What information architecture costs in Australia

The short version

There is no single price list for information architecture in Australia. It is sold as a stage of website projects, as standalone consulting, and as part of user research work, and providers range from solo freelancers to large agencies. One published guide for 2026 is a pricing article by Raw Studio, an Australian design studio. It is a commercial source, and its figures describe UX and UI design work in general, not information architecture alone. With those caveats, it is a useful benchmark.

Published rates for 2026

Raw Studio's guide, dated 2 August 2026, gives these hourly ranges in Australian dollars and describes them as general market ranges that depend on scope:

The same guide gives project ranges. For a boutique studio it lists website UX and UI design at $15,000 to $45,000 and a monthly retainer at $8,000 to $20,000. For a full-service agency, a website or product redesign starts at $50,000 to $150,000 or more. It prices a design sprint, from any provider tier, at $8,000 to $25,000. It does not give separate figures for information architecture or for audits.

For context on the labour market, Morgan McKinley's 2026 salary data for permanent UX designer roles in Sydney shows a median of $124,000 a year, with a low of $93,000 and a high of $161,000. Salaries are not consulting rates, but they help explain why agency day rates sit where they do.

What drives the cost of information architecture

Size of the site. An inventory and review of 150 pages is a different job from 15,000. For very large sites, providers review templates and samples rather than every page, and the quote should say how.

Amount of research. A plan built from an inventory and staff interviews costs less than one that adds card sorting and tree testing with recruited participants. Research adds participant incentives, tool subscriptions and analysis time.

Number of audiences. Each distinct audience may need its own tasks, labels and testing.

Number of approvers. A plan that one person can approve moves faster than one that needs sign-off from several departments. Workshops and revision rounds add hours.

Deliverables. A findings report is quicker to produce than a full sitemap, taxonomy, content models and redirect map.

Migration work. Redirect mapping for a large site is detailed work, row by row.

Shapes of work

These are descriptions of scope, not prices. Use them to compare like with like when quotes arrive.

• Structure review. Inventory, hierarchy diagram, findings and priorities. No new structure.
• Sitemap and navigation plan. New hierarchy, labels, addresses and menu specification, with a review workshop.
• Plan with testing. As above, plus a card sort and one or two rounds of tree testing.
• Restructure. Decisions for every page, a target structure, a redirect map and launch checks.
• Enterprise framework. Shared structure, taxonomy, governance and a staged rollout across teams.

How to compare quotes

1. Give every supplier the same brief. The information architecture worksheet produces one in a few minutes.
2. Ask what is included. Inventory method, number of interviews, testing, revision rounds and file formats.
3. Ask what is excluded. Content writing, visual design, development and redirects implementation are separate jobs.
4. Check how the price is fixed. A fixed quote for a defined scope is easier to manage than open-ended hours. Ask how changes in scope are agreed.
5. Check GST. According to business.gov.au, a business must register for GST once its GST turnover reaches $75,000. Ask whether the price includes it.
6. Ask for an example deliverable. A sample report or sitemap from a past project, with client details removed, or an invented example, shows the depth you will receive.

Ways to spend less

• Do the inventory yourself with a free or low-cost crawler, and share it.
• Collect your top tasks from search logs and support enquiries before the project starts.
• Name one decision-maker with authority to approve the structure.
• Restructure one section first, learn from it, then do the rest.
• Run a small card sort or tree test yourself; the card sorting guide shows how.

Questions worth asking before you sign

• Who will do the work? The person in the pitch meeting and the person writing the plan may differ. Ask.
• How many revision rounds are included? One round of revisions is different from unlimited changes until approval.
• What happens if research changes the plan? If a tree test shows the structure fails, is a second round included or quoted separately?
• Which formats will we receive? Editable spreadsheets and documents are more useful than a slide deck you cannot change.
• Can we see a sample? A real deliverable, anonymised, or an invented example of the same depth.
• How is the work handed over? A walkthrough call, written notes, or both.

Signs a quote may be too thin

A very low quote for a large site may be possible, but check what it leaves out. Warning signs include no content inventory, no contact with real visitors or front-line staff, a single sitemap diagram with no labels or addresses, and no mention of how the structure will be maintained. A plan without those parts may look finished but leave the hard decisions to your own team after the supplier has gone.

Budgeting for the work after the plan

A structure plan is the start of a project, not the end. Budget separately for writing or rewriting content to fit the new structure, for design and development, and for loading redirects. Those costs depend on the plan's scope, so a good plan helps you estimate them: a page list with owners and content types tells writers and developers exactly how much there is to do.

How we price our own work

Our pricing page explains how we estimate, what each service includes and the starting points we quote from. It also covers deposits and how a change of scope is agreed.

Questions about this topic

Is information architecture priced separately?

It varies. Some studios quote it as a separate stage before design; others fold it into a website project. Ask for it to be shown as a line item so you can see what it covers.

Do quotes include GST?

Check each quote. A quote should say plainly whether the 10% GST is included or added on top.

Can we reduce the cost?

Yes. Share what you already have, such as a page list, analytics and known visitor tasks, and name one person who can approve decisions. Tackling one section at a time also helps.

Sources checked 4 November 2026 for information architecture costs

1. UX salaries, Morgan McKinleycommercial
2. GST registration, business.gov.au
3. UX and UI costs, Raw Studiocommercial