A $1 million clubroom in Adelaide becomes a $1.4 million clubroom in Coober Pedy. Same building, different postcode.

That example comes straight from South Australia’s 2026–27 guide to benchmark construction costs, published by the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing (ORSR). The costs were independently prepared by Rider Levett Bucknall and are meant to help sporting clubs and councils set early budgets and prepare grant applications.

It’s a useful document. It’s also a good lesson in how to read any benchmark, because the number on the page is only the start of an estimate.

What benchmark construction costs are built on

The rates are for typical community-standard facilities. They use standard quantity surveying methods and cost data current to July 2026, and they assume straightforward construction on level, unconstrained sites in metropolitan Adelaide. All figures exclude GST.

So before you use a single figure, ask: is my site level, unconstrained and in Adelaide? If not, the benchmark needs adjusting.

Bigger buildings cost less per square metre

Divide a few of the guide’s figures by their floor areas:

→ Small clubroom (100 m², $650,000): about $6,500 per m²

→ Medium clubroom (450 m², $2.7 million): about $6,000 per m²

→ Large clubroom (1,000 m², $5 million): about $5,000 per m²

→ Single-court multi-purpose hall (1,200 m², $6.6 million): about $5,500 per m²

→ Four-court hall (4,000 m², $20 million): about $5,000 per m²

Kitchens, amenities and services don’t double just because the floor area does. That’s why applying a large building’s rate to a small one undercounts it, and a small building’s rate overstates a large one.

What’s inside the number

These benchmark construction costs assume procurement through a traditional lump-sum tender. The guide assumes procurement by a traditional lump sum tender. Its figures include:

→ Preliminaries, builder’s margin and overheads

→ Statutory fees and charges, the CITF levy and building approval costs

→ Professional fees for the project manager, architect, building surveyor, engineer and quantity surveyor

What’s left out (and often forgotten)

This is the list that catches people. The benchmarks exclude, among other things:

→ GST

→ Contingencies, including design development, construction and latent condition contingencies

→ Cost escalation beyond July 2026

→ Demolition, bulk earthworks, retaining walls and pile foundations

→ Latent conditions such as contaminated soil, rock and groundwater

→ Site infrastructure upgrades, such as power, water and NBN connections

→ Service runs longer than 100 metres

→ External works, including car parking, paving, fencing and landscaping

→ Loose furniture and equipment

→ Changes to the National Construction Code

If your project has any of these, they belong in your budget as separate lines.

Location moves the number

Regional locality indices help adjust benchmark construction costs for projects outside metropolitan Adelaide, which is set at 100. A few examples:

→ Murray Bridge, Nuriootpa and Kapunda: 105

→ Port Lincoln: 118

→ Ceduna and Roxby Downs: 130

→ Coober Pedy: 140

→ Kingscote: 150

The guide explains why: logistics, fewer competing tenderers, limited local labour and trades, and travel and accommodation.

The code edition matters too

The guide’s figures assume the current building legislation, NCC 2022, and note that later code revisions may increase costs. South Australia adopts the Building Code within NCC 2025 on 1 May 2027, according to PlanSA. A project approved after that date may carry different requirements from one approved today.

Turning a benchmark into a budget

A worked illustration: take the medium clubroom ($2.7 million) and move it to Port Lincoln (index 118). That’s about $3.19 million before any exclusions, contingency, escalation or GST.

A sensible sequence:

1. Match your scope. Pick the closest line item and check the area. The guide itself notes that if your pitch is 200 m² larger than the one priced, your budget should grow to match.
2. Apply the locality index.
3. Add the exclusions that apply to your site. Earthworks, services and external works are the most common.
4. Add contingency and escalation.
5. Add GST where it applies to you.
6. Get a site-specific estimate before you commit funds or lodge a grant application.

A benchmark tells you roughly where the target is. An estimate tells you whether you’ll hit it.

Need quantities and a cost estimate built around your actual site? Pumraw’s civil engineering team prepares estimates, designs and models. Visit pumraw.com.