In Victoria, an owners corporation is the current term for what many people still call a body corporate. Consumer Affairs Victoria says an owners corporation manages common property in residential, commercial, retail, industrial or mixed-use developments.
The plan of subdivision decides what is common property. Consumer Affairs Victoria says common property may include gardens, passages, walls, stairwells, pathways, driveways, lifts, foyers and fences. Land Use Victoria also notes that common property is defined on the plan of subdivision and may include shared areas such as communal driveways and stairwells.
This matters because a bollard inside a private lot is a different decision from a bollard in a shared driveway, basement car park, visitor area or entry path. The Owners Corporations Act 2006 sets out the duties and powers of Victorian owners corporations, including duties around common property. Treat this article as practical site guidance. Get strata or legal advice before relying on it for a formal approval decision.
Approval may be needed where a bollard affects common property, shared access, resident movement, parking rules, building appearance, underground services or emergency access. A strata manager should check the plan, rules and approval process before work is booked.
Apartment bollards usually solve repeat site problems. The clearest candidates are areas with scrape marks, bent door tracks, damaged corners, confused parking boundaries or near misses between vehicles and pedestrians.
| Site area | Common problem | Suitable bollard type | What to check first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basement car park corners | Cars taking tight turns and scraping walls or columns. | Surface mounted or fixed bollards. | Turning paths, door opening clearance and visibility. |
| Visitor parking bays | Unauthorised parking or unclear bay boundaries. | Removable bollards where access needs change. | Owners corporation parking rules and key control. |
| Shared driveways | Vehicles crossing garden edges or property boundaries. | Fixed or removable bollards depending on access. | Clear driveway width and service vehicle movement. |
| Garage entries and roller doors | Vehicles clipping tracks, columns or control boxes. | Surface mounted or fixed bollards. | Vehicle sweep paths and roller door operation. |
| Bin rooms and service lanes | Waste trucks or removalists reversing near walls and doors. | Fixed bollards or removable bollards where access is needed. | Waste contractor, delivery and maintenance access. |
| Fire equipment, hydrants and electrical cabinets | Vehicle impact around essential building services. | Fixed or surface mounted asset protection bollards. | Emergency, contractor and maintenance access. |
| EV charging bays | Charging equipment damage or bay misuse. | Fixed or removable bollards depending on layout. | Charging cable reach, bay access and shared use rules. |
The table is a starting point only. A site walkthrough should confirm the real turning lines, vehicle types and access points before a product is selected.
In many Melbourne apartment buildings, the risk points are everyday places: the corner that delivery vans clip, the column beside a narrow ramp, the cabinet beside the roller door, or the visitor bay that keeps becoming a turning space. Small repeat impacts can still leave committees dealing with repair costs, resident complaints and preventable access disruptions.
Removable bollards suit apartment sites where access changes during the week. They can help with reserved bays, visitor bays, private lanes, service entries and maintenance zones that need to open for approved vehicles.
First Choice removable bollards are keyed mechanical bollards. They are core-drilled into an in-ground sleeve and lock with a recessed tamper-proof camlock. When the post is removed, the flush cover plate sits flat with the surrounding surface.
The current First Choice removable range lists 5 mm and 10 mm steel thickness options and an 880 mm above-ground height. The same page says there are no hydraulics or wiring, which can matter for strata committees that want lower maintenance complexity and fewer electrical failure points.
Removable bollards are useful where the same area needs both protection and controlled access. If a post will stay in place every day, a fixed or surface mounted bollard may be a cleaner choice because there are no keys to manage and no removed post to store.
Fixed and surface mounted bollards suit assets that need constant protection. In apartment complexes, these may include garage walls, roller door tracks, building columns, hydrant boosters, electrical cabinets, garden edges, entry doors and pedestrian edges.
The First Choice commercial range includes permanent, removable and surface mounted options, with 90 mm, 114 mm and custom sizes listed on the commercial bollards page. It also lists concrete drilling, tile installation, corrosion protection, reflective bands and colour options.
Surface mounted bollards can suit existing slabs where core drilling is unsuitable, provided the slab condition and fixing method are checked first. Fixed bollards can suit higher-risk locations where access stays closed. This article avoids crash-rating and impact-certification claims. Those claims should only be stated when the specific product documentation confirms them.
Visibility matters in shared car parks. A bollard that protects a column still needs to be seen by residents, visitors and delivery drivers. Reflective bands, colour choice and lighting can be as important as the post itself in low-light basement areas.
Strata managers can reduce delays by sorting the approval and access questions before requesting a quote. The goal is to give the installer a clear brief and give the committee enough information to make a practical decision.
Avoid starting with a product order. Start with the site problem, the ownership question and the access needs. Product selection is easier once those points are clear.
A bollard site walkthrough should focus on the locations where vehicles and fixed assets meet. Scrape marks, cracked corners, bent door tracks and patched walls usually tell the story faster than a floor plan alone.
First Choice Bollards can inspect apartment complexes, townhouse developments and strata car parks across Melbourne and Geelong, then recommend fixed, surface mounted or removable bollards based on the site's access and protection needs.
