// AUSTRALIAN TRADIE RATES AND BENCHMARKS 2026
How much do concreters charge in Australia?
As of August 2026, concreters in Australia charge $50 to $150 per square metre for standard work, with a 2026 average of $92.27 per square metre. Hourly labour runs $60 to $120, about $70 typical. Concreters do not charge call-out fees; they quote per square metre.
Last updated: 7 August 2026. Sources: 4 industry datasets.
// PER SQUARE METRE
Per square metre rates in detail
Concreting is quoted by area, not time: 70% of 2026 concreting quotes are per square metre. Standard work runs $50 to $150 per square metre, a band Service.com.au and ServiceTasker both publish, and ServiceSeeking's 2026 average of $92.27 lands inside it. Finish drives the price more than anything else, as the table shows.
For context, the concrete itself runs $200 to $300 per cubic metre supplied, which is why materials and labour usually appear as separate lines on bigger slab quotes.
| Rate | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Standard work | $50 to $150 per m2 | Service.com.au, 14 Apr 2026; ServiceTasker, 17 Sep 2024 |
| 2026 average | $92.27 per m2 | ServiceSeeking, 12 Feb 2026 (70% of quotes are per m2) |
| Plain finish | $60 to $85 per m2 | ServiceTasker, 17 Sep 2024 |
| Reinforced finish | $65 to $90 per m2 | ServiceTasker, 17 Sep 2024 |
| Coloured finish | $75 to $90 per m2 | ServiceTasker, 17 Sep 2024 |
| Exposed aggregate finish | $100 to $150 per m2 | ServiceTasker, 17 Sep 2024 |
| Stencilled finish | $100 to $150 per m2 | ServiceTasker, 17 Sep 2024 |
| Rate | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ACT* | $70 to $130 per m2 | ServiceTasker, 17 Sep 2024 |
| NSW* | $80 to $150 per m2 | ServiceTasker, 17 Sep 2024 |
| QLD* | $60 to $120 per m2 | ServiceTasker, 17 Sep 2024 |
| SA* | $65 to $110 per m2 | ServiceTasker, 17 Sep 2024 |
| VIC* | $70 to $140 per m2 | ServiceTasker, 17 Sep 2024 |
| WA* | $75 to $135 per m2 | ServiceTasker, 17 Sep 2024 |
Rows marked * are single-sourced (labour per square metre by state).
// THE DATA
Hourly rates in detail
Hourly billing is the secondary market in concreting. The industry standard sits around $70 per hour inside a broader $60 to $120 labour band (Service.com.au, 14 Apr 2026), ServiceTasker lists $60 to $70, and concreters with one to five years of experience commonly charge $40 to $70 per hour.
| Rate | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| National range | $60 to $120 per hour | Service.com.au, 14 Apr 2026 (broader labour band) |
| Industry standard | $70 per hour | Service.com.au, 14 Apr 2026; ServiceTasker $60 to $70 |
Prices are what customers are quoted, including GST where the business is registered.
// CALL-OUT FEES
Call-out fees
Concreters do not charge call-out fees; they quote per square metre. Quoting a slab means measuring it, so attendance is folded into the quote rather than billed as a separate fee.
The exception that looks like a call-out fee is concrete pumping: line pumps run $150 to $200 per hour with a 3-hour minimum, boom pumps $180 to $300 per hour, and pump travel charges start at $150. That is pump hire, a separate service, not a concreter call-out.
// DAY RATES
Day rates
One day-rate figure exists and it needs its caveat attached: ServiceSeeking's 2026 average is $848.82 per day from $250, drawn from only 10% of quotes. Spread over eight hours that implies about $106 per hour, above the hourly consensus, because day-quoted jobs skew larger. Read it as a description of big jobs, not a going day rate.
| Rate | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 average* | $848.82 per day, from $250 | ServiceSeeking, 12 Feb 2026 (10% of quotes daily) |
Rows marked * are single-sourced.
// THE COST FLOOR
Why rates are what they are: the cost floor
An employed concreter's award minimum wage, including all-purpose allowances, is $30.86 per hour (Fair Work, Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 (MA000020), 2026). The rate a concreter business charges customers is $60 to $120 per hour. The difference pays for the ute, insurance, tools, super, unbillable hours and the business's risk.
The award floor of $30.86 an hour becomes $34.56 after 12% super, before formwork gear, a heavy-duty ute or public liability cover is funded. Charging $40 an hour would leave about $5 an hour for all of that, which the per-square-metre pricing model quietly has to absorb.
The $34.56 employee-cost figure is a derivation, the award hourly rate multiplied by 1.12 for the Superannuation Guarantee, not a published statistic. Award classification: Level 3 (CW/ECW 3), not entitled to tool allowance.
// FREE TOOL
Work out your own rate
Per-square-metre quoting makes it easy to lose track of what an hour of your time actually earns. The calculator rebuilds your hourly and day-rate floor from wages, the truck and the gear, so your per-metre pricing has a number to answer to.
Charge-out rate and day rate calculator Opens with the concreter preset loaded// COMMON QUESTIONS
Concreter rate questions
Straight answers to the questions people actually search, from the same dataset as the tables above.
Get in touchHow much do concreters charge per square metre?
As of August 2026, concreting labour runs $50 to $150 per square metre for standard work, with a 2026 average of $92.27. Plain finishes sit around $60 to $85 per square metre; exposed aggregate and stencilled finishes run $100 to $150.
How much do concreters charge per hour?
About $70 per hour is the industry standard, inside a broader labour band of $60 to $120. Less experienced concreters charge roughly $40 to $70 per hour. Hourly billing is secondary, though: 70% of concreting quotes are per square metre.
Do concreters charge a call-out fee?
No. Concreters do not charge call-out fees; they quote per square metre. A travel or call-out charge of $150 or more usually relates to concrete pump hire, which is a separate service with its own hourly rates and minimums.
How much do concreters charge per day?
ServiceSeeking's 2026 average is $848.82 per day from $250, but only 10% of quotes are daily and day-quoted jobs skew larger. Divided over eight hours it implies about $106 per hour, above the hourly consensus, so treat day rates cautiously.
Do concreters charge GST on top?
Quoted prices are generally GST-inclusive where the concreting business is registered for GST, and this page shows prices as customers are quoted them. Get slab quotes in writing with the GST treatment stated, since materials, pumping and labour lines can differ.
// METHODOLOGY & SOURCES
Sources and methodology
Ranges on this page combine 4 published Australian datasets and cost guides, cross-checked on 7 August 2026; award wage floors come from official Fair Work pay guides effective 1 July 2026. This page is part of the Australian Tradie Rates and Benchmarks dataset. This dataset is reviewed and republished every July following the Fair Work annual wage review.
- Service.com.au, concreting cost guide
Page date: Updated 14 Apr 2026. Accessed 7 August 2026.
- ServiceTasker, concreting cost guide
Page date: Published 17 Sep 2024. Accessed 7 August 2026.
- ServiceSeeking, concreter prices 2026
Page date: Published 12 Feb 2026. Accessed 7 August 2026.
- Fair Work pay guide, MA000020 (effective 1 Jul 2026)
Page date: Pay guide dated 2 Jul 2026. Accessed 7 August 2026.
// KEEP EXPLORING