Guide
How to start a dog grooming business in Australia
The practical version: what to register, what it costs, what to charge, and how to fill your first diary. Written for Australian groomers going out on their own.
What's in this guide
- Decide on mobile, home salon, or shopfront
- Register the business properly
- Sort insurance and council rules early
- Get trained (even if it isn't compulsory)
- Budget the kit honestly
- Price for your time, not for the suburb next door
- Make it easy to book you
- Get the first fifty clients
01
Decide on mobile, home salon, or shopfront
Mobile is the cheapest way in — a fitted van or trailer and you go to the dog. A home setup is cheaper again if your council allows it. A shopfront gives you walk-past trade and room for a second groomer, but it carries rent, fit-out and a lease from day one. Most Australian groomers start mobile or from home and only take a shop once the diary is consistently full.
02
Register the business properly
Apply for a free ABN through the Australian Business Register, register your business name with ASIC if you're trading under anything other than your own name, and set up a separate business bank account. You only need to register for GST once your turnover hits $75,000 a year — plenty of solo groomers stay under that for the first year or two. Talk to an accountant about sole trader versus company before you commit.
03
Sort insurance and council rules early
Public liability is the non-negotiable one — most groomers carry it, and some shopping-centre and strata landlords insist on it. Add care, custody and control cover, because standard public liability often excludes damage or injury to the animal you're actually working on. Then ring your local council: home-based and mobile grooming both sit under local planning and wastewater rules, and they differ council to council. It is a five-minute phone call that can save you a very expensive mistake.
04
Get trained (even if it isn't compulsory)
There is no national licence required to groom dogs in Australia. That surprises people. What clients and insurers respond to is evidence you know what you're doing — a certificate from a recognised grooming school, time spent as an apprentice or bather in a busy salon, and a portfolio of real dogs. Handling anxious, elderly and matted dogs safely is the part no short course teaches well; salon time does.
05
Budget the kit honestly
The tools add up faster than people expect: clippers and a spare set, blades, shears, a dryer, a table, a bath and ramp, brushes, shampoos and consumables. A serious mobile fit-out (van, water tank, hot water, generator, power) is a much larger step again. Buy good clippers and a good dryer first — they are the two things that decide how fast and how safely you work. Everything else can be upgraded later.
06
Price for your time, not for the suburb next door
Work out what an hour of your time has to earn to cover consumables, fuel, insurance, software, tax and a real wage — then price each groom by how long that breed and coat actually takes. Charge properly for matting, double coats and giant breeds instead of absorbing them. Undercutting the salon down the road is the fastest way to be busy, exhausted and broke.
07
Make it easy to book you
Most new groomers lose work in the gap between someone deciding to book and actually reaching you. A booking page clients can use at 9pm, deposits to hold the slot, and automatic SMS and email reminders will do more for your first year than any amount of advertising. That is exactly what BarkSuite does, in Australian dollars, on Australian time zones.
08
Get the first fifty clients
Set up a Google Business Profile the day you start — it is free and it is where local searches land. Then: before-and-after photos posted consistently, local community Facebook groups, a referral thank-you for existing clients, and a friendly relationship with nearby vets and pet shops. Ask every happy client for a Google review. Fifty regulars on an 8-week cycle is a full book.
A note on costs
We've deliberately not put dollar figures on equipment, vans or insurance — they move constantly and they vary a lot by state, by insurer and by whether you buy new or second-hand. Get three real quotes for insurance and a fit-out before you build a budget, and treat any number you read online (including ours) as a starting point for your own homework.
The one running cost you can pin down early is your software. BarkSuite starts at $9/mo AUD, and there's a 14-day free trial on Pro so you can run a real week through it before you decide.
Common questions
Do you need a licence to groom dogs in Australia?
There is no national grooming licence. You do need an ABN, appropriate insurance, and to meet your local council's rules for a home-based or mobile business. Formal training isn't legally required but it strongly affects what you can charge and how confidently you handle difficult dogs.
Is dog grooming profitable in Australia?
It can be, and the deciding factors are pricing and diary utilisation rather than volume. A groomer doing four well-priced dogs a day with few gaps and few no-shows usually earns more than one squeezing in six cheap ones. Deposits, reminders and back-to-back scheduling are where the margin actually lives.
Mobile or salon — which should I start with?
Mobile if you want lower fixed costs and you're comfortable working alone. A salon if you want a team, walk-in trade and a space you don't have to pack down every night. Many Australian groomers start mobile and open a salon in year two or three.
How much should I charge for a dog groom?
Price by time and coat, not by a flat number. Work out your required hourly rate, time each breed and service honestly, and add surcharges for matting and giant breeds. Review your prices every year — most new groomers under-price for far too long.
Keep reading
Starting out? Get the boring bits handled.
Online bookings, deposits, SMS reminders and client records — 14 days free on Pro. No card, no lock-in.
Start your free trial