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Excavation

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Excavation is the trade of removing ground: footings, pool shells, tank holes, service trenches, basements, driveway cuts and site levelling. The defining problem is that nobody can see what is down there until the bucket is in it, and the two things most likely to be hit are a buried service and a bank that will not stand up.

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Australia handles the first with a single national service. Before You Dig Australia provides a free underground plan request service, online and through its app, which sends your enquiry to the asset owners with infrastructure near the site; they respond directly with plans and information. Its own message is blunt about the stakes: damage to underground assets can lead to service interruptions, delays, costly repairs and, in the worst case, injury or death. The service is available to anyone, including for work on private property, and it should be the first step of any project that involves digging at any depth.

The second is handled by work health and safety law. SafeWork NSW treats a shaft or trench with an excavated depth greater than one and a half metres, or a tunnel, as high risk construction work, which means a safe work method statement must be prepared before the work commences. To control the risk of ground collapse the regulator points to shoring by shielding or comparable means, benching, battering, and written advice from a geotechnical engineer, along with ongoing monitoring of ground and weather conditions.

One and a half metres: the depth that changes the job

A trench does not have to be deep to kill someone. A cubic metre of soil is heavy enough that a partial collapse pinning a worker at waist height is a life-threatening event, which is why the regulatory line sits where it does. SafeWork NSW classes a shaft or trench with an excavated depth greater than one and a half metres as high risk construction work, and requires a safe work method statement to be prepared before that work begins and kept available for inspection until the work is completed.

The controls the regulator names are specific: shoring by shielding or comparable means, benching, battering, or written advice from a geotechnical engineer that the sides are safe from collapse, plus ongoing monitoring of ground and weather conditions. SafeWork NSW also expects people not involved in the work and the public to be kept out of the trench and work areas, and a competent person experienced in trenching to supervise. For a homeowner, the question to ask is simple: show me the safe work method statement for this trench.

What happens before the machine starts

  • Lodge a Before You Dig Australia enquiry for the address and wait for the asset owners to respond with plans.
  • Prove the location of anything the plans show, by hand digging or non-destructive methods, rather than trusting a drawing to the centimetre.
  • Establish the design levels and the extent of the dig, so spoil volumes can be estimated rather than discovered.
  • Check access for the machine and the truck, including gate widths, overhead lines and the load the driveway can carry.
  • Agree where spoil goes: retained on site, removed, or a mix, and who pays disposal.
  • Put sediment control in place before the ground is opened, not after the first storm.
  • Confirm the safe work method statement exists for any trench over one and a half metres.

The kinds of excavation a residential property generates

  • Service trenching for water, sewer, gas, power and communications, which is the work most likely to meet other services.
  • Footing and slab excavation, where the levels and the bearing material matter more than the volume.
  • Pool excavation, which combines depth, spoil volume and difficult access on most suburban blocks.
  • Tank and soakage excavation, often in the least accessible corner of the property.
  • Driveway and site cuts, which are grading work carried out with excavation plant.
  • Rock removal, which changes the machine, the method and the price entirely once it is encountered.
  • Detailed or hand excavation near tree roots and existing structures, which is slow, deliberate and priced accordingly.

What goes wrong on residential excavation

  • Striking an unmarked or mislocated service, which is expensive at best and lethal at worst.
  • Rock encountered below the surface, converting a straightforward dig into a rock job mid-quote.
  • Groundwater arriving in the hole, which needs dewatering and changes the method.
  • Spoil volumes much larger than expected, since excavated soil bulks up and will not fit back in the hole it came from.
  • Damage to tree roots on a retained tree, which is often irreversible and sometimes an approval breach.
  • Undermining a neighbour's fence, wall or footing by digging too close to a boundary without support.
  • Access damage, where the machine and trucks break up a driveway or a verge that nobody agreed to pay for.

Contaminated ground, asbestos and what you cannot simply cart away

Not all spoil is soil. Older Australian properties routinely contain buried building rubble, and material from a demolition era before the phase-out of asbestos products can include bonded asbestos fragments in fill. Soil on former industrial, orchard or service station land can carry contamination of other kinds. None of that can be treated as clean fill, moved to another site, or sent to an ordinary landfill.

If unexpected material appears in the dig — fibro fragments, unusual staining, strong odours, drums — the right response is to stop and have it assessed rather than to keep digging. Disposal of contaminated or asbestos-containing spoil is licensed and documented, and the cost difference between clean fill and regulated waste is large enough that it needs to be resolved before the truck is loaded, not after.

What drives the price of an excavation job

  • Access, which decides the size of machine and therefore the productivity of every hour on site.
  • Material: sand, clay, shale and rock are four different jobs with the same drawing.
  • Depth, because anything deeper than one and a half metres brings shoring or battering into the scope.
  • Spoil volume and cart distance to a legal disposal point.
  • Whether the spoil is clean or has to be classified and disposed of as regulated waste.
  • Proximity to structures, boundaries, trees and services, all of which slow the work down.
  • Time of year, since wet ground is slower, messier and harder on the property being crossed.

Excavation: frequently asked questions

Do I have to contact Before You Dig for a small job?

It is free and it should be the first point of contact for any project that involves digging at any depth. Before You Dig Australia's plan request service is available online and via its app, and sends your enquiry to the asset owners with infrastructure near the site, who respond directly with plans. Its warning is that damage to underground assets can cause service interruptions, delays, costly repairs and in the worst case injury or death. A shallow trench for a garden light can still find a power cable.

At what depth does a trench need shoring?

SafeWork NSW treats a shaft or trench with an excavated depth greater than one and a half metres as high risk construction work, requiring a safe work method statement before work begins. To manage ground collapse it points to shoring by shielding or comparable means, benching, battering, or written advice from a geotechnical engineer that the sides are safe, with ongoing monitoring of ground and weather. Shallower trenches can still collapse, so the depth is a regulatory trigger rather than a safety guarantee.

What happens if the excavator hits rock?

The job changes, and so does the price, which is why rock should be addressed in the quote before anyone starts. Rock may need a rock breaker, a larger machine, or in some cases a different construction approach altogether. Ask how rock is priced in the quote, whether any geotechnical information exists for the site, and what the contractor will do if it appears. A quote silent on rock is a quote with an open-ended variation built into it.

Where does all the dirt go?

Either back into the site as engineered fill, if it is suitable and there is somewhere to put it, or off to a legal disposal point. Bear in mind that excavated material bulks up, so the spoil from a hole will not fit back into that hole. Settle the destination, the truck movements and who pays for disposal before the dig starts, since cartage and tipping are frequently the largest single line in an excavation bill.

Can I excavate right up to my boundary?

Not without thinking about what the neighbour's ground and structures are relying on. Digging close to a boundary can undermine a fence, a retaining wall or a footing on the other side, and the liability for that sits with the person who did the digging. Where an excavation approaches a boundary, get engineering advice on support, tell the neighbour in advance, and photograph the existing condition of anything nearby before work starts.

Sources

  1. Before You Dig Australia: free underground plan request service
  2. SafeWork NSW: Excavations and earthmoving plant in construction
  3. NCC: ABCB Housing Provisions Part 3.2 Earthworks

Written by the LokalMatch editorial team. Last reviewed 22 September 2026. How we write and check our guides

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What affects the cost of excavation

Prices depend on the details of your project. We only publish price ranges when they’re backed by real LokalMatch quote data or reliable sources. Until then, here’s what usually changes the price:

  • Size of the yard and the scope of the design
  • Grading, excavation and drainage work
  • Hardscape materials, such as stone, pavers or wood
  • Plants, sod and soil
  • Access for machinery
  • Removal of old materials, trees or stumps
  • How often visits are scheduled for ongoing services

How to compare excavation contractors before you hire

  • Choose a company that does the kind of work you need, since design, lawn care, tree work and hardscaping are different specialties.
  • For big projects, ask for a site plan or drawing before work starts.
  • Ask how they'll handle grading and drainage so water moves away from the house.
  • For tree removal or large pruning, look for a qualified arborist with liability insurance.
  • For ongoing services like lawn care or snow removal, get the visit schedule and what's included in writing.

Questions to ask excavation contractors before you hire

  • Can I see a plan or drawing before you start?
  • How will you handle drainage and grading?
  • Will you have underground utilities located before you dig?
  • Does any of this work need a permit, such as for a retaining wall, fence or tree removal?
  • What plants or materials do you recommend for our climate and my yard's sun and shade?
  • Do you guarantee plants or sod, and for what conditions?
  • Can you show me proof of liability insurance?

When to call a pro for excavation

  • Water that pools near the house or in the yard after rain
  • A tree that is leaning, cracked or has large dead branches over the house or a driveway
  • A retaining wall that is bulging, leaning or cracking

Excavation permits and local rules

Some excavation work needs a permit or has to meet local bylaws. Rules vary by municipality, so ask your pro whether a permit is needed and who will apply for it — and check with your city or town if you’re unsure.

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