Net Income (Loss) Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2015
Net income (loss) attributable to Cubic	$ 10,144	$ (11,024)	$ 4,730	$ (5,872)
Weighted average shares - basic	26,973	26,862	26,968	26,861
Effect of dilutive securities (in shares)	22		18
Weighted average shares - diluted	26,995	26,862	26,986	26,861
Net income (loss) per share, basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.38	$ (0.41)	$ 0.18	$ (0.22)
Net income (loss) per share attributable to Cubic, diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.38	$ (0.41)	$ 0.18	$ (0.22)
Anti-dilutive employee share-based awards		0		0
RSUs
Anti-dilutive employee share-based awards	800		800