Concreting Cost per m² in Australia: 2026 Price Guide

Concreting costs about $75 to $180 per m² in Australia in 2026, including GST, for typical residential work such as paths, patios, driveways and shed slabs. Plain grey concrete on an easy site sits at the bottom of that range, and decorative finishes like exposed aggregate or stamped concrete sit at the top.

Concreting is a broad trade, so this guide is the overview. It covers what concrete itself costs per cubic metre, what crews charge for labour, how finishes change the price, minimum charges on small jobs, demolition and repairs, plus licensing and how to compare quotes. Where a job type has its own detailed guide, you will find a link. Every figure here is indicative, and you should get at least three written quotes for the same specification before committing.

Concreting prices by job type

For deeper detail on the most common jobs, see the guides to concrete driveway costs, house and shed slab costs, exposed aggregate concrete and polished concrete floors.

How a concreting quote is built

Almost every concreting price is made up of the same parts. Once you know them, quotes become much easier to compare, and you can see where a cheap quote has left something out.

1. Site preparation. Excavating topsoil, levelling, removing spoil and compacting a crushed rock base.
2. Formwork. Timber or steel edge forms that hold the concrete in shape and set the levels and falls.
3. Reinforcement. Steel mesh or bar on plastic chairs so it sits in the right place in the slab, plus a vapour barrier under building slabs.
4. Concrete supply. Ready-mix from a plant, priced per cubic metre, with extra fees for small loads, waiting time and additives.
5. Placement. Direct from the truck chute, by barrow, or through a concrete pump where access is limited.
6. Finishing. Screeding, floating, edging, the final finish (broom, trowel, exposed, stamped), then curing.
7. Joints and sealing. Saw-cut control joints and, for decorative concrete, an acid wash and sealer.
8. Clean-up and disposal. Removing formwork, spoil and waste.

On a typical 50 m² plain driveway, concrete supply is often 25 to 35 percent of the price, labour 30 to 40 percent, and the rest is base, steel, pump, formwork and margin. Decorative work shifts more of the cost into labour.

What concrete costs per cubic metre

Ready-mix concrete in Australian capital cities generally costs about $300 to $380 per m³ including GST in 2026 for standard 20 to 32 MPa mixes. Regional areas often pay $330 to $450 per m³, more where the plant is a long drive away. Prices vary by supplier and change during the year, so treat these as a starting point.

Bagged concrete is convenient for post holes and tiny pads, but at roughly 100 to 110 bags per cubic metre it works out at about $900 to $1,400 per m³, plus a lot of mixing. Above about half a cubic metre, a mini-mix truck or ready-mix delivery is usually cheaper and gives a more consistent result.

Working out how much concrete you need

Multiply length by width by thickness in metres, then add 5 to 10 percent for waste, uneven base and spillage. A 6 m by 4 m patio at 100 mm thick is 6 x 4 x 0.1 = 2.4 m³, so you would order about 2.6 m³. Thickened edges and beams add more, which is why concreters calculate building slabs from the engineering drawings.

Labour, pumps and machine hire

Concreters in Australia commonly charge around $60 to $100 per hour for a qualified concreter and $40 to $60 per hour for a labourer, including GST, though most residential jobs are quoted as a fixed price rather than by the hour. Placing and finishing labour usually works out to $20 to $45 per m² depending on the finish and access. The concreter hourly rate guide has a fuller breakdown of labour rates by state and experience.

Pumps are the extra that surprises people most. If the truck cannot reach within its chute length of the formwork, the choice is barrowing, which takes time and more hands, or a pump. On most suburban backyard jobs, the pump is cheaper than the extra labour.

Small jobs and minimum charges

Concreters, concrete plants and pump operators all have minimum charges. A crew of two or three, a truck and the gear cost much the same for a 3 m² bin pad as for a 30 m² patio. That is why small jobs look expensive per square metre.

The best way to beat minimum charges is to bundle jobs. If you need a bin pad, a tank base and a path, have them formed and poured on the same day from one truck.

How finishes change the price

Indoor floors are their own topic. Garage and workshop coatings are covered in the epoxy flooring cost guide.

Concreting prices by city

These are typical ranges for a plain 100 mm slab of 30 to 60 m² on a straightforward site, alongside typical concreter hourly rates.

Three typical jobs, broken down

Coloured patio and side path in Blacktown

A 24 m² patio off the family room plus an 18 m² side path, 42 m² in total, in a charcoal colour with a broom finish and sealer. Side access only, so a line pump was used.

The narrow path and the pump pushed this above the typical coloured driveway rate. A single large rectangle with truck access would have come in closer to $115 to $125 per m².

Replacing a sunken path and step in Geelong

A 20 m² path along the side of a 1960s weatherboard had sunk and cracked, with a trip hazard at the back step.

Without demolition, the new path cost about $142 per m² including GST. Barrow access and the short load explain why it is above the plain driveway rate.

Four small jobs in one day in Canberra

An air conditioner pad, a bin pad, a clothesline footing and an 8 m² path to the side gate, about 15 m² in total. Pouring them together avoided four separate minimum charges.

That per m² rate looks steep, but four separate visits would easily have cost $4,500 or more.

Breaking out old concrete

Many concreting jobs start with demolition. The price depends on thickness, reinforcement, access for machines and how far the rubble has to travel.

Clean concrete rubble is often accepted at recycling yards for less than mixed waste, so keep it separate from soil and green waste. Before demolishing anything near a house built before 1990, check for fibro or other materials that may contain asbestos, since old sheeting is sometimes buried under paths or used as formwork. The asbestos removal cost guide covers testing and licensed removal.

Repairs, resurfacing and crack fixing

Not every tired slab needs replacing. Before you pay for demolition, ask whether one of these options will do the job.

• Crack filling. Hairline and shrinkage cracks can be cleaned and filled with a flexible sealant or epoxy. A small repair visit often costs $300 to $800. Filling stops water and weeds getting in but will not hide the crack.
• Resurfacing. Polymer cement overlays, spray-on finishes, stencil overlays and microtoppings give a new surface over sound concrete for about $40 to $90 per m². Browse concrete resurfacing specialists for this kind of work.
• Lifting sunken slabs. Slab lifting by pumping grout or expanding foam under the concrete can level a few sunken bays without demolition. Pricing varies widely by method and size, so get it quoted against replacement.
• Partial replacement. Cutting out and replacing one or two bays between control joints is often cheaper than a whole new driveway, though the new concrete will not match the old colour exactly.
• Concrete cancer. Rusting reinforcement that cracks and pops the concrete (spalling) is a structural issue, common on older balconies and coastal buildings. It needs an engineer's assessment and a remedial specialist, not a cosmetic patch.

What pushes concreting prices up

• Access. No truck access means a pump or barrows. Steep driveways, narrow side paths, power lines and upstairs work all add time.
• Slope and levels. Sloping sites need more excavation, steps or retaining, and more care to keep concrete from slumping downhill.
• Soil. Reactive clay, soft ground and fill need a deeper base or engineered footings.
• Thickness and steel. Areas for caravans, boats or trucks need thicker slabs and heavier reinforcement.
• Finish. Decorative finishes add materials, skilled labour and sealing.
• Drainage. Grated drains and stormwater connections add materials and a plumber's time.
• Demolition and disposal. Removing old surfaces and spoil is often a third of a replacement job.
• Timing. Weekend pours, early starts in summer heat and wet-season rescheduling all cost money.
• Council requirements. Crossovers on council land need permits, inspections and specific construction details.

Licences, approvals and safety by state

Concreting counts as residential building work in every state once it passes a dollar threshold, and some states have a dedicated concreting licence class. Exact thresholds change, so check with your regulator before signing.

You can check a NSW licence on the NSW Fair Trading website and a Queensland licence through the QBCC. Deposits are capped in several states, for example at 10 percent in NSW, and lower limits apply in Victoria and Queensland depending on the contract value, so a request for a large upfront payment is a warning sign.

Some parts of a concreting job always need another licensed trade. Stormwater connections and under-slab drainage are plumbing work. Conduits for power and lighting need a licensed electrician. Building slabs need engineering and a pre-pour inspection under the building approval, and crossovers need council approval.

On safety, cutting, grinding and drilling concrete releases crystalline silica dust, which causes silicosis. Crews should use water suppression or on-tool extraction and suitable respirators; Safe Work Australia's silica guidance explains the controls. Wet concrete is also caustic and can cause serious skin burns, so anyone handling it needs gloves, long sleeves and eye protection. Lodge a free Before You Dig Australia enquiry before excavating.

DIY concreting: where it makes sense

Small jobs are well within reach for a handy owner. Setting fence or pergola posts in bagged concrete, pouring an air conditioner pad, or a small shed base of a few square metres are good starter projects. You need formwork timber, a level, mesh and chairs for anything bigger than a stepping stone, a screed board, a float, an edger and patience.

Things get harder quickly. A cubic metre of concrete weighs about 2.4 tonnes. Once a truck is involved, you have a limited window to place, screed and finish before the concrete sets, and that window shrinks on hot days. A driveway or large patio needs a practised crew of three or four. Common DIY problems include a poor base that sinks, mesh lying on the ground instead of in the slab, no control joints and finishing too early or too late.

A middle path works well: do the preparation, demolition and clean-up yourself or with hired help, and pay a concreter for the pour and finish.

What happens on pour day

Most residential concreting follows a similar rhythm, and knowing it helps you plan around the work.

In the days before the pour, the crew excavates, lays and compacts the base, sets up formwork to the agreed levels and falls, and positions the mesh on chairs. If a council crossover or building slab is involved, an inspector checks the formwork and steel before concrete is ordered. This is the time to walk the site with the concreter and confirm heights at doorways, falls away from the house and where the control joints will go. Changing your mind after the truck arrives is not an option.

On the day, crews often start early, especially in summer. The truck, and the pump if needed, usually arrive mid-morning. Expect noise, a truck blocking the driveway or street for an hour or two, and a busy crew who will not have time to chat. Keep kids, pets and cars well clear. Once placed, the concrete is screeded, floated and finished over the next few hours, and edges are tooled.

Saw cutting of control joints normally happens later the same day or the next morning. Exposed aggregate needs a wash-off visit the following morning. Sealing, where it is part of the job, comes a few weeks later once the concrete has cured. Formwork is stripped within a day or two, and the crew should leave the site clean, with spoil and offcuts removed as quoted.

After the pour, keep foot traffic off for about 24 hours, keep cars off for at least seven days, and water the surface lightly in hot, dry weather if the concreter asks you to.

Weather and the best time to pour

Concrete can be poured year round in most of Australia, but conditions matter. In summer heat, concrete sets faster, so crews start early, may add a retarder and need to cure the slab carefully to avoid surface cracking. In southern winters, cold slows setting and strength gain, and frost can damage fresh concrete in Canberra, Hobart and inland areas. Rain on a fresh pour can ruin the finish. In the tropical north, the wet season limits pour days, and crews book up quickly in the dry.

Spring and the lead-up to Christmas are peak season for outdoor concreting in the south, when everyone wants a new driveway or patio before summer. Late autumn and mild winter weeks can be easier to book.

Choosing a concreter and comparing quotes

Ask every concreter to quote the same specification, so you are comparing prices, not guesses. A good written quote includes:

• Area, thickness, concrete strength (MPa) and reinforcement type.
• Base depth and material, and how it is compacted.
• Finish, colour or aggregate name, and sealing.
• Control joint layout and saw cutting.
• Demolition, disposal, pump, drains and permits listed separately.
• Start date, expected duration and what happens if rain delays the pour.
• Licence number where required, public liability insurance and a written warranty.
• A payment schedule tied to stages, with a deposit within your state's legal limit.

Red flags include a quote far below the others, no written contract on jobs over your state threshold, cash-only pricing, a crew that cannot tell you the MPa or mesh size, and pressure to pour without a council permit on a crossover. Ask to see photos or addresses of recent jobs of the same type. If you want help finding a reliable tradie in general, the steps in our guide on how to find trusted tradies apply well to concreters.

Concrete or another surface?

For outdoor areas, concrete is not the only choice. Pavers cost a similar amount to decorative concrete once laid on a proper base, and individual pavers can be lifted for repairs or to reach services, but they can move and weeds grow in the joints. Asphalt is cheaper for long driveways but softens in heat. Gravel is cheapest of all but needs topping up and is messy. The paving cost guide compares paver types and prices if you are weighing the two up.

How long concrete lasts and what it costs to keep

A well-built concrete path, patio or driveway lasts 30 to 50 years. Plain concrete needs little more than an occasional wash. Decorative finishes need resealing every two to three years, often $8 to $15 per m² if you pay someone. Fix cracks early to stop water getting under the slab, keep tree roots in mind when planting near paths, and keep heavy vehicles off surfaces that were not designed for them. Properly maintained, concrete is one of the cheapest outdoor surfaces to own over its lifetime.

Getting labour for a concreting job through Yakka

Concreting jobs have a lot of plain physical work around the pour. Breaking up old paths, barrowing rubble to a skip, digging out turf and topsoil, moving pavers and pot plants, carrying formwork and cleaning up afterwards can all be done by workers you book through Yakka Labour by the hour or day. Our guide to how to hire a labourer for a day explains rates and how it works, and agreeing that split with your concreter upfront can trim their quote.

The concrete work itself should go to an experienced concreter with the right licence for your state. You can compare local concreters on Yakka, ask each for a written quote against the same specification, and keep plumbing and electrical connections with licensed trades.