Real numbers where we have them, and an honest explanation of what moves the price where we do not.
Most surveying quotes come down to how long the job takes on site and how much research sits behind it. Two blocks the same size can differ by hundreds of dollars if one is flat with clean records and the other is steep, overgrown, or missing historical marks.
Below is what we can say up front. Where a service is quoted per job, that is because the number genuinely depends on the block. We would rather tell you what drives the price than publish a figure we would have to revise once we see the site.
| Service | Cost | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|
| Boundary survey | From $800-$1,500 | Straightforward residential blocks. Marking the legal boundary, typically before a fence, a build near the boundary, or to settle a disagreement. |
| Hourly work | From $165 per hour | Site attendance and smaller pieces of work that do not fit a fixed scope. |
| Contour and detail survey | Quoted per job | Driven mostly by block size, slope and vegetation. A flat, clear block is quick; a large sloping site with established trees takes considerably longer. |
| Setout survey | Quoted per job | Depends on the number of setout points and how many site visits the build needs. Staged builds usually mean more than one attendance. |
| Subdivision survey | Quoted per job | Varies with the number of new blocks, the zoning path, and the plan lodgement work involved. |
| Strata subdivision | Quoted per job | Driven by the number of units, whether the building already exists, and how much common property has to be defined. |
| Work as executed (WAE) | Quoted per job | Depends on what has been built and the level of detail the certifier or council wants recorded. |
Marking four boundary corners is a different job from mapping the contours of a whole block or setting out a build. This is the single biggest factor.
More corners and longer boundaries mean more time on site. Irregular blocks take longer than rectangles.
Slope, established trees and dense undergrowth all slow the fieldwork down. Canberra has plenty of all three.
If previous survey marks are still in the ground and the title history is clean, the job is quicker. Older areas sometimes need considerably more research before anyone sets foot on site.
Standard turnaround is a few business days. Genuinely urgent work can usually be arranged, and it costs more.
Tell us the address and what you need the survey for, and we will normally come back with a fixed price the same day. Quotes and preliminary advice are free.
Call (02) 5114 2569Registered surveyors working across Canberra and the ACT.
Call Now: (02) 5114 2569