Guides / Concrete Driveway Cost
A concrete driveway in Toowoomba typically runs from around $80 per square metre for plain grey up to roughly $170 for exposed aggregate, supplied and laid, but the reactive black soil most of the Darling Downs sits on can push the base cost well above that once the footings have to go deeper. The figures below are indicative market ranges to help you read a quote, not a price from us.
These are typical 2026 supplied-and-laid ranges you will see quoted across Toowoomba and the wider Downs. They are indicative market figures to help you read a quote, not a price from us. Every job needs a site visit.
| Finish | Typical range (supplied & laid, per m²) |
|---|---|
| Plain grey concrete | $80–$120 |
| Coloured / through-colour | $100–$150 |
| Exposed aggregate | $120–$170 |
| Stencilled / stamped | $110–$160 |
Toowoomba pricing sits close to the regional Queensland norm on flat, stable ground. The number that moves it locally is the ground itself. On deep reactive black soil out at Glenvale, Westbrook or Drayton, an engineered footing system or a stiffened raft slab adds excavation, steel and concrete that a formula pour on good ground never needs, and that can lift the base cost well beyond the ranges above before you have even chosen a finish.
A per-square-metre figure only gets you into the right paddock. Two driveways of the same size on the same street can price very differently. These are the things that move a quote on the Downs:
Most of Toowoomba and the western plains sit on deep, highly reactive black cracking clay, the black earth the Darling Downs is known for. It swells when it is wet and shrinks hard when it dries, more than almost any soil in Australia. A slab poured to a standard formula on that ground gets lifted and cracked within a few seasons, so it has to be built differently.
Building for it means footings taken down past the worst of the movement, more steel, and often a stiffened or waffle raft where the design calls for it. All of that is extra excavation, extra reinforcement and extra concrete. It is the honest reason two quotes for the same square metres can land at different numbers: the cheaper one has ignored the soil and will crack, the dearer one has engineered for it and will not. On the flatter blocks at Highfields where the ground is shallower or better, the base cost is closer to the table. It genuinely depends on your block, which is why nobody can price it properly from a desk. If you want to understand the movement itself, our guide on why concrete cracks in Toowoomba walks through it.
The finish you pick sits inside the ranges above, but the base underneath is the same job whichever you choose. If you are weighing up looks against budget, plain grey does the job for the least, while exposed aggregate costs more and adds grip that is worth having on a sloped or frosty Range-edge drive. If your existing slab is sound and you only want it to look better, resurfacing can cost less than a full replacement. When you are ready for a real driveway, the driveways page explains how the whole build goes together on black soil.
The only way to turn these ranges into a real number is a site visit. Someone local looks at your block, the ground, the access and the finish you want, and gives you a fixed price you can rely on. Call 0482 392 415 or send the job details through the contact page and we will get a concreter who works your part of the Downs out to look at it.
As a rough guide, plain grey concrete tends to sit around $80 to $120 per square metre supplied and laid, with exposed aggregate and decorative finishes higher. On reactive black soil that needs deeper footings or a stiffened raft the base cost climbs well above flat, stable ground. These are indicative market figures, not a quote. Every job needs a site visit.
Darling Downs black soil is highly reactive clay that swells when wet and shrinks when dry. To stop it lifting and cracking the slab, the footings often have to go deeper and the slab has to be stiffened, sometimes as a raft. That extra excavation, steel and concrete lifts the base cost above a pour on stable ground.
Supplied and laid usually covers excavation, the compacted base, formwork, steel, the concrete, the pour and the finish. It does not always include demolition of an old slab, extra drainage, or the vehicular crossing at the kerb, which is priced separately and needs Toowoomba Regional Council approval.
We can talk through ballpark ranges, but a real number needs a site visit. Ground conditions, access, slope, drainage and the finish all move the price, and on the Downs the reactive soil is the big unknown until someone looks at your block.