By Dr Scott J Turner, Specialist Plastic Surgeon (FRACS) | Bondi Junction, Sydney
Let’s cut to it. You’re here because you want to know what a deep plane facelift costs. Fair enough.
The short answer? Somewhere between $24,000 and $62,000 — depending on what’s actually being done. That’s a wide range. But there’s a reason for it, and it has everything to do with how facelift surgery works in practice versus how it gets talked about online.
Most pricing pages will quote you a number for “a deep plane facelift” as though it’s a single, fixed procedure. It isn’t.
Patients visiting Dr Turner’s Bondi Junction clinic often arrive after comparing multiple Sydney pricing guides — and the numbers they’ve seen rarely tell the full story. What you’ll actually pay depends on how many facial zones need work, what combination of techniques your anatomy requires, and how long you’re in theatre. This guide explains how that breaks down — honestly — so you can walk into a consultation knowing what to expect.
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Deep Plane Facelift Cost Sydney — Quick Summary
| Approach | Approximate Cost |
|---|---|
| Deep plane facelift only (standalone) | ~$24,000 |
| Traditional lower facelift (SMAS + neck + fat grafting) | ~$31,000 |
| Short scar ponytail or standard face & neck lift | ~$46,000 |
| Vertical Restore Facelift (all zones) | ~$62,000 |
Most patients fall somewhere in the $31,000–$62,000 range because standalone deep plane surgery is rarely performed — more on that below.
The Bits That Make Up Your Quote
Your facelift price isn’t one lump sum. It’s made up of separate charges, and understanding each one helps you compare quotes properly.
The consultation itself costs $450 at Dr Turner’s Bondi Junction clinic. That covers a full facial assessment, a discussion about what’s realistic for your face, and education about the procedure, recovery, and risks. You won’t get a quote without this step — Dr Turner needs to assess your anatomy first.
Surgeon’s fees make up the largest chunk. These reflect training, specialisation, and the time your particular surgery demands. A Specialist Plastic Surgeon (FRACS) who operates on faces every week has invested years building that skill set. You’re paying for that when you choose someone who focuses on facial surgery.
Hospital fees cover theatre time, nursing, equipment, and an overnight stay. Dr Turner operates exclusively in fully accredited private hospitals — not day surgeries. For something that runs 4 to 8 hours, that matters.
Anaesthesia fees are charged by a consultant anaesthetist who’s with you the entire time. Longer surgery means higher anaesthesia costs. Simple as that.
Post-op care — follow-up visits, medications, compression garments, wound care — is bundled into Dr Turner’s quoted price. No surprise invoices later.
What Affects the Price?
Four things, mainly.
How much correction you need. Someone with significant midface descent, heavy jowling, and a loose neck is looking at more operative hours than someone with isolated jawline concerns.
Whether you’re combining procedures. Adding blepharoplasty, a brow lift, fat grafting, or a deep neck lift pushes the total up — but doing it all in one session is better value than spreading it across separate operations with separate anaesthetics and separate recoveries.
Your surgeon’s focus. Specialists who do facial procedures day in, day out charge more. That concentrated experience is also what keeps complication rates down and reduces the chance you’ll need revision surgery.
And the hospital. Accredited private facilities in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs have different fee structures based on their location and what they offer.
General Pricing Across Australia
Before we get into specifics, here’s where different facelift techniques sit price-wise across Sydney and Australia more broadly:
| Procedure | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| Short Scar Facelift | $25,000 – $35,000 |
| SMAS Facelift | $30,000 – $45,000 |
| Deep Plane Facelift | $40,000 – $55,000 |
| Deep Plane + Neck Lift | $45,000 – $65,000+ |
Now — those numbers assume each technique done more or less on its own. Keep reading, because that’s not how it usually works.
Here’s What Most Pricing Guides Won’t Tell You
A deep plane facelift by itself — just the midface and jawline, no neck work, no eyelids, no brow, no volume correction — takes about 3 hours. Cost? Roughly $24,000.
Dr Turner almost never performs that operation.
Why not? Because fixing one zone while leaving everything around it untouched creates an obvious mismatch. If your midface gets lifted but your neck is still loose, your brow has dropped, your eyelids are heavy, and your cheeks have deflated — the corrected area actually draws more attention to everything that wasn’t addressed. That’s the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve.
The reality is that most people don’t age in one spot. The midface sags. The neck bands up. Volume disappears from the cheeks and temples. The eyelids get heavy. The brow drops. Tackling all of it together, in one coordinated session, is what produces a result that looks balanced and — critically — unoperated. It also means one anaesthetic, one hospital stay, one recovery. Not three or four separate rounds.
So when you see “deep plane facelift” quoted at $35,000 or $40,000 somewhere else, ask yourself: what’s actually included?
Dr Turner’s Facelift Pricing Structure
Dr Turner’s facelift pricing is structured around four tiers. Each one reflects a specific combination of techniques matched to the extent of ageing being addressed. All figures below are approximate and cover surgeon’s fees, hospital, anaesthesia, and all follow-up appointments.
| Procedure | What’s Included | Cost | Theatre Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Lower Facelift | SMAS + Platysmaplasty + Fat Grafting | ~$31k | ~4 hrs |
| Short Scar Ponytail | Deep Plane + Fat Grafting + Upper & Lower Bleph + Brow Lift | ~$46k | ~6 hrs |
| Standard Face & Neck Lift | Deep Plane + Platysmaplasty + Fat Grafting + Upper Bleph + Brow Lift | ~$46k | ~6 hrs |
| Vertical Restore | Deep Plane + Deep Neck Lift + Fat Grafting + Upper & Lower Bleph + Brow Lift + Lip Lift | ~$62k | ~8 hrs |
Traditional Lower Facelift — ~$31,000
SMAS facelift paired with platysmaplasty and fat grafting. About 4 hours in theatre. Who it suits: patients whose main issues are jowling, early neck laxity, and volume loss — without much going on in the upper face. It doesn’t go beneath the SMAS layer the way deep plane does, but for the right candidate it’s a solid approach.
Short Scar Ponytail — ~$46,000
Deep plane technique through temporal and periauricular incisions, plus fat grafting, upper and lower blepharoplasty, and brow lift. Around 6 hours. Who it suits: patients wanting deep plane correction of the midface and eyes but whose neck doesn’t need extensive work.
Standard Face & Neck Lift — ~$46,000
Dr Turner’s workhorse procedure. Deep plane facelift combined with platysmaplasty, fat grafting, upper blepharoplasty, and brow lift. Roughly 6 hours. Who it suits: patients with ageing across the midface, jawline, neck, brow, upper eyelids, and volume. For a lot of people, this hits the sweet spot between thoroughness and scope.
Vertical Restore Facelift — ~$62,000
Everything. Deep plane facelift, deep neck lift (going past the platysma to deal with subplatysmal fat and the digastric muscles), fat grafting, upper and lower blepharoplasty, brow lift, and lip lift. Eight hours. Who it suits: patients who’ve aged across every zone and want it all sorted in one go rather than coming back for separate surgeries over the next few years.
What Else Might Come Up?
Some patients need a revision facelift to correct previous work. Others want to add a chin implant, neck liposuction, or rhinoplasty. All of this gets discussed during your consultation.
Wondering which tier applies to your face? The only way to know is a proper assessment. Book a consultation at Dr Turner’s Bondi Junction clinic — he’ll walk you through exactly what your anatomy needs and what it’ll cost.
A Note on Choosing Your Surgeon
Shopping on price alone is tempting. But the deep plane technique isn’t something every plastic surgeon does regularly. Most offer a broad range — faces, breasts, bodies — and may only perform a facelift every few weeks. Surgeons who focus heavily on facial surgery build their technique through that volume of repetition. It makes a real difference when you’re operating around facial nerves, releasing retaining ligaments, and working beneath the SMAS.
A deep plane facelift surgeon in Sydney who does this work consistently also tends to have lower complication rates — and that reduces the chance you’ll need revision work down the track. Both of those affect your long-term costs more than the initial quote ever will.
Why Facelift Surgery Costs More in Sydney
If you’ve looked at facelift pricing in Eastern Suburbs Sydney and wondered why the numbers sit higher than what you see quoted elsewhere in Australia — or overseas — there are specific reasons.
Sydney’s accredited private hospitals charge more than regional facilities. That’s partly location, partly the standard of equipment and nursing staff available. For a procedure that can run 6 to 8 hours under general anaesthesia, the quality of your hospital and anaesthetist isn’t somewhere you want to cut corners.
Theatre time is the other big factor. Structural facelift techniques — deep plane dissection, SMAS work, platysmaplasty — take longer than skin-only approaches. More time in theatre means higher facility fees, higher anaesthesia charges, and a bigger overall quote. But it also means the correction goes deeper and holds longer. You’re paying for durability, not just an afternoon in surgery.
Medicare and Insurance
Facelifts are elective cosmetic surgery. Medicare doesn’t cover them. Private health insurance doesn’t contribute. You’re paying the full amount.
One exception worth knowing about: if your surgery includes a functional element — upper blepharoplasty for documented visual field blockage, or septoplasty for breathing issues — Medicare item numbers might apply to those specific parts. Dr Turner’s team can advise whether any part of your planned surgery qualifies.
Getting Started
Dr Turner sees patients for facelift consultations at his Bondi Junction clinic in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. He personally conducts at least two consultations before any surgery — there’s no rush, and you’ll have time to think things through properly.
Contact us to book, or call 1300 437 758. Coming from interstate? Check the out-of-town patients page.
