Concrete driveway
A driveway quote includes excavation, base, mesh, concrete, finish and sometimes council crossover rules. The concrete calculator can turn length, width and depth into cubic metres. It cannot price the pour.
The figures below are council estimating rates per square metre, not a rate per cubic metre and not a quote. Blue Mountains lists a concrete driveway. Newcastle lists one minimum rate for concrete or paving hard stand, and that estimate excludes GST. Supply prices from a batching plant are not the installed driveway.
Published figures
Concrete driveway, council estimating rate, not a quote
$74 AUD per square metre
Council estimating rate, not a quote. Blue Mountains City Council building cost calculator, line 'Driveway: Concrete'. The PDF is a unit-cost table for estimating building work. It does not say whether GST is included, and it does not say the rate covers excavation, a pump or a council crossover.
Source: Blue Mountains City Council, Building Cost Calculator Costings, July 2023 (opens in a new tab). Source checked Published July 2023. Checked 22 October 2026.
Concrete or paving hard stand, minimum estimating rate, not a quote
$72 AUD per square metre
City of Newcastle guide, line 'Hard stand areas / Concrete/paving'. One rate covers concrete and paving. It is a minimum rate for estimating development cost, it excludes GST, and it is not a formed driveway specification.
Source: City of Newcastle, A Guide to Estimated Development Cost, Version 6, September 2025 (opens in a new tab). Source checked Published September 2025. Checked 22 October 2026.
What changes the price
- Thickness and use. A footpath and a driveway that takes a car are not the same slab. Tell the concreter what will drive on it.
- Access for the truck. A long wheelbarrow run, or a pump, changes the price of the same volume of concrete.
- Base and excavation. Soft ground, tree roots and an old slab that has to come out are separate from the new concrete.
- Finish and joints. Broom, exposed aggregate and coloured concrete are different. Joints should be planned, not hoped for.
- Drainage and crossovers. Water has to leave the slab without running into the house or the neighbour. A council crossover may be a separate approval.
Questions to ask
- What thickness, strength and finish are included?
- Is excavation, base and mesh included?
- Is a pump allowed for, or can the truck reach?
- Who handles the crossover and any council approval?
- How are expansion joints laid out?
- What is excluded if it rains on the day?
Common questions
Can I price the job from the cubic metres?
No. Cubic metres are the volume of concrete, not excavation, steel, labour or access. Use the volume to check that two quotes are talking about the same slab.
Does the calculator add waste?
Not unless you add it yourself by increasing the depth or the area. The formula is length times width times depth.