Yellow Pages puts the average Australian roof replacement at $80 to $230 per m². Material moves that number most. Roofing Calculator HQ lists concrete tile at $70 to $120 per m², Colorbond at $120 to $170 per m² and terracotta at $110 to $180 per m², installed. Taking the old roof off is priced separately.
What does each roofing material cost per m²?
The four bars below come from one guide, Roofing Calculator HQ, which updated its Australian figures in April 2026. Using a single source for all four keeps the comparison honest, because guides bundle labour and flashings differently.
Show the numbers
| Item | Low | High | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concrete tile | $70 | $120 | Roofing Calculator HQ, roof replacement cost (updated 28 April 2026) |
| Terracotta tile | $110 | $180 | Roofing Calculator HQ, roof replacement cost (updated 28 April 2026) |
| Colorbond, classic | $120 | $170 | Roofing Calculator HQ, roof replacement cost (updated 28 April 2026) |
| Colorbond Ultra, coastal | $140 | $200 | Roofing Calculator HQ, roof replacement cost (updated 28 April 2026) |
Industry figures. Source: Roofing Calculator HQ, roof replacement cost (updated 28 April 2026).
The ranges overlap more than the ranking suggests. The bottom of the terracotta range sits below the top of the concrete tile range, so a terracotta quote can land under a concrete one on the same roof. Ranking materials by price only works when you are comparing the same part of each range.
Colorbond Ultra, the steel Roofing Calculator HQ lists for coastal sites, runs $140 to $200 per m². If the house is near the beach, ask which product is in the quote before you compare two steel prices.
How much does removing the old roof add?
Our two sources do not agree, and the gap is not small.
Show the numbers
| Item | Low | High | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roofing Calculator HQ, strip-off | $8 | $14 | Roofing Calculator HQ, roof replacement cost (updated 28 April 2026) |
| Yellow Pages, removal and disposal | $20 | $50 | Yellow Pages, How much does roof replacement cost? [2026] |
Industry figures. Source: Roofing Calculator HQ, roof replacement cost (updated 28 April 2026); Yellow Pages, How much does roof replacement cost? [2026].
Roofing Calculator HQ puts strip-off at $8 to $14 per m² for steel or single-layer tile, and calls it a point to negotiate. Yellow Pages puts removal and disposal at $20 to $50 per m², noting that tile usually costs more to remove than metal. One of those is a labour rate for pulling a roof off; the other clearly carries the tip fees too. Ask for removal as its own line, with disposal named, and the argument disappears.
If the house is old enough that the roof might be fibro, removal follows a different set of rules altogether. Read the asbestos rules before anyone starts lifting sheets.
What does a whole roof cost?
A rate per square metre only becomes a budget once you multiply it by the roof area, and roof area is not floor area. A pitched roof covers more surface than the house footprint, which is why the section drawing above matters more than it looks.
A Colorbond re-roof, with removal
| Line | Published rate | For this roof |
|---|---|---|
| New Colorbond roof, classic profile | $120 to $170 per m² | $21,600 to $30,600 |
| Remove the old roof | $20 to $50 per m² | $3,600 to $9,000 |
| Total | $25,200 to $39,600 |
Area multiplied by each published rate. An illustration of the arithmetic, not a quote.
Swap in the lower strip-off rate and the same job lands lower again, which is the whole point of asking. For a sanity check against real jobs, Yellow Pages puts a full replacement on an average-sized Sydney home at $20,000 to $30,000, and the national spread at $8,000 to $50,000+.
The roof cost calculator does this arithmetic for any area and material, using the same published rates.
Why do two quotes for the same roof differ?
- Material and profile. The four ranges above are the starting spread.
- Removal. Priced as labour only, or labour plus disposal.
- Size and pitch. Yellow Pages lists roof size and pitch alongside materials, labour and location as what moves a total between $8,000 to $50,000+.
- What is left out. Scaffolding, flashings, insulation, structural repairs and gutters are often quoted separately, or not at all. Ask for exclusions in writing.
Our quote checklist covers the licence, contract and deposit rules that sit on top of the price.
Every price on this page is an industry figure. We could not find any Australian government source that publishes roof prices, so nothing here is official, and we have labelled it that way.