Home/Crossovers & footpaths
Get your council bond back.
Crossovers, kerb and footpath reinstatement built to council spec across Melbourne's east — so the asset protection bond gets released at final inspection instead of being spent on somebody else fixing it.
Got it — thanks.
We'll be in touch shortly to arrange a time to come and look at the job. If it's urgent, give us a call.
01 — The bond
You're not really buying concrete. You're buying your money back.
Before building work starts, councils across Melbourne's east require an asset protection permit and hold a refundable bond against damage to public assets — the kerb, the footpath, the crossover, the nature strip. Trucks spend a year running over all four.
The council holds a bond
Taken before works begin, against damage to the public assets in front of your property. It is refundable — it is also the council's money until they say otherwise.
The build damages the crossover
Concrete trucks, excavators, brick deliveries and skip bins all cross the same three metres of kerb and footpath for the length of the build. Cracked and broken crossovers are the normal outcome, not bad luck.
Council inspects at the end
The bond is released once the restorative works are completed and approved at final inspection. If the public assets are damaged, the bond can be withheld to cover putting them back.
The work has to meet their spec, not yours
This is where it goes wrong. A crossover that doesn't meet the council's requirements doesn't get signed off — and an unsigned crossover means the bond stays where it is.
Refunds take time to process. The clock starts when the work passes, not when it's finished.
02 — Why crossovers fail inspection
The four things councils knock back.
None of these are things a homeowner can reasonably self-assess, and all of them are things a cheap operator gets wrong.
- Width. Councils set maximum crossover widths, and exceeding them is one of the most common rejections.
- Drainage. Inadequate drainage design, or water sent the wrong way across the footpath.
- Reinstatement standards. Kerb and footpath put back below the council's spec for the material and the finish.
- Levels. A crossover that doesn't tie in cleanly to the kerb and the footpath, or leaves a lip a pram or a wheelchair has to climb.
03 — What we do
Told straight, before you spend anything.
- Tell you at the site visit whether the crossover actually needs replacing, or whether it will pass as it is.
- Tell you which permits your job needs — vehicle crossing, asset protection, or both — and handle the paperwork.
- Build the crossover, kerb and footpath reinstatement to your council's requirements, not to a generic detail.
- Quote the crossover and the driveway together, so you can decide whether to do both in one go or stage them.
- Work to the dates you're actually up against, because the bond has an inspection at the end of it.
04 — Recent work
Crossovers, footpaths and the driveways that meet them.
05 — Crossover questions
The bits councils don't explain well.
How much is the bond, and how much will I get back?
It varies by council and by the value of the building works, so we won't quote you a number we haven't checked against your council's current fee schedule. What we can tell you at the site visit is what condition your crossover is in, what the council will be looking for, and what it will take to get it signed off.
Does my crossover actually need replacing?
Sometimes not. Minor surface marking often passes; structural cracking, broken edges and a crossover that has dropped away from the kerb generally don't. We'd rather look at it and tell you it's fine than sell you a job you didn't need — you're going to be talking to your neighbours about who you used either way.
Who applies for the permit — you or me?
Either. Most people would rather not deal with it, so we handle the application and the council liaison. If you've already lodged it, that's fine too — tell us at the quote and we'll work to what's approved.
How long does the whole thing take?
Two clocks run here: the council's, and the concrete's. Permits take as long as your council takes, and bond refunds are processed after the final inspection passes — often weeks after the work itself is done. The concreting is the short part. Start the permit early.
We've run out of money after the build. Can we stage it?
Yes, and it's a very common position to be in after twelve or eighteen months of building. The usual approach is the crossover and front driveway first — because that's the part with a deadline and a refund attached — then the wraparound or alfresco later, quoted at the same time so the price is locked and you're not re-shopping it.
06 — Get a quote
Free on-site quote for your crossover.
We'll look at the crossover, tell you whether it needs doing, and put a fixed price in writing. If your driveway is going in as well, we'll quote both on the same visit.
- Phone
- 04XX XXX XXX
- Based in
- Ringwood, Victoria
- Covering
- Melbourne's east & south-east
- Insured
- $20M public liability
- ABN
- 41 700 862 143
Got it — thanks.
We'll be in touch shortly to arrange a time to come and look at the job. If it's urgent, give us a call.