Driveway Crossovers in Sydney: Approvals, Widths and Who Can Build Them

What counts as the crossover

A crossover (also called a vehicle crossing, driveway crossing or footway crossing) has three parts: the layback, where the kerb dips so wheels can roll over it; the section across the nature strip and footpath; and the join at your boundary. On your side of the boundary you're building a driveway. On the road side you're building to council's standard drawings, on council's land.

How approval works

Each council runs its own process under its own name: a Vehicle Access Application in North Sydney, a Residential Vehicle Crossing Application in Bayside, a 'Vehicular Crossing Construction by Private Contractor' application in Canada Bay. The steps are similar everywhere:

1. Get the levels. Council issues the levels your driveway has to meet at the boundary. Sutherland Shire calls them Property Alignment Levels and says to allow 4 to 6 weeks. Northern Beaches asks you to apply for street levels before changing a driveway.
2. Apply for the crossing. The application goes in with plans and council's fee.
3. Use an approved contractor where required. Northern Beaches and Sutherland Shire only accept crossings built by contractors on their registers.
4. Book the inspections. Several councils inspect the formwork and mesh before the pour and again at the end. Bayside needs 24 hours' notice; Northern Beaches asks for 3 working days.
5. Build to council's standard. Thickness, mesh, concrete strength and finish follow council's specification, not the driveway's.

Repairs count. Canada Bay, for one, requires approval to repair or replace an existing crossover, and a development consent for a new house doesn't cover the crossing.

Width, trees, pits and corners

Where a crossing can go and how wide it can be varies more than most people expect. Across the councils we've checked, the patterns are:

• Width: a single crossing is typically 2.7m to 3.5m at the boundary. City of Sydney caps driveways at 2.7m and Ku-ring-gai crossings at 3.5m, while Georges River and Bayside allow up to 4.5m for a house.
• Street trees: most councils want the crossing about 2m clear of a street tree trunk, and very few will remove a healthy tree for a driveway.
• Pits and poles: commonly 1m clear of stormwater pits and power poles. Moving a pit is at the owner's cost.
• Corners: on a corner block, the driveway usually has to start at least 6m from the kerb tangent point.
• Number: one crossing per house in most areas. A second needs a wide frontage (15m in Cumberland, more than 18m in Ku-ring-gai, 20m in Camden) or a development application.

The crossing rules from four councils, each with the clause it comes from:

Our region pages list the rules for every council we cover: Inner Sydney, Eastern Suburbs, Inner West, North Shore, Northern Beaches, Western Sydney, Hills District, South Sydney, South West Sydney.

Finish and construction

The crossing is built to council's specification, which is usually heavier and plainer than the driveway. Campbelltown, for example, specifies at least 125mm of 25 MPa concrete with F62 mesh at 50mm cover and a broom finish. Most councils insist on plain concrete because that's what they'll use if they or a utility ever have to dig it up, which is why decorative driveways usually stop at the boundary.

Costs and timing

Council application and inspection fees are separate from the concrete work and differ between councils, so check your council's fees and charges. Our calculator and cost guide don't include them. Time is usually the bigger cost: between levels, approval and inspection bookings, allow several weeks, and start the paperwork before booking the driveway.

If the existing crossing is sound and in the right place, keeping it avoids the crossing approval altogether. The new driveway is built up to the boundary and joined to the old crossing with an isolation joint, though the work on your land may still need its own approval if it isn't exempt.