Apartment complex security in Melbourne

A small block of 8 to 20 apartments replacing an intercom and adding common-area CCTV generally runs $12,000 to $30,000. A tower with lift control, multiple car park levels and a concierge position is quoted individually. Owners corporations get a line-by-line schedule so the committee can compare it properly and stage the work across budgets if it needs to.

Usually not. Two-wire and coaxial risers in older buildings can often carry a modern video intercom, which removes the single biggest cost in a retrofit. We test the existing riser before quoting rather than assuming, because that one measurement is the difference between a $15,000 job and a $60,000 one.

A video door station at the entry calls the apartment, and the resident can answer on a wall monitor, their phone, or both. Phone answering matters more than people expect — it is what stops deliveries being left in the lobby when nobody is home. See apartment intercom systems for the detail on handsets, door stations and retrofits.

Yes, and in a residential tower you should. Lift control limits each credential to the floors that resident is entitled to, and car park control puts the roller door and any storage cages on the same system. One fob, one audit trail, and one thing to cancel when someone moves out.

The building manager cancels it in the system in seconds and issues a new one. That is the whole argument for electronic access over keys: a lost key means rekeying the building, a lost fob means one click. We train the manager or committee member who will be doing it and leave written instructions behind.

Common property — lobbies, lifts, car parks, bin rooms, mail areas and entries. Not anywhere that captures inside a private lot or through a window. We document the camera positions and fields of view so the owners corporation has something concrete to show residents, which heads off most of the objections before they start.

In stages, with notice. Entry doors are never left unsecured overnight, the old intercom keeps working until the new one is commissioned, and works in lifts and car parks are booked with the building manager. Residents get written notice of anything that affects their access before the day it happens.

Yes. We supply a written scope, itemised pricing, product datasheets and a certificate of currency in a form a committee can put to a vote, and we are happy to attend a meeting to answer questions. Most of the delay in building work is approvals, not installation, so we prepare for it rather than waiting to be asked.