Concrete Cancer & Spalling Repair prices in Sydney
This site publishes no per-square-metre rate for concrete cancer repair in Sydney, because a rate cannot be read off a photograph: the number comes from the area that sounds hollow and from how the work is reached. What can be stated is what government publishes around the job — council fees for standing scaffold on a footpath, the NSW thresholds for a licence, a written contract and home building insurance, and the strata rule for approving the spend.
Call (02) 9072 0776Concrete cancer repair rules by job value
Type the job's value and the rules that apply to it are highlighted. Each is the NSW Government's own line, with the page it comes from and the date it was read, and every rule is listed below whether or not you type anything.
| Rule | Applies when the job is valued at | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The builder or tradesperson must give you a written contract when the contract price is over A$5,000, including GST.About concrete cancer repair | over A$5,000 | NSW Government, Home building contracts · read |
| Jobs worth more than A$20,000 must be covered by a more extensive written contract, known as a large job contract.About concrete cancer repair | more than A$20,000 | NSW Government, Home building contracts · read |
| Your deposit must not exceed 10% of the contract price.About concrete cancer repair | any contract price | NSW Government, Home building contracts · read |
| The contract must set out a cooling-off period of five clear business days after you are given a copy of it.About concrete cancer repair | over A$20,000 | NSW Government, Home building contracts · read |
This fills in the enquiry form below; nothing is sent until you submit it. Your details are handled under this site's Privacy Policy.
This lists each source's own lines as read; it is not legal advice, and it sets no price. The value that counts is the value of the work, including materials, labour and GST.
What moves the number
Access moves it first. Reaching a third-floor balcony safely means scaffold, a swing stage or rope access, and where the frame stands on the footpath the council charges for the land it occupies, on its own schedule. Inner West Council, which covers Ashfield, Balmain, Marrickville, Rozelle and Summer Hill, charges a non-refundable application fee of $575.20 and a lease fee of $61.70 per square metre per month, with a minimum of $1,234.00 a month for a Type A hoarding, which its page says covers an area up to 20 m². It also holds a refundable security deposit equal to three months of the lease fee. Mosman Council's 2026-27 schedule charges $155.00 to apply and $42.00 per square metre per week for an “A” class hoarding in a residential area.
The two schedules are not built alike, one charging by the month with a floor and the other by the week, so the same frame costs a different amount depending on which council owns the street. Both figures come from the 2026-27 schedules, so ask the council for its current schedule before relying on either.
Extent comes second. Hollow concrete is found by sounding the surface, and the marked area is almost always larger than what is visible, because corrosion travels along the bar. Then the water: whether what started it has to be dealt with as well, which turns a concrete repair into a concrete and waterproofing repair.
In a strata building the approval is part of the price. NSW Government guidance says an owners corporation must obtain at least two independent quotes for work valued at $30,000 or more, other than emergency repairs, which is why access, design and repair are best priced as separate lines that two quotes can be compared on.
Why the number comes after the visit
Because the price is set by the area marked out and by how the work is reached, and neither can be read from a photograph. Someone sounds the concrete, marks the extent, looks at how the access will be stood and where the water is going, and prices that.
The quote should also carry the paperwork NSW attaches to the job. For residential building work, a contractor licence is required above $5,000 in labour and materials including GST. NSW Fair Trading says work between $5,000 and $20,000 needs a small job contract, and work above $20,000 needs a more extensive written contract with a cooling-off statement, plus home building compensation cover, which must be in place, with its certificate given to you, before the contractor asks for a deposit. The deposit itself must not exceed 10% of the contract price. Whether a particular strata repair counts as residential building work is a question for the contract, not for this page.
On a Class 2 building, remedial work also needs a regulated design. A registered design practitioner creates it and a building practitioner submits it on the NSW Planning Portal, so ask whether a quote includes that design as its own line.
Costs and fees by service
Strata work is priced the same way, with the access and the Class 2 design as their own lines, and crack and water-ingress work turns on the membrane and drainage as much as on the concrete. Every dollar figure on this page is a fee or threshold published by a government body, listed below with its source and the date it was read. None is a quote and none is our rate.
Thanks — we have your enquiry. Someone will be in touch shortly. Prefer to talk now? Call (02) 9072 0776.
Last reviewed · Updated · First published