held in Australia
- Whether a trial or demonstration is available
Red flags in an attachment quote
A quote materially below the others
Usually scope, not generosity. Check the model inside the range, whether rotation is included, and whether the bracket and hose kit are in or out.
No wear-part pricing offered
Wear parts are the dominant running cost. A supplier who will not quote them before the sale is unlikely to be sharper about them afterwards.
Vague carrier compatibility
"Suits 5 to 20 tonne" is a range, not a match. Ask for the specific model against your machine's operating weight, auxiliary flow and pressure.
No case drain where the motor needs one
Piston motors usually need drainage back to tank. Skipping it kills motor seals, often inside a season, and it is rarely covered by warranty.
Generic mounting bracket on a heavy attachment
The load path from a forestry attachment into the stick is unforgiving. A bracket that does not sit right cracks steel that is expensive to repair.
Parts held only overseas
The difference between a two-day repair and a six-week one. On a machine running 500 hours a year this outweighs a difference on the invoice.
Quick hitch not to standard
Quick hitches should comply with AS 4772-2008 or an equivalent such as ISO 13031-2016. Heavy attachments swung at height make this a live risk, not paperwork.
Price valid for an unusually long period
Attachment pricing moves with the exchange rate. A price held for six months is either carrying a margin buffer or is about to be revised.