Asphalt driveways are recognised as some of the strongest, most durable, and economical driveways in Perth. Asphalt driveways not only connect your property to the road but provide smooth and safe access to all types of vehicles from cars to trucks and machinery.

There are four reasons people in Perth choose asphalt driveways:

  • Price per square metre
  • Speed of installation
  • Durability
  • Maintenance

Asphalt driveways are a fantastic residential or commercial option but we understand that without prior experience, the cost can be difficult to calculate. In this guide, we provide insight from Trevor Calnon, director of NK Asphalt and use his four decades of experience in the asphalt and bitumen industry, to shine a light on what prices you can expect.

Note that every driveway is different, and the pricing outlined in this guide does not replace a personalised quote.

This article has been updated for 2025 pricing and covers:

  1. Average Asphalt Driveway Cost
  2. Average Bitumen Driveway Cost
  3. Factors Impacting the Price of Asphalt Driveways
  4. Expected Asphalt Driveway Costs by Size
  5. Behind the Costs of Asphalt Driveway
  6. Biggest Market Influences for Pricing in 2025
  7. Get a Free Quote

What is the Cost of an Asphalt Driveway?

Per square metre, the average asphalt driveway in Perth can range from anywhere between $25-$100.

The price range for an asphalt driveway is broad because the range of circumstances, requirements, and influencing factors for Perth asphalt driveways is extensive. To learn more about these factors, skip ahead to Factors Impacting the Price of Asphalt Driveways.

Should I Use a Driveway Cost Calculator?

The wide price range and possible circumstances mean that online cost calculators for asphalt driveways are often inflated, inaccurate or even falsely low in order to get a ‘click’.

For an accurate and free calculation of asphalt costs, we recommend steering clear of online calculators and instead requesting a free quick quote from an asphalt driveway contractor. This will give you a clear understanding of asphalt driveway costs so you won’t be surprised by changes to the price during the job.

One of the major cost discrepancies between an online asphalt cost calculator and free professional quote for an asphalt driveway is that the asphalt cost calculator does not consider your existing driveway.

Asphalt driveway in Perth which would be inaccurately cost estimated by a online driveway cost calculator.

 

Average Cost of a Bitumen Driveway

The cost of a bitumen driveway in Perth can vary greatly depending on the size and complexity of the project. A standard bitumen driveway will be more affordable than a more complex job, such as a steep driveway or one with difficult access. The best way to get an accurate measurement of cost is to request a free quote from an experienced team like NK Asphalt.

We share more factors that influence the final price below.

 

Factors Impacting the Price of Asphalt Driveways

1. The size of your driveway

Unlike paving or gravel, that can have a standard rate per square metre, asphalt can become cheaper per square metre, the larger your driveway area is.

Asphalt is a mixture of bitumen and aggregate, and for each asphalt driveway, an asphalt mixture is made. This means there is a cost associated with creating the asphalt that doesn’t change depending on the size of the driveway. As a result, the more asphalt required for the driveway, the cheaper the cost per square metre becomes.

For this reason, we usually only recommend asphalt for driveways over 150m2. WALGA defines the width of Perth driveways as 3-6 metres, so to qualify for 150m2, your driveway must be at least 25-50 metres long or include parking bays, turnaround bays, or other areas.

Driveway Costs Under 300m2

At 200m2 to 300m2 you will be experiencing the upper range of asphalt costs per square metre at roughly $100 per m2 depending on extent of works.

Though it may feel intuitive to believe that a small job will be much cheaper than a large job, this is not always the case as:

  • Expensive, specialised machinery is still used to lay the asphalt effectively.
  • It takes time to set-up and pack-up the equipment, so while the job itself may be “quick” once things are in action, it can still be a full half-day of work or more.
  • It takes the same time to mobilise out to the site of a small job as it does for a large asphalt driveway and hence will affect the square metre rate.

Driveway Costs Between 500m2 to 1000m2

At 500m2 you will begin to see the savings of a larger asphalt driveway with the price decreasing from $100 per square metre to maybe $80 (as an approximation, all other things being equal).

Driveway Costs Between 1000m2 to 2000m2

At a large asphalt driveway of this size, you will experience some of the best savings on the price per square metre at approximately $60-$70 for a professional job, or even less if the old driveway is only in need of minor repairs and a resurface with no base needed.

Above 1000m2, the surfacing and resurfacing of your driveway will become more efficient as you are taking advantage of the economies of scale. As the machinery is already in use, and the team is already on hand, additional m2 of asphalt to be laid becomes easier and less expensive per square metre.

Driveway Costs for driveways above 2000m2

Above 2000m2, while you may expect to see a continual decrease, the price will typically be around $60 per square metre, depending on scope.

The reason that the price no longer declines much past a certain size is that as the job grows you begin to incur more costs. For larger asphalt areas such as long and large driveways, commercial car parks, and hardstands, past the 2000m2 mark, the job often can no longer be completed in one day.

Going back for a second, or third day, incurs an extra expense for the set-up and movement of equipment and personnel each day.

 A long asphalt driveway in Gidgegannup with lower driveway costs due to it's long length.

2. The colour of the asphalt

Asphalt driveways come in a range of colours to suit your landscaping and building design. Each colour of asphalt has a different cost per square metre, depending on if a red colouring agent needs to be added or a different aggregate is used, for example.

3. The location of your driveway

The average price for an asphalt driveway doesn’t vary much with location, with similar pricing available whether you are 8km or 100km outside of Perth.

For NK Asphalt, you could be in Kalamunda, Mundaring, Bullsbrook, or Serpentine, and it wouldn’t greatly change the cost of your asphalt driveway. If your driveway is beyond this point, and much further in the bush, in these instances, it may require overnight accommodation in order to install the asphalt driveway and for transport / delivery of machines and the asphalt materials. NK Asphalt is principally a 100km radius from Perth operator.

4. The accessibility of your driveway

If the driveway is difficult to access or work on then this can slow down the asphalt laying process and any baseworks that need to be done. Difficult access can include:

  • Lack of parking in the area, near the site to park machines and trucks
  • Overhead restrictions on the height of incoming vehicles within or near your area
  • Narrow entry access to your property
  • Heavy trafficked roads

5. The layout and angle of your driveway

If your driveway is steep or narrow then this can slow down the surfacing or resurfacing process and increase the price.

Driveways that are as steep as a 1 in 5 slope or less can be completed with ease. Within this lower range changing the degree of the slope will not affect the price with a 1 to 4 being as expensive as a 1 to 3 (everything else remaining equal).

However, going above a 1 to 5 can drastically increase the difficulty, raising the price of the project and may not be feasible for safety reasons and difficulty in compacting the new asphalt.

A sloped uphill driveway within a easy steepness range which would not increase driveway cost.

6. Kerbing and drainage

If your asphalt driveway is vulnerable to damage from water, roots, or heavy vehicle use, it may be necessary to install driveway drainage and kerbing during the process.

Having the drainage installed prior to or during the driveway installation will save you money compared to cutting through the asphalt later on, and also gives a better final appearance.

7. Site Preparation

The lengthier and more difficult the site preparation and baseworks process is, the more costly your new driveway can become.

If you have a concrete driveway

A concrete driveway will require full demolition and removal from the site. This will require excavation machinery and trucks to remove and dispose of the concrete before the new asphalt can be laid, plus tip fees.

The cost of removing the old concrete driveway can significantly increase the price of the job by as high as, or even over 100%, compared to repairing and resurfacing an old asphalt job.

If you have a gravel driveway

An unsealed gravel driveway can be regraded and compacted to serve as the base of your asphalt driveway, in a process far more efficient than concrete driveway replacement. The new hot mix asphalt can then be laid over the gravel driveway, reducing the labour time and machinery required, as well as no need for regular regrading that is needed for unsealed gravel driveways.

If you have an existing asphalt driveway

An existing asphalt or bitumen driveway can usually be resurfaced with a new layer of asphalt once the loose material from the surface is swept away and minor repairs completed. Because the driveway has already been done, there will be fewer labour hours, equipment needed and materials minimised.

If you have no existing driveway

Compared to resurfacing, installing a brand-new driveway includes some additional steps. Preparation of the subgrade (laying on sand and gravel) and providing a layer of base material (such as road base, gravel or limestone) at an extra cost. However, these steps are crucial to the longevity of your driveway, and ensuring they are done correctly is what helps your asphalt driveway remain cost-effective in the long run with little, if any, ongoing maintenance.

Poor site conditions

At NK Asphalt, we don’t expect your site to be perfect. Site preparation is a standard part of our driveway installation and surfacing procedure but in some instances, and depending on your contractor, dirty or messy site conditions can significantly impact your final price.

Poor site conditions which risk an increased installation price include:

  • Excess rubbish, waste or soil – materials leftover from recent construction, or other items left scattered, can increase the time and cost of driveway installation.
  • Bad clay conditions – these conditions can become muddy in winter and cracked in summer, threatening the longevity of the driveway and require more extensive baseworks etc.

Thankfully, poor ground conditions are not common in Perth and are not often a concern in the Perth metro area.

8. Job Difficulty

We don’t come across too many difficult jobs, and certainly not many that our NK Asphalt crew aren’t ready to handle.

More common for commercial asphalt driveways, one of the most common difficulties we see in asphalt jobs is a requirement to split up the job into smaller pieces. This is usually done to allow access to the property while the asphalt is being replaced, such as allowing customers to access a store while the car park is resurfaced. As this increases the time taken to complete a job, it can impact the cost.

The Bunnings commercial car park and driveway completed while giving access to customers increasing the cost.

9. Chosen Contractor

The contractor you choose not only impacts the immediate cost of your driveway but also your ongoing repair and maintenance costs in future.

Driveway installations that cut corners on cost at the very start of a job tend to show problems years, or even just months down the track. When a driveway is installed without the right quality of materials, expertise and attention to detail, this can result in increased costs for potholes and cracking repairs. It also decreases the life span of your asphalt driveway, requiring repair or replacements more often, which drives its long-term price upward.

At NK Asphalt, our accurate, free quotes are for driveways that we know will save you money in the long term and bring genuine value to your property. If you want to know the price of a new asphalt driveway and how much it will cost, there’s no need to guess. Receive a free measure and quote from our team to find out how much your asphalt driveway will cost with Perth’s most trusted asphalt contractors, or we can give you a ‘ballpark’ estimate, site-unseen over the phone or by email.

 

What Costs Go Into a New Driveway?

More than just the materials, having a new or resurfaced driveway includes the costs of labour, machinery and equipment, and cartage of the asphalt. Traffic management is sometimes necessary on busier roads that your driveway fronts on to.

 

Will Asphalt Prices Go Up in 2025?

For 2025, Asphalt pricing is expected to remain relatively stable. As with most goods, asphalt will likewise be impacted by inflation, material and cartage increases, as well as wage costs.

For quotes that have a delayed starting date, we suggest people adjust the current amount by 5-10% per annum as a buffer, to keep their quotes up to the standard market rate.

One way to gauge asphalt pricing for 2025 is to look at the expected price of oil. Bitumen, which is used in the asphalt driveway production, is an oil-based product. If oil price goes up, then this will have a ripple effect on the current pricing of asphalt driveways. However, large fluctuations in asphalt driveways are rare, and the pricing can remain fairly constant even during oil price fluctuations.

 

How Much Will My Asphalt Driveway Cost?

To get an accurate fixed cost of an asphalt driveway at your Perth property, get a free measure and quote. There’s no obligation to accept the quote and while we’re on-site, we can provide free advice on your project.

Speak to one of our experts and get your asphalt driveway project rolling.

 

Get a Perth asphalt driveway quote

If your driveway is 150m2 or more and in the Perth or surrounding areas.

Paul Calnon

Paul is a Director of NK Asphalt and has over thirty years of experience in the asphalt and bitumen industry since joining NK Asphalt in 1994. He’s an expert in all aspects of asphalt works - and can give advice on baseworks, kerbing and other site services. He is dedicated to providing the right solution for clients - and can give great advice on the pro’s and cons of different methods clients may be considering.