The barbecue gets all the attention. Then the first cook rolls around, someone grabs a pair of kitchen tongs, and the sausages at the back of the plate quietly turn to charcoal while everyone's knuckles cop the heat. Good BBQ tools are the cheapest upgrade you will ever make to a barbecue, and plenty of households battle on for years with the wrong ones.
This guide covers the four tools worth buying first and which of the shiny extras in a boxed gift set you can skip. It is written for Australian backyards, and it lands just before Father's Day, the first Sunday in September here. Everything mentioned sits in our BBQ accessories range.
The first four BBQ tools worth owning
Strip a kit back to what genuinely gets used at every cook and you land on four things: tongs, a spatula, a brush and a cover. That is the whole list. Everything beyond it is either a preference or a project, and none of it will improve dinner on a Tuesday.
The order matters too. Tongs and a spatula do the cooking. The brush keeps the grates usable so the next cook starts clean. The cover is the one people leave until last and then wish they had bought first, because it decides whether a barbecue rusts out or lasts a decade. Where all of it lands mid-cook matters as well, and our guide to setting up a BBQ prep station with side tables and landing zones covers the surfaces beside the barbecue.
Tongs and spatula: reach is the spec that matters
Almost every complaint about barbecue tools comes back to length. A hooded barbecue puts the cooking surface deep under the lid, and short kitchen tools force you to lean in over the heat to reach the back of the plate. That is how food at the rear gets missed and how forearms get scorched.
The 17" BBQ Tongs ($29) are built for that problem. The extra length reaches into the far back of the barbecue, so the snags at the rear get turned along with everything else. They suit a hooded BBQ where the plate sits deep under the lid. Test spring tension before you commit: tongs that need a hard squeeze get tiring across a long cook.
A spatula is judged the same way, plus the blade. The Long BBQ Spatula ($39) is stainless steel, so it wipes down easily and copes with the heat of the plate, and the length keeps your hand back from the flame. Look for a blade thin enough to slide under a burger without tearing it and wide enough to carry it without a wobble.
Brushes: where the real safety question sits
This is the one tool worth thinking about rather than grabbing off a shelf. Traditional wire brushes shed bristles as they age, and a loose metal bristle that ends up in food is a genuine hazard, not a scare story.
The Coleman Palmyra Twisted Bristle Brush ($19.99) uses twisted palmyra bristles instead of metal, a safer alternative that still cleans properly. It is designed to keep Flare-Free grates clear of debris so grease drains away as it should. One note worth heeding: it is appropriate for surfaces up to 180 degrees Celsius, so let a hot barbecue cool before you use it.
Whatever style you choose, retire it the moment bristles work loose. A brush is a consumable, not an heirloom.
A set, or buy the pieces one at a time?
Both work. It comes down to whether you are buying for yourself or wrapping something, and whether the tools live in a drawer or travel.
| Option | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Coleman 3pc BBQ Tool Set ($63) | Covering the basics in one go, with a lightweight, sturdy design sized for comfort over a long cook | You will still want a brush and a cover on top |
| Coleman 11pc BBQ Tool Set with Case | Gifting, and for kits that travel to a campsite or live in a cupboard between cooks | Check the photos for what the set contains, as the individual pieces are not listed |
| Buying singles | Replacing one worn-out tool, or building a kit around what you actually reach for | Costs more per piece and takes a few orders to complete |
The honest read: a set is the better gift, singles are the better long-term kit. Most people end up with both.
The gimmicks you can skip
Gift-boxed kits pad the piece count, and the padding is usually the same handful of items. Corn holders are the classic. So are miniature skewers too short to thread anything onto, and a fork that exists mainly to let a steak leak its juices onto the coals.
Novelty gadgets deserve the same treatment. Branding irons, app-connected trinkets with a battery to flatten, and rubber-handled sets whose grips perish on a hot deck all sound better in the box than on the plate. A digital meat thermometer is the one genuine exception, because it answers a question guesswork gets wrong.
The rule of thumb: if you cannot picture using it at three separate cooks, it is not part of your kit.
Buying BBQ tools as a Father's Day gift in Australia
Father's Day lands on the first Sunday in September here, which is the start of spring and the point where barbecues come out of hibernation. The barbecue has likely sat under a cover through a wet winter, so tools, a brush and a fresh cover beat another set of steak knives.
Pair a tool set with a clean-up and the gift does double duty. Our guide on how to clean and maintain your BBQ covers the spring spider check on the burner tubes and the grease tray clean that should happen before the first cook of the season. Add a fitted cover from the outdoor furniture covers range and you have handled the three jobs that decide how long a barbecue survives.
Two climate notes. If you are on the coast anywhere from Perth to the Sunshine Coast, salt air will find stainless tools left hanging outside, so bring them in or keep them in a case. Inland, total fire ban days affect solid-fuel cooking in spring, and the rules vary by state and by council. Check with your local fire service and council before lighting anything that burns wood.
BBQ tools — frequently asked questions
What BBQ tools do I actually need to start?
Tongs, a spatula, a brush and a cover will handle everything a home barbecue asks of you. Those four cover the cooking, the clean-up and the protection between cooks. Add a thermometer later if you cook large cuts and want to stop guessing.
How long should BBQ tongs be?
Long enough to reach the back of your cooking surface without leaning over the heat, which for most hooded barbecues means around 17 inches. Measure your plate from the front edge to the rear and use that as your minimum. Short kitchen tongs are the most common cause of scorched forearms.
Are wire bristle BBQ brushes safe?
Ageing wire brushes can shed bristles that end up in food, which is why many cooks now avoid them. Non-metal options such as twisted palmyra bristles clean effectively without that risk. Whichever you use, check the head regularly and replace the brush as soon as bristles loosen.
Is a big BBQ tool set better value than buying tools separately?
A set is usually cheaper per piece and makes a better gift, but only if you will use most of what is in it. Count the pieces you would genuinely reach for and compare that against two or three good singles.
Shop the range
Start with the four that matter, then build from there. Tongs, spatulas, brushes and boxed sets all sit in the collection linked at the top of this guide. If the barbecue itself is due for replacement, browse the BBQs and outdoor cooking range. The gift-ready pick remains the Coleman 11pc BBQ Tool Set with Case ($79.95).
We deliver Australia-wide, delivery is free on orders over $100, and most orders are dispatched in 3 to 10 business days. Returns are accepted within 30 days with no restocking fee.
