How much does concrete cost in Australia?

What actually drives the price, what is not in the quote, and what to ask before you commit.

We do not publish a price per cubic metre, deliberately.

Concrete rates move, and they differ by state, by metro versus regional, by supplier and by mix. A figure published on a website is out of date within months, and someone comparing a real quote against a stale number is worse off than someone who was given nothing at all. What this page does instead is tell you exactly what the price is made of, so you can judge a quote yourself.

For a number, ring two local suppliers. Then put their rate into the concrete cost calculator.

How ready-mix concrete is sold

By the cubic metre, in fixed increments — commonly 0.2 m³ — with a minimum load. Three consequences follow, and all three surprise people.

You pay for the increment, not your volume. A job needing 2.31 m³ is ordered and invoiced as 2.4 m³. Working your cost out from the raw volume consistently under-estimates the bill.

Small pours are disproportionately expensive. Below the minimum load you either pay a surcharge or get charged as though you ordered the minimum anyway. A 0.5 m³ job can cost nearly what a 1 m³ job costs, which is why very small pours are often cheaper done with bags.

A part-load still occupies a truck. Suppliers price around the vehicle and the driver, not just the material in the barrel.

What changes the rate for the concrete itself

Strength class. The biggest single factor. A standard 20 MPa domestic mix costs less than 25, which costs less than 32. Use what the job needs — over-specifying is money spent for nothing, under-specifying is a slab that fails.
Slump. How wet the mix is. Higher slump is easier to place but is not free, and adding water on site to make life easier reduces strength.
Aggregate size. Smaller aggregate for thin sections or congested reinforcement generally costs more.
Additives. Accelerators for cold weather, retarders for hot, plasticisers, waterproofing agents — each adds to the rate.
Fibre reinforcement. Polypropylene or steel fibre mixed through, instead of or alongside mesh.
Colour and finish. Oxide, exposed aggregate and decorative finishes can add substantially — sometimes more than the base mix.
Special mixes. Low-shrinkage, high-early-strength, sulphate-resistant for aggressive soils. All priced above standard.

What is not in the concrete price

This is where most of the surprise lives. The concrete itself is often less than half the cost of a finished slab. Depending on the job, the real total also includes:

Delivery and cartage — usually distance-based, sometimes a flat zone rate.
Minimum load charge — as above, on small pours.
Waiting time — a truck includes a set unloading window and charges by the minute beyond it. Be ready before it arrives; this is the cost most often incurred through poor preparation.
Pump hire — needed where a truck cannot reach, with its own minimum charge and often a separate operator.
Excavation and spoil removal — digging out, and carting away what you dug.
Sub-base — compacted road base under the slab, which is a material cost in its own right. The road base calculator works out the quantity, allowing for compaction.
Formwork — timber, pegs, and the labour to set it accurately.
Reinforcement — mesh or bar, chairs, tie wire, and a vapour barrier under the slab.
Labour — placing, screeding, floating, edging, and the finish.
Weekend or after-hours loading, and for private customers, GST.
Curing and protection — covers, sprays, and in hot weather the measures that stop a slab drying too fast.

Comparing quotes properly

The thing that makes quotes hard to compare is that they are not quoted the same way.

A supplier quotes you a rate per cubic metre for material delivered. You are buying concrete.

A concreter usually quotes per square metre of finished slab, with excavation, base, formwork, steel, concrete, labour and finish all rolled in. You are buying a finished slab.

Those two numbers are not comparable, and placing them side by side makes the concreter look wildly expensive. Before comparing anything, establish which you are being given.

Where you have two like-for-like quotes that differ a lot, the difference is usually in what is excluded. Ask each of them, in writing, what is not included.

What to give a supplier so they can price it

Suppliers price faster and more accurately with these, and most people arrive with only the first:

The volume in cubic metres — work it out first with the concrete calculator
The strength class, for example 20 or 25 MPa
The slump you want
The maximum aggregate size, if it matters for your job
The delivery address, and whether a truck can get to the pour or a pump is needed
Access constraints — narrow driveway, overhead wires, soft ground, steep slope
The date and the time window

Knowing your volume before you ring is the single thing that saves the most back and forth, and it is the one thing this site is for.

Frequently asked questions

Why will you not just tell me a price?

Because any figure we published would be wrong for most readers and wrong for everyone within a year. Rates differ between states, between metro and regional areas, between suppliers and between mixes, and they move with cement and fuel costs. A stale number that someone compares a real quote against does active harm. Two phone calls will get you a current, local, accurate figure — and this page tells you what to ask so those calls are quick.

Are bags cheaper than ready-mix?

Per cubic metre, no — considerably more expensive. For very small volumes they can still work out cheaper overall, because you avoid the minimum load charge and delivery, and you are not paying for a truck. The crossover depends on your supplier's minimum. Work out the bag count with the bag calculator and compare; remember roughly 110 bags per cubic metre, which is also 2.2 tonnes to carry.

Can I save money with a lower strength mix?

You can, and it is usually a false economy. The difference in rate between strength classes is modest against the total cost of a slab, and the cost of replacing one that cracks or fails is not. Use what the job requires — which is a question for your builder or engineer, not a price decision.

How do I estimate before I have a quote?

Work out your volume, then ring two suppliers for their rate and put it into the cost calculator. That gives you the material cost on the order quantity you will actually be billed for. Then add the items from the list above that apply to your job — for a slab, they will often come to more than the concrete.