Pricing
A site classification, typical for small structures on simple ground, is a fixed fee: $690 + GST in Sydney Metro, fixed by zone out to Newcastle, Bathurst, Nowra and Wagga Wagga, and you can accept it online. A geotechnical report suitable for a Complying Development Certificate (CDC) is fixed too — double the site classification fee for the same zone. A Development Application is different: councils attach their own conditions, so DA geotechnical reports, retaining wall and pool reports are a custom quote from your address.
Fixed price
Instant quotefrom $690 + GST
$759 inc GST in Sydney Metro · fixed by postcode zone, to $1,290 + GST in the Hunter, the Central West and Wagga Wagga
Typical for small structures on simple ground: a house, extension, granny flat, garage or shed on a flat or gently sloping block, with no basement. Two boreholes, an AS 2870 site class, signed by an engineer.
Check your postcode, see the exact fee and accept it online in a minute. Nothing is charged online: we invoice once the job is booked.
Guaranteed within 5 business days in Sydney, or the report is free. Need it sooner? Three business days or less for $300 + GST..
Custom quote · not an instant quote
Priced per job · more than a classification
Usually same day, from the address and your drawings or council condition
For everything else: steep or sloping sites, basements and deep excavations, retaining walls, pools near a boundary, fill, rock, groundwater or complex geology, duplexes and townhouses, and any council condition that asks for a “geotechnical report”.
These go deeper and answer more questions, so they are not the fixed fee. The quote sets out the boreholes, depths and testing.
Building under a Complying Development Certificate? That one is a fixed fee too.
Site classification
Typical for small structures on simple ground. Fixed fee, instant quote.
Geotechnical report
For everything else. Custom quote from your address; not available as an instant quote.
Not sure which you have been asked for? Ask your architect, designer, structural engineer or certifier. Or send us the wording and we will tell you. Send the wording.
Site classification only
Find your area. The fee covers the standard scope; special access, extra testing or a non-standard scope is quoted separately before any work.
| Zone | Typical locations | Fee + GST | Inc GST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney MetroZone 1 | Sutherland, Bankstown, Liverpool, Parramatta, CBD, Eastern Suburbs, North Shore, Northern Beaches, Hills, Blacktown, Penrith | $690 | $759 |
| Wollongong / IllawarraZone 2 | Helensburgh, Stanwell Park, Thirroul, Bulli, Wollongong, Dapto, Shellharbour | $990 | $1,089 |
| Macarthur / WollondillyZone 3 | Campbelltown, Camden, Narellan, Oran Park, Appin, Picton, Wilton, Tahmoor | $790 | $869 |
| Southern HighlandsZone 4 | Mittagong, Bowral, Moss Vale, Berrima, Robertson | $1,090 | $1,199 |
| South Coast / ShoalhavenZone 5 | Kiama, Gerringong, Berry, Nowra, Bomaderry, Shoalhaven Heads | $1,190 | $1,309 |
| Blue Mountains / LithgowZone 6 | Glenbrook, Springwood, Katoomba, Blackheath, Mount Victoria, Lithgow | $1,190 | $1,309 |
| Hawkesbury / North-West FringeZone 7 | Windsor, Richmond, North Richmond, Kurrajong, Pitt Town, Wisemans Ferry | $1,090 | $1,199 |
| Central CoastZone 8 | Gosford, Woy Woy, Terrigal, Erina, Wyong, Tuggerah, The Entrance | $1,090 | $1,199 |
| Central West / BathurstZone 9 | Portland, Wallerawang, Bathurst | $1,290 | $1,419 |
| HunterZone 10 | Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock, Kurri Kurri, Port Stephens, Raymond Terrace, Singleton | $1,290 | $1,419 |
| Wagga Wagga / RiverinaZone 11 | Wagga Wagga, Forest Hill, Junee, The Rock, Lockhart, Culcairn, Henty, Temora, Coolamon, Narrandera, Gundagai, Tumut | $1,290 | $1,419 |
CDC geotechnical reports only
For a geotechnical report suitable for a Complying Development Certificate — most single dwellings and code-compliant jobs, not a DA. The fee is 2× the site classification fee for the same zone, because a CDC job is code-assessed and its scope is just as predictable. We confirm the job qualifies as CDC before booking.
| Zone | Typical locations | Fee + GST | Inc GST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney MetroZone 1 | Sutherland, Bankstown, Liverpool, Parramatta, CBD, Eastern Suburbs, North Shore, Northern Beaches, Hills, Blacktown, Penrith | $1,380 | $1,518 |
| Wollongong / IllawarraZone 2 | Helensburgh, Stanwell Park, Thirroul, Bulli, Wollongong, Dapto, Shellharbour | $1,980 | $2,178 |
| Macarthur / WollondillyZone 3 | Campbelltown, Camden, Narellan, Oran Park, Appin, Picton, Wilton, Tahmoor | $1,580 | $1,738 |
| Southern HighlandsZone 4 | Mittagong, Bowral, Moss Vale, Berrima, Robertson | $2,180 | $2,398 |
| South Coast / ShoalhavenZone 5 | Kiama, Gerringong, Berry, Nowra, Bomaderry, Shoalhaven Heads | $2,380 | $2,618 |
| Blue Mountains / LithgowZone 6 | Glenbrook, Springwood, Katoomba, Blackheath, Mount Victoria, Lithgow | $2,380 | $2,618 |
| Hawkesbury / North-West FringeZone 7 | Windsor, Richmond, North Richmond, Kurrajong, Pitt Town, Wisemans Ferry | $2,180 | $2,398 |
| Central CoastZone 8 | Gosford, Woy Woy, Terrigal, Erina, Wyong, Tuggerah, The Entrance | $2,180 | $2,398 |
| Central West / BathurstZone 9 | Portland, Wallerawang, Bathurst | $2,580 | $2,838 |
| HunterZone 10 | Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock, Kurri Kurri, Port Stephens, Raymond Terrace, Singleton | $2,580 | $2,838 |
| Wagga Wagga / RiverinaZone 11 | Wagga Wagga, Forest Hill, Junee, The Rock, Lockhart, Culcairn, Henty, Temora, Coolamon, Narrandera, Gundagai, Tumut | $2,580 | $2,838 |
Fixed fee · Sydney Metro
$690 + GST
$759 inc GST · per site
Also the fee for granny flats, studios and secondary dwellings.
Shown excluding GST, with the GST-inclusive amount (10%) alongside. “Standard” means two boreholes to 2.5 m with normal access for the rig. Your written quote is the price that applies.
These depend on the site and the structure, so we scope them before we price them. Each quote shows the holes, the depths and the testing so you can see what you are paying for.
For a Development Application: priced on the number and depth of boreholes the council condition and your structure call for, plus the laboratory testing needed to give bearing capacity and founding recommendations. A CDC-suitable job is a fixed fee instead — see the CDC table above.
Priced on wall height and length, whether the wall supports a house, driveway or boundary, and how many holes it takes to give the designer soil parameters along it.
Priced on the pool depth and position, groundwater, and whether the pool shell designer needs a classification only or a short geotechnical report as well.
Duplexes, townhouses, small commercial and difficult blocks. Scoped from the drawings: holes, depths, in-situ testing and laboratory work sized to the design questions.
Our promise
A site classification in Sydney is finished within five business days of you accepting the quote, or you don't pay for it. All we ask is that we can get onto the block.
5 days
Business days from accepting the quote to the signed report, anywhere in Sydney.
3 days
Or fewer, when you add the acceleration to your quote.
Need it sooner? Three business days or less for $300 + GST.
The full wording is in the service terms.
Worked example
One site classification, no extras.
What affects the price
A standard classification is two boreholes to 2.5 m. A geotechnical report for a DA, a basement or a retaining wall usually needs more holes and deeper ones, and that is most of the difference in price.
A clear block with a driveway is standard. Steep sites, tight rear yards, retaining walls in the way or boreholes inside an existing house may need hand equipment or a smaller rig, which takes longer.
Most classifications can be made from the soil profile and standard testing. Where the class hinges on shrink-swell behaviour, or the design needs strength and consolidation parameters, laboratory tests are added as their own line.
An AS 2870 classification answers one question. A geotechnical report also gives bearing capacity, founding levels, excavation and groundwater advice, and takes an engineer longer to write.
Site classifications are priced by zone, from Sydney Metro out to the Hunter, Bathurst, the South Coast and Wagga Wagga, and the zone fee already includes the travel. Other reports carry a travel line on the quote for sites outside Sydney.
The standard turnaround costs nothing extra: in Sydney it is five business days from acceptance, guaranteed, or the report is free. Bringing that down to three business days or less is a line on the quote — $300 + GST on a site classification, from $500 + GST on a geotechnical report.
Questions
Site classification: check your postcode and accept the fixed fee online. Anything else: send the address and what you are building, and we quote it before we book.