What PlanCost Australia does

PlanCost Australia Pty Ltd is a privately held, Melbourne-based quantity surveying firm founded in 1999 by Steve Grimes. The company provides professional construction cost management services to architects, government departments, local councils, private developers, and financial institutions primarily across Victoria. Its core offerings span the full project lifecycle — cost planning, value management, construction cost management and contract administration, tender process support, and masterplanning and feasibility studies — delivered by a team of qualified quantity surveyors using methodologies aligned to the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors Cost Control Manual and Victorian Building Authority Capital Development Guidelines.

The firm also offers independent Quantity Surveyor bank reports for construction finance (initial reports and progress drawdowns) and operates a specialised sub-brand, PlanGreen, providing financially focused environmentally sustainable design (ESD) cost planning covering Green Star, Passivhaus, BESS, NatHERS, NABERS, and WSUD certifications. ISO 9001 quality and AS/NZS 4801 occupational health and safety certifications underpin delivery.

The business operates on a project-based fee model with quotes tailored to scope, complexity, and stage; revenue is non-recurring by nature. GTM is sales-led and relationship-driven, with engagement initiated via website contact form, phone, or direct outreach, and a portfolio of award-winning projects across nine verticals (residential, health and aged care, education, recreation, community and arts, commercial and civic, heritage, religious, and financial services). The company remains founder-family-influenced, with second-generation Managing Director Simon Grimes leading alongside two newly appointed non-family directors, a newly created Business Manager role, and a total team of approximately 18-22 people.

Name

PlanCost Australia

Legal name

PlanCost Australia Pty Ltd

Website

https://plancost.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PlanCost Australia is a Melbourne-based quantity surveying firm providing cost planning, value management, and construction cost management services to architects, government agencies, and developers across Victoria, with a specialisation in ESD cost planning via its PlanGreen sub-brand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Quantity Surveying and Construction Cost Management

NAICS

Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

akta.pro primary industry

Design-Build / EPC General Contracting (IMAFAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Infrastructure Planning, Capital Programs & Project Delivery Offices (PMOs) (BPAIALAJ)

Keywords

• Quantity surveying
• Construction cost management
• Cost planning services
• Value management consulting
• Bank loan reporting

Headquarters

HQ city

Ringwood

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Quantity Surveying Services: Fee-based professional services for quantity surveying, cost planning, value management, tender process support, and construction cost management/contract administration. Services are quoted per project based on scope, complexity, and project stage. Revenue is project-based and not recurring in nature.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

PlanCost Australia is a professional quantity surveying firm providing construction cost management services. The firm delivers cost planning, value management, construction cost management/contract administration, tender process support, masterplanning and feasibility studies, and independent QS bank reports for construction loans. They also offer a specialised PlanGreen service for environmentally sustainable design (ESD) cost planning across Green Star, Passivhaus, BESS, NatHERS, NABERS, and WSUD certifications.

Product overview

PlanCost Australia is a quantity surveying firm offering professional construction cost management services. The core offering consists of integrated cost planning, value management, and construction cost management services supported by tender process support and masterplanning. The company specializes in QS bank reports for construction loans and offers a specialized PlanGreen service for environmentally sustainable design consultancy. The services are delivered through qualified quantity surveyors with expertise across residential, health, education, recreation, community, commercial, civic, heritage, and religious project sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PlanGreen: Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) cost planning service providing financial evaluations, energy efficiency advice, and life cycle costings for sustainable building projects including Green Star and Passivhaus certification.

Products and services

• Cost Planning
• Value Management
• Construction Cost Management / Contract Administration
• Tender Process Support
• Masterplanning & Feasibility Studies
• Quantity Surveyor (QS) Bank Reports for Construction Loans
• PlanGreen – Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD)

Quantifiable outcome

• Final project cost landed within 1% of PlanCost's estimate - as quoted by Ahmad Abas, Director at Gresley Abas Architects for Wunggurrwil Dhurrung project
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS)coreOthersPlanCost staff are active members of AIQS. The company holds VBA Registration (CQS-54305). Steve Grimes, Founding Director, received the AIQS (Vic) President's Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Promotion of the Profession for his work in Environmentally Sustainable Design. Company methodology conforms to AIQS Cost Control Manual standards.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Slattery Australia: Slattery Australia is a Melbourne-based quantity surveying and cost management consultancy providing cost planning, value management, and contract administration for government and private clients across Victoria — a direct local competitor to PlanCost.
• Currie & Brown: Currie & Brown is an international cost management, project monitoring, and advisory firm with significant Australian operations offering quantity surveying services across commercial, education, healthcare, and heritage projects — directly comparable to PlanCost's service portfolio.
• Donald Cant Watts Corke (DCWC): Donald Cant Watts Corke is an Australian cost management and quantity surveying firm offering cost planning, value engineering, and post-contract services across commercial, residential, education, and health projects, competing directly with PlanCost in Victoria and NSW.
• Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB): RLB is a major global construction cost, project management, and advisory consultancy active across Australia, providing quantity surveying and cost management services across the same education, healthcare, residential, and civic sectors as PlanCost.
• WT (WT Partnership): WT Partnership is a global quantity surveying and cost management firm with a strong Australian presence in Melbourne and Sydney, directly competing with PlanCost on cost planning, value management, and contract administration for similar government, education, health, and commercial clients.
• MBM Quantify: MBM Quantify is the quantity surveying and cost management arm of MBM, providing cost planning, value management, and construction cost advisory across Australia, serving clients in health, education, defence, and residential segments overlapping with PlanCost's sectors.

Broad incumbents

• Mace Group: Mace Group is a global construction and consultancy firm offering cost consultancy and quantity surveying within a broader project management and construction delivery portfolio, competing for large Victorian and Australian public-sector projects that PlanCost also targets.
• Altus Group: Altus Group is a global commercial real estate advisory and data analytics firm with a significant cost consulting and project management practice, providing independent QS and construction monitoring services at a larger scale than PlanCost across Australia and internationally.

Emerging players

• Buildsoft (CostX / Cubit): Buildsoft supplies estimating and BIM-based quantity takeoff software (Cubit, CostX) used across the Australian QS industry, representing the technology-enabling counterpart to PlanCost's manual cost planning and represents both a tool partner and an emerging automated alternative.

Others

• KPMG (Construction Advisory): KPMG's infrastructure and real estate advisory practice provides independent QS-style lender's construction monitoring reports and project cost reviews for financial institutions and government clients in Australia — adjacent to PlanCost's QS bank-report service offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PlanCostQS
• Facebookfacebook.com/PlanCostAustralia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/plancost-australia-pty-ltd

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PlanCost Australia