Cost Controller

A cost controller owns the cost report on a project. The project manager decides what to do. The cost controller says what it has cost so far, what is committed, and what the finish will cost if nothing changes. That means holding the budget structure, coding every commitment and invoice to it, tracking variations and claims, and producing a forecast each month that someone senior will challenge. Most cost controllers sit inside a project team on construction, resources, energy or infrastructure work, alongside planners and project accountants. Some sit in a head office and cover several projects at once. The tools are usually a cost system plus a great deal of spreadsheet work. One caveat on the numbers, and it matters here. The ABS has no code for cost control. This page is filed against Information and Organisation Professionals nec, a broad residual category for professional work, so the employment count and pay range shown belong to that whole category rather than to cost controllers. Read them as a rough guide at best.

Maintain the cost breakdown structure so every commitment and invoice lands in the right place. Code and check purchase orders, subcontract claims and invoices against the budget. Track committed cost against actual cost, and chase the gap when the two do not agree. Update the forecast cost to complete, and explain each movement since last month. Log variations and claims, and follow their status through approval. Run the month end cost report and take it through review with the project manager and the client. Reconcile with the project accountant so the cost report and the accounts tell the same story. Build cash flow and accrual numbers for the finance team. Answer audit and client queries with the paperwork that backs each figure.

Most cost controllers hold a degree in construction management, quantity surveying, engineering, commerce or accounting, which is why the ABS files this category at skill level 1. Plenty come the other way, from project administration, contracts administration or accounts payable in a project business, and learn the cost system on the job. Strong spreadsheet skills are not optional. If you are moving from an admin or claims background, the parts that carry across are coding, reconciliation, chasing missing paperwork, and holding a monthly reporting cycle. Course costs and job outcomes vary by provider and by state, so check the current options at dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe and yourcareer.gov.au before you enrol, and ask a project business what it hires on.

The forecast is yours and it will be argued with. When a project is going badly, the number you publish is the number nobody wants, and holding it takes some nerve. Month end is a hard deadline that does not move. The work depends on the capital cycle, so a project ending or a market turning can end the role with it, and contract positions are common. Fly in fly out work pays more and costs you time at home. The pay range on this page belongs to the wider ABS category rather than to cost control, so do not plan around it. Cost systems automate more of the coding and consolidation each year, and that could reduce the junior end of this work, although forecasting and defending a number still need a person.

Work follows capital projects. Contractors, owners and consultancies all hire for it. Some head office work can be done partly from home. Site based roles cannot.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 2249, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.

This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.

Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

• Advocate for social service userscore
• Apply person-centred carecore
• Assist with personal administration issuescore
• Attention to Detailcore
• Contribute to protecting individuals from harmcore
• Determine child welfarecore
• Digital Literacycore
• Disability carecore
• Give advice on personal matterscore
• Microsoft Office Suite Proficiencycore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Private lawcore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Process Documentationcore
• Record Managementcore
• Report Writingcore
• Research and Analysiscore
• Stakeholder Communicationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Written Communicationcore
• Adaptability and Flexibility
• Assist children with homework
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Correspondence Drafting
• Electronic Document Management
• Family law
• First aid
• Goal Setting and Planning
• Handle children's problems
• Legal requirements in the social sector
• Listen actively
• Maintain the trust of service users
• Older adults' needs
• Personal development
• Process Improvement Identification
• Provide first aid
• Provide in-home support for disabled individuals
• Regulatory and Legislative Awareness
• Reporting and Analytics
• Screen clients
• Team Collaboration

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
• ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

Last updated: 30 October 2026