Backhoe & skid steer
hire rates.
Indicative hire rates per hour for backhoes and skid steers — the utility crew all-rounders.
Backhoe and skid steer hire rates in Australia
These are the service-crew machines. The backhoe digs, loads and — critically — drives itself between jobs on the road, which is why water and sewer maintenance crews are built around one. The skid steer (Bobcat) is the tight-area loader and site cleanup machine, made valuable by its attachments. Benchmarks below from the same data behind our machine hire rate calculator.
Indicative hire rates
Backhoes
| Size | Dry hire | Wet hire* | Wet day (8 hr)* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Ton | $17/hr | $105–$120/hr | $850–$970 |
| 6 Ton | $20/hr | $115–$130/hr | $900–$1,020 |
| 7 Ton | $25/hr | $125–$140/hr | $1,000–$1,120 |
| 8 Ton | $28/hr | $130–$145/hr | $1,050–$1,170 |
| 9 Ton | $33/hr | $140–$155/hr | $1,140–$1,260 |
| 10.5 Ton | $37/hr | $150–$165/hr | $1,200–$1,320 |
Skid steers
| Size | Dry hire | Wet hire* | Wet day (8 hr)* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.2 Ton | $11/hr | $90–$105/hr | $710–$830 |
| 2.8 Ton | $14/hr | $95–$110/hr | $760–$880 |
| 3 Ton | $15/hr | $100–$115/hr | $800–$930 |
| 3.5 Ton | $18/hr | $110–$125/hr | $880–$1,000 |
Backhoe road registration is the hidden value — no float between nearby sites. Wet hire shown at $2.00/L diesel and a typical operator rate band for the machine — put your own fuel price and operator rate into the machine hire calculator for an exact figure. Indicative benchmarks, ex GST, guide only.
Where each one earns its rate
Backhoes: 5–7 tonne machines suit compact service work; 8–10.5 tonne is the classic utility configuration — enough dig depth for most water and sewer connections, a loader bucket on the front for backfill and spoil, and road registration so one operator moves the machine between reactive jobs without a float. For a crew doing several small digs a day across a network, that mobility beats a bigger excavator on cost every time.
Skid steers: known on most sites simply as bobcats — 2.2–3.5 tonne, priced almost as much for their attachments as the machine — 4-in-1 buckets, pallet forks, brooms, augers and profilers turn one machine into five. They load, spread, clean up and reinstate in spaces nothing else fits. Attachments are usually charged on top of the base rate.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a backhoe cost to hire per hour?
Indicatively, 5–7 tonne backhoes run about $105–$140/hr wet hire and the 8–10.5 tonne utility class about $130–$165/hr — roughly $850 to $1,320 for an 8 hour day.
How much does skid steer (Bobcat) hire cost?
Indicatively about $90–$125/hr wet hire across the 2.2–3.5 tonne range — roughly $710 to $1,000 for an 8 hour day — with attachments like 4-in-1 buckets, brooms and augers usually charged on top.
Backhoe or excavator — which should I hire?
For one dig on one site, an excavator of the right size usually digs faster. For multiple small digs across different locations in a day — service connections, maintenance, potholing — the backhoe wins because it drives between jobs and loads its own spoil, saving a float and a second machine.
Why do service crews run backhoes?
Mobility and self-sufficiency: one road-registered machine that digs, backfills, loads and travels means a two-person crew can complete whole small jobs without floats or support plant. That is the economics behind every water utility maintenance fleet.
More rate guides: excavators, tipper trucks, dump trucks, water carts, rollers, loaders, graders, dozers, scrapers, asphalt pavers, asphalt profilers. Or price any of 93 machines in the machine hire rate calculator.
Pricing the whole job?
Machine rates are one line in a real estimate. For water, sewer or stormwater work priced end to end, send the drawings. Acknowledged within two hours during AEST business.