What it costs by home size
Backloading is priced per cubic metre, so your home size is your price. Indicative totals inc GST — the quote tool gives you a fixed number in about a minute.
| Home size | Volume | Price inc GST | What that is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 8 m³ | $850 | APS starters and students — the most common small load here |
| 1-bed apt | 16 m³ | $1,950 | Queen bed, sofa, dining set, fridge |
| 2-bed homeMost common | 26 m³ | $3,000 | Family moves into Gungahlin, Belconnen, Woden |
| 3-bed home | 36 m³ | $3,800 | Three bedrooms, study, full kitchen |
| 4-bed home | 50 m³ | $5,300 | Executive and diplomatic moves |
Not sure of your volume? Work out your m³ here — five minutes, and it's the only input that really moves the price.
Why this lane is the cheapest on the card
Short distance, easy road, balanced demand. The Hume and Federal Highways are the most reliable trucking corridor in the country. Canberra's wide streets make loading fast, and enough freight moves both directions that trucks rarely run badly empty. All three of those feed straight into the per-m³ rate.
It's also the lane where the urgency premium is least worth paying. With trucks three times a week and a 2–3 day pickup window, booking a few days ahead almost always beats paying $200 for a same-week scramble. If your APS start date is fixed, just tell us the date — on a same-day lane we can work backwards from it precisely.
- Pickup AM, delivery PM the same day — plan to be at both ends
- 2–3 business day pickup window; book a week out and you'll never notice the schedule
- ±1 week flexibility = 10% off, applied automatically
- 15% deposit locks the slot; balance on delivery
Who moves on this lane
Canberra's moving market runs on three clocks: the public service (postings start year-round, with bulges after budget cycles), the universities (ANU and UC intakes in February and July), and the diplomatic rotation. Small 1–2 bed loads dominate — which is exactly what backloading prices best, because they share a truck efficiently.
Delivery-wise Canberra is the easiest capital we serve: wide streets, driveways that fit a truck, and Queanbeyan or Jerrabomberra on the NSW side cost nothing extra since we drive straight past. The route details, tips and lane-specific questions live on the route pages: Sydney to Canberra and Canberra to Sydney.