A concrete slab typically costs $75 to $110 per square metre across Australia, and $85 to $130 per
square metre in Melbourne, with the full published spread running $50 to $150 depending on thickness,
finish and access. Melbourne sits a step above the national average in the published guides, so a
Melbourne quote reading higher than a national article is normal. A common 20 m2 shed slab comes in
around $1,500 to $3,500 all up. Four things set the price: the area, the thickness the job calls for,
the finish on top, and whether a truck or pump can actually reach the pour. Every figure in this guide
is a typical published market price, July 2026, with the sources named against each table, and none of
it is a quote. For a fast read on your own job, the calculator below gives a typical Melbourne range
from your area and finish.
Concrete slab cost calculator
Enter the slab's area, pick a finish and flag difficult access, and this concrete slab cost
calculator returns a typical Melbourne range drawn straight from the table below. Treat it as a
price estimator rather than a price: it cannot see your soil, your levels or your side gate, and
those are exactly what move a real quote. The exact number always comes from a site measure.
Between 5 and 200 m2
The calculator needs JavaScript to run. The table below carries the same published ranges.
Melbourne slab work typically prices between $75 and $130 per square metre for a plain finish, rising
through coloured and decorative options from there. Concrete slab prices group by finish more than any
other factor, so the table below is the one to check a quote against, and it is the exact data the
calculator above draws from. Reinforced rates are the row to read for a concrete floor slab in a garage
or extension.
Slab finish
Typical Melbourne range per m2
Source
Spray-on / overlay
$50 - $80
S1 $50-75, S3 $50-80
Plain
$75 - $130
S5 Melbourne $85-130, S2 $65-85, S3 $75-150
Reinforced (mesh)
$80 - $135
S1/S5 $65-90 base + Melbourne uplift (blended)
Coloured
$90 - $160
S1/S5 $75-90, S3 $95-200 (national high)
Exposed aggregate / decorative
$110 - $180
S1/S5 $100-150, S3 $120-200 (national high)
Blended from the named published guides, July 2026; every quote is site-specific. The reinforced row
is the one blend worth explaining: the national guides publish $65 to $90 for mesh-reinforced work, and
Melbourne rates run above national averages, so the table lifts it to match. For the concrete slab cost
per m2 alongside every other job type, see
concrete cost per m2 in Melbourne.
How much does a shed slab cost?
A shed slab typically costs $80 to $150 per square metre, so a standard 6 x 7 m shed slab runs about
$3,150 to $4,620 and a small 20 m2 garden shed slab about $1,500 to $3,500. The published worked totals:
Slab
Size
Typical total
Source
Garden shed
~20 m2
$1,500 - $3,500
S3
Shed 6x7 m
42 m2
$3,150 - $4,620
S5
Single garage
3.6x6 m
$1,620 - $2,376
S5
Double garage
6x6 m
$2,700 - $3,960
S5
3-car garage
9x6 m
$4,050 - $5,940
S5
The garage figures work back to roughly $75 to $110 per square metre, the same band as the national
headline rate, which is a good sign the worked examples are honest. Garage and shed slabs usually carry
thickened edges and mesh beyond a basic patio pour, which is part of those totals and the subject of
the next section. For what goes under and into the slab on your job, base, mesh and edge detail, see
concrete slabs and shed bases.
How thick should a concrete slab be?
Most residential shed and patio slabs are 100 mm thick, with garage slabs and driveways often 125 to
150 mm or engineered to suit what they carry. Residential slab design in Australia sits under AS 2870,
the residential slabs and footings standard, and the reactive clay under much of Melbourne's north can
push a design stiffer than the textbook minimum. That call belongs to the concreter quoting the job
and, on bigger structures, an engineer, not to a chart.
As a quick read: garden shed and patio slabs are commonly quoted at 100 mm with mesh, a garage slab
carries cars so 125 mm and thickened edges is the usual conversation, and anything holding serious
weight gets engineered. Thickness matters to price for a plain reason: every extra millimetre is more
concrete and more steel across every square metre, so a 125 mm garage slab costs meaningfully more
than a 100 mm patio of the same area. If one quote looks cheap against another, thickness and mesh are
the first specs to compare.
What makes a concrete slab cost more?
Access, site preparation and engineering move a slab quote more than the concrete itself. The published figures:
Labour runs $20 to $55 per square metre of the rate before materials enter it. (S2)
Difficult access and clay base preparation add $15 to $25 per square metre. (Landscaping Melbourne, 2025)
Removing an old slab adds $30 to $80 per square metre. (S3)
Pump hire joins the quote wherever the truck cannot reach the pour.
Tight side access on the inner north's terrace blocks often means pumping or barrowing the concrete in,
and it shows up in the quote as hours rather than mystery. If the job starts with breaking out an old
slab, concrete removal and replacement covers that
side of it.
How do you get an exact slab price?
The calculator gives a typical Melbourne range; an exact concrete slab price needs a site measure and a
look at the soil and access. Northside Concreting arranges quotes for slabs, shed bases and garage floors
across Melbourne's inner north. It starts with the form: a local concreter walks the site, checks access
and ground, and the written price reflects your block rather than a published average. The rough area, the
finish you are leaning towards and what the slab needs to hold will get the first conversation moving.
A 20 m2 concrete slab typically costs $1,500 to $3,500 as a finished shed slab, going by the published July 2026 guides. Finish and access set where in that range it lands: plain concrete with clear truck access prices low, decorative finishes and tight sites price high.
Is the slab calculator a quote?
No. The slab calculator outputs typical published Melbourne ranges, July 2026, for your area and finish; it knows nothing about your soil, levels or access. A fixed price needs a site inspection by the concreter quoting the job, and that written figure is the one that counts.
How much does a garage slab cost?
A garage slab typically costs $1,620 to $2,376 for a single (3.6 x 6 m) and $2,700 to $3,960 for a double (6 x 6 m), per the published worked examples. Thickened edges and reinforcing mesh are usually inside those figures rather than extras.
What is the cheapest concrete slab finish?
Plain broom finish is the cheapest full concrete slab, at roughly $75 to $130 per square metre in Melbourne. Spray-on overlays price lower again at $50 to $80 per square metre, but they resurface existing concrete rather than form a new slab, so they are a different job.
Does a concrete slab need council approval?
Small freestanding shed slabs often fall under exempt building work in Victoria, but the rules shift with council, slab size and what sits on top. Check with your local council before pouring, and expect the concreter's quote to flag any permit the job needs.
Sources
The ranges on this page are typical Melbourne market prices blended from published Australian concreting cost guides, compiled July 2026. The table codes:
S1: Canstar concrete slab cost guide, published May 2023. Used as lower-bound corroboration only, given its age.
S2: Airtasker concreting cost guide, last updated 4 July 2026.
S3: What's The Damage concreting cost guide, verified July 2026. Skews to the national high end, flagged in the tables where it does.
S5: ServiceTasker concrete slab cost guide, dated September 2024, with shed and garage worked examples.
The difficult-access and base-preparation uplift ($15 to $25 per square metre) comes from the Landscaping Melbourne cost guide, 2025 Melbourne market rates. Prices vary quote to quote; where the sources disagree, the tables show the blended range.
