Acquisitions (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended			0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		0 Months Ended					0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 14, 2012 NEK Special Programs Group LLC (NEK)	Dec. 31, 2012 NEK Special Programs Group LLC (NEK)	Mar. 31, 2013 NEK Special Programs Group LLC (NEK)	Mar. 31, 2012 NEK Special Programs Group LLC (NEK)	Mar. 31, 2013 NEK Special Programs Group LLC (NEK)	Mar. 31, 2012 NEK Special Programs Group LLC (NEK)	Dec. 14, 2012 NEK Special Programs Group LLC (NEK) Minimum item	Dec. 14, 2012 NEK Special Programs Group LLC (NEK) Maximum	Dec. 14, 2012 NEK Special Programs Group LLC (NEK) Customer relationships	Dec. 14, 2012 NEK Special Programs Group LLC (NEK) Corporate trade names	Dec. 14, 2012 NEK Special Programs Group LLC (NEK) Non-compete agreements	Jan. 24, 2013 Next Bus	Mar. 31, 2013 Next Bus	Mar. 31, 2012 Next Bus	Mar. 31, 2013 Next Bus	Mar. 31, 2012 Next Bus	Jan. 31, 2013 Next Bus	Jan. 24, 2013 Next Bus Customer relationships	Jan. 24, 2013 Next Bus Corporate trade names	Jan. 24, 2013 Next Bus Acquired technology	Jan. 24, 2013 Next Bus Backlog
Acquisitions
Number of employees hired												200
Net sales	$ 364,305,000	$ 339,645,000	$ 677,676,000	$ 656,411,000				$ 9,100,000		$ 9,600,000								$ 1,500,000		$ 1,500,000
Net loss after taxes	27,210,000	23,448,000	39,729,000	44,187,000				(300,000)		(300,000)								(300,000)		(300,000)
Transaction related costs								400,000		400,000								200,000		200,000
Cost of acquisition net						52,000,000											20,700,000
Fair value of consideration transferred						52,600,000											20,000,000
Cash paid for acquisition							33,100,000															20,700,000
Current asset recorded	704,850,000		704,850,000		712,726,000																	700,000
Estimated current liability of additional cash consideration							19,500,000
Additional cash consideration accelerated if certain event occurs							7,800,000
Fair value of additional contingent cash consideration							11,700,000
Period within which contingent consideration will be paid												6 months	9 months
Purchase price allocation
Amortizable intangible assets														13,300,000	4,900,000	200,000							8,800,000	1,000,000	1,300,000	1,700,000
Accounts receivable - billed						3,100,000
Accounts receivable - unbilled						7,700,000
Accounts receivable, net																	2,200,000
Accounts payable and accrued expenses						(3,000,000)											(1,200,000)
Deferred tax liabilities, net																	(4,700,000)
Other net liabilities assumed						(400,000)											(1,400,000)
Net identifiable assets acquired						25,800,000											7,700,000
Goodwill						26,800,000											12,300,000
Total						52,600,000											20,000,000
Weighted average useful life of intangible assets								4 years												5 years
Estimated amortization expense related to the intangible assets
2013								3,000,000		3,000,000								1,200,000		1,200,000
2014								3,400,000		3,400,000								1,600,000		1,600,000
2015								2,900,000		2,900,000								1,500,000		1,500,000
2016								2,400,000		2,400,000								1,400,000		1,400,000
2017								1,900,000		1,900,000								1,300,000		1,300,000
Unaudited pro forma information
Net sales								364,700,000	351,400,000	691,000,000	680,600,000							364,700,000	351,400,000	691,000,000	680,600,000
Net income attributable to Cubic								$ 24,200,000	$ 23,900,000	$ 37,000,000	$ 45,100,000							$ 26,900,000	$ 23,900,000	$ 40,300,000	$ 45,100,000