The rates below are starting points you replace with your own — they are a worked shape, not market prices. If you have never worked out what an hour has to earn once the ute, the tools and the unbillable days are covered, start with the charge-out rate calculator, then check the volume with the concrete calculator.
A worked example: a 6 × 5 m shed slab
Flat site, reasonable access, 100 mm slab with thickened edges, 25 MPa, mesh and vapour barrier, ready-mix chuted straight off the truck. Concreter registered for GST.
| Line | Qty | Rate | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Set out, excavate and level to grade | 30 | $34.00 | $1,020.00 |
| Cart spoil off site | 1 | $620.00 | $620.00 |
| Formwork to perimeter, incl. thickened edge | 22 | $46.00 | $1,012.00 |
| Vapour barrier and SL72 mesh, on bar chairs | 30 | $22.00 | $660.00 |
| Supply and place 25 MPa concrete, 100mm | 3.6 | $315.00 | $1,134.00 |
| Screed, float and broom finish | 30 | $28.00 | $840.00 |
| Saw-cut control joints and strip forms | 1 | $340.00 | $340.00 |
| Subtotal | $5,626.00 | ||
| GST (10%) | $562.60 | ||
| Total inc GST | $6,188.60 | ||
| Deposit to book in (20%) | $1,237.72 | ||
| Balance on completion | $4,950.88 |
Excavation and spoil removal sit on their own line, above the concrete. They are the item most often absorbed into "the slab" and the item most likely to double when the first cut shows fill or rock — putting them first makes that conversation happen while you are still quoting.
What to put on a concreting quote
- Business name, ABN, and your builder or concreting licence number where your state requires one for the value of the work.
- The area and the thickness — "30 m² at 100 mm". A rate per square metre means nothing without the depth it assumes.
- The concrete strength and mix — 20, 25 or 32 MPa, slump, and whether fibre is in or out. It is a real cost difference and the customer cannot see it once it is grey.
- Reinforcement — mesh size, bar chairs, and any starter bars or edge thickening, itemised rather than implied.
- Excavation and spoil as their own lines, with the depth the price assumes and what happens if you hit rock, fill or services.
- Access, and the pump clause. State that the price assumes the truck can chute directly, and what a pump or wheelbarrowing costs if it cannot. This is the single most common variation in the trade.
- The finish — broom, trowel, exposed aggregate, coloured or polished. They are different days and different prices.
- Control joints: how many, saw-cut or tooled, and when they are cut.
- Curing and what the customer must do — stay off it, keep it damp, no vehicles until the date you name.
- Exclusions. Engineering and slab design, plumbing and conduit under slab, termite treatment, retaining, landscaping, permits and approvals, and reinstating anything the truck damages on a soft verge.
- Whether GST is included, how long the price holds, and deposit and payment terms.
- The variations sentence, which in this trade means: whatever is under the surface, and whether the truck can reach.
Common mistakes, and what each one costs
- Excavation absorbed into the slab rate. Fill, rock or a fall across the site can take a machine and a day on its own, and none of it is visible when you quote off a flat photo.
- No thickness stated. A customer comparing your square-metre rate against a cheaper one is often comparing 100 mm against 85 mm.
- No access or pump clause. The most expensive assumption in the trade, and the easiest one to write down.
- Spoil left out. Somebody has to pay to take the dirt away, and if the quote is silent it is you.
- Finish not named. "Concrete driveway" and "exposed aggregate driveway" are the same words to a customer and a different job to you.
- No deposit on a job where you pay for the concrete. A ready-mix order is real money out before you start, and it is not refundable once it is on the truck.
Three things that win the job
Quote from a measure-up, not a photo. Falls, access and the state of the ground are the three things a photo hides, and all three are your margin. Ten minutes on site is cheaper than a variation argument.
Say what is under there. A customer who has been told the ground may be fill, and knows what that costs, does not feel ambushed when it is. It reads as experience rather than as hedging, and it protects you.
Follow it up. Concreting quotes sit while the customer lines up a shed, a fence or an engineer. Two short messages over a fortnight is the difference — wording in the quote follow-up templates.
Yamate keeps your rates, your standard inclusions and your usual exclusions, so a quote is a few taps rather than a blank page — then turns the accepted quote into the invoice without retyping it. Sign up before 30 September 2026 and lock in the Founder plan at $19/mo — forever. It's $29/mo after that. No lock-in, cancel anytime. Prices in AUD.
Send it, then know if they read it
The builder above priced the job. What it cannot do is remember that this concreting quote is still unanswered on Thursday, or turn the yes into an invoice without you retyping it.
Quote from your phone in Yamate → Free to try · no card · sign in with a link, no password to rememberFAQ
What should a concreting quote include?
The area and the thickness, the concrete strength, the reinforcement, excavation and spoil as their own lines, the finish, control joints, what the price assumes about truck access and what a pump costs, exclusions, whether GST applies, and your deposit and payment terms.
How much concrete do I need for a slab?
Area multiplied by thickness gives cubic metres, and you order a little over because the ground is never perfectly flat. The concrete calculator works out cubic metres, 20 kg bags and the ready-mix order, and the mix ratio calculator covers a site-mixed batch.
Should I take a deposit for a concreting job?
Usually yes, because the ready-mix is paid for before it is placed and cannot be returned. Put it on the quote as a percentage and check your state's rules on deposit limits for the size of job.
Who pays if the truck cannot get close enough?
Whoever the quote says. If it is silent, the argument happens on the day with a loaded truck waiting. Name the access the price assumes and what a pump or barrow run costs, and the answer is already written down.
Do I charge GST on a quote?
Only if you are registered, which is generally required once turnover reaches $75,000. See when a sole trader has to register.
Next steps
General information for Australian tradies, not tax, legal, engineering or financial advice. Every figure this page produces is an estimate based on what you type in, and the starting rates are placeholders rather than market prices. Slab design, licensing and deposit rules are set by each state and territory — check yours before relying on this page.