Scrap Metal Prices in Dubbo
Estimated scrap yard payouts in Dubbo on : about $12.90/kg for bare bright copper, $2.36/kg for aluminium extrusion, $7.54/kg for yellow brass. These are our estimates from MetalpriceAPI market prices × typical payout rates × Dubbo's 0.82× regional factor, not quotes from Dubbo yards; call a yard before you go. Where these numbers come from.
Dubbo is the regional centre of central-western NSW, sitting at the junction of major rural transport routes. Scrap volumes reflect agricultural machinery, rural residential renovation, and the steady flow of vehicle scrap from a wide pastoral catchment.
Current scrap metal prices in Dubbo
Spot price equivalents adjusted for Dubbo's regional rate (0.82×). Actual yard payouts apply the grade-specific payout rate on top — typically 12–78% of spot depending on grade.
| Metal | Sydney spot | Dubbo equiv. | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper | $20.17 | $16.54 | Grades & payouts → |
| Aluminium | $4.43 | $3.64 | Grades & payouts → |
| Brass | $15.32 | $12.56 | Grades & payouts → |
| Steel | $0.42 | $0.34 | Grades & payouts → |
| Stainless Steel | $2.38 | $1.95 | Grades & payouts → |
| Lead | $2.73 | $2.24 | Grades & payouts → |
| Zinc | $5.46 | $4.47 | Grades & payouts → |
| Nickel | $23.49 | $19.26 | Grades & payouts → |
Where these numbers come from
| Figure | Value | Source | Type | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper spot price | A$20.17/kg | MetalpriceAPI (LME-linked market data) | Market data feed | |
| Aluminium spot price | A$4.43/kg | MetalpriceAPI (LME-linked market data) | Market data feed | |
| Brass spot price | A$15.32/kg | Calculated: 67% copper + 33% zinc (MetalpriceAPI) | Our calculation from feed prices | |
| Steel spot price | A$0.42/kg | Fixed site estimate of A$0.42/kg | Fixed estimate, not a market feed | |
| Stainless Steel spot price | A$2.38/kg | Calculated: 8% nickel (MetalpriceAPI) + a fixed A$0.50/kg chromium allowance | Our calculation, partly a fixed estimate | |
| Lead spot price | A$2.73/kg | MetalpriceAPI (LME-linked market data) | Market data feed | |
| Zinc spot price | A$5.46/kg | MetalpriceAPI (LME-linked market data) | Market data feed | |
| Nickel spot price | A$23.49/kg | MetalpriceAPI (LME-linked market data) | Market data feed | |
| Dubbo regional factor | 0.82× | Our model (freight distance and yard rate differences) | Our estimate | |
| Grade payout rates | 12–78% of spot | Our estimate from published yard rate cards | Our estimate |
Spot prices are converted to Australian dollars per kilogram. Yard payouts are our estimates (spot × grade payout rate × regional factor), not quotes from any yard. Set when the site launched on 2026-05-16 and not updated since. No live steel scrap price feed is used. The chromium allowance is a fixed figure set on 2026-05-16, not a market price. Full detail: methodology.
How Dubbo compares
Scrap yards in Dubbo pay roughly 18% below the Sydney national benchmark (0.82× regional adjustment). Among Australian regional centres, rates here are closest to Cairns (0.82×). The lower payout reflects Dubbo's distance from major smelters and ports — transport costs to processing facilities reduce what yards can pay sellers.
Where the yards are in Dubbo
Dubbo's yards are on the city's northern and western fringe, where the highways come in. The two established yards sit on Gilgandra Road and Mountbatten Drive, one a family business operating since the 1980s and the other part of a regional chain; both buy ferrous and non-ferrous, run car crushers and offer free drop-off for scrap steel and pickup for unwanted metal. Rural supply stores in surrounding towns such as Coolah act as informal collection points.
Sydney-based collectors also advertise farm clean-ups in the Dubbo district, and for a large machinery or shed clean-out it is worth comparing a local weigh-in against a collector's on-farm price.
Where Dubbo's metal goes
Nothing is melted in the Central West. Dubbo is 400 km by road from Sydney, and the nearest scrap-fed mill is the electric arc furnace at Rooty Hill on Sydney's western edge, which is where most of the district's ferrous eventually goes. That 400 km haul is the single biggest reason Dubbo prices sit well below the coast.
What's different about selling in Dubbo
NSW rules apply: dealers registered with NSW Police, no cash, and seller details recorded, while drink containers go through Return and Earn. Dubbo sits at the junction of the Newell, Mitchell and Golden highways and works as a road and rail freight hub for the state, so truck and trailer scrap is steady. The wider catchment is pastoral, with a lamb and mutton exporter as the largest private employer and a rare-earth project under development at Toongi, so farm machinery, fencing and shed steel dominate, and volumes rise after harvest and in dry years when farmers clear old plant. Copper and brass from irrigation and pumping gear is the non-ferrous mainstay.
Sources for the Dubbo sections above (last checked ):
Rules for selling scrap in New South Wales
- Governing law
- Scrap Metal Industry Act 2016 and Scrap Metal Industry Regulation 2024, administered by the NSW Police Force. Any business dealing in scrap metal must be registered with NSW Police (registration lasts three years).
- Photo ID
- Yes, for every sale. The dealer must record each transaction including the parties involved, and the Regulation prescribes the photo identification a seller can use: an Australian driver licence (NSW or another jurisdiction), a NSW Photo Card, or a foreign driver licence subject to conditions. No weight or value threshold is set out in the sources reviewed.
- Cash payments
- Cash is banned. Section 12 of the Act prohibits a dealer paying for scrap metal with cash, a cheque payable to cash, or in kind, and from advertising cash payment. All trade must be paid electronically or by cheque. The 2020 statutory review paper lists a $1,100 penalty notice for the dealer.
- Scrapping a vehicle
- Dealers must not buy or dispose of an unidentified motor vehicle (section 14), so the VIN must be intact. If you sell a car with its plates to a wrecker, submit a notice of disposal to Service NSW. If you sold it without plates or it was written off, cancel the registration and return the plates to a service centre, within 14 days for a written-off vehicle, bringing proof of identity, the cancellation form and the plates.
- Container deposit scheme
- Return and Earn, 10 cents per eligible container, running since December 2017. From mid-2027 the scheme expands to wine and spirit bottles, cordial and concentrate containers, and larger containers up to 3 litres.
- Also worth knowing
- The dealer must keep transaction records (date, parties, description of the metal, payment method) for three years and must report suspected stolen scrap metal to police (section 13). Dealers are exempt from recording a vehicle's identifier if it was crushed, cubed or shredded before the transaction.
Summarised from the legislation and government guidance below (more on our state-by-state rules guide). Rules change; confirm with the yard before you go.
Sources (last checked ):
- ablis.business.gov.au
- nsw.gov.au: Discussion paper Scrap Metal Act 2016 review (PDF)
- service.nsw.gov.au: submit a notice of disposal for a vehicle
- service.nsw.gov.au: cancel the registration on a written off vehicle
- returnandearn.org.au: about return and earn
- epa.nsw.gov.au: expansion return and earn container deposit scheme
Other New South Wales scrap markets
Yards across New South Wales pay rates relative to their distance from major smelters and ports. Sydney is the state capital and typically has the most competitive rates in the state.
Popular items: what they're worth in Dubbo
Estimated scrap value at Dubbo yards. Assumes properly prepared material (oil drained, copper stripped from motors, refrigerant degassed where required).
Scrap yards in Dubbo
We don't list any yards in Dubbo yet — submit one to help build the directory. View directory page →
Frequently asked questions about scrap metal in Dubbo
Where are the best scrap metal yards in Dubbo? +
Our yard directory lists Dubbo yards with addresses, phone numbers and Google ratings, but we don't rank them — the best yard for you depends on the metal, the load size and who is paying well that week. The practical approach is to call 2-3 yards before transporting a load: published rates are useful guides, but actual offers vary by day, load size, and material quality.
Why does Dubbo pay less than Sydney for scrap metal? +
The 18% gap to Sydney reflects transport costs. Metal sold in Dubbo eventually travels to a smelter or export port — typically via Sydney — and yards price the freight cost into their offer. Our regional adjustment is modelled from observed yard rates plus distance to processing facilities.
What's the highest-paying scrap metal in Dubbo? +
Copper, by a wide margin. Our estimate for clean bare-bright copper in Dubbo is around $12.90 per kilogram (spot price × 78% payout rate × 0.82 regional factor). Brass and aluminium follow, with steel paying the least per kilogram but compensating through volume — most ferrous loads are weighed on commercial weighbridges where small differences in rate matter less than tonnage.
Do Dubbo scrap yards require photo ID? +
Yes, for every sale. The dealer must record each transaction including the parties involved, and the Regulation prescribes the photo identification a seller can use: an Australian driver licence (NSW or another jurisdiction), a NSW Photo Card, or a foreign driver licence subject to conditions. No weight or value threshold is set out in the sources reviewed. (Scrap Metal Industry Act 2016 and Scrap Metal Industry Regulation 2024; last checked 2026-09-02.)
Can I be paid cash for scrap metal in Dubbo? +
Cash is banned. Section 12 of the Act prohibits a dealer paying for scrap metal with cash, a cheque payable to cash, or in kind, and from advertising cash payment. All trade must be paid electronically or by cheque. The 2020 statutory review paper lists a $1,100 penalty notice for the dealer. (Last checked 2026-09-02.)
What other NSW cities have scrap yards? +
Yes — Albury, Central Coast, Coffs Harbour, Newcastle, and others all have active scrap yards covered on this site. Sydney (the New South Wales capital) generally has the most yards and most competitive rates in the state.