Newer apartments are built tight. Plenty come with a linen press, a couple of wardrobes and not much else. If your building didn't include storage cages, or the cages were all taken years ago, everything you own has to live inside the apartment or in your car.
The trouble usually isn't the everyday stuff. It's the gear you use a few times a year: the tent, the esky, the golf bag, the Christmas decorations, the pram you're not ready to give away. It's bulky, it's often dirty, and it ends up in the spare room, the hallway or the boot.
Before moving anything out, get the inside of the apartment working harder. These make the biggest difference:
If you'd rather hand the job over, you can find home storage designers and professional organisers across Australia on Houzz.
Once the inside is sorted, what's left is the stuff that genuinely doesn't belong in a small apartment. That's where the car park comes in.
A simple rule: if you use it less than once a week, it's bulky, or it comes home dirty, it's a candidate for the car park. For most people that means:
Keep valuables, important documents and anything that doesn't cope with heat inside the apartment.
Your parking bay is often the biggest unused space you have. There are four realistic ways to use it.
A storage cage. If your building has cages and one is free, it's the simplest option. Many newer buildings don't have them, or have a waiting list.
Shelving or hooks on the car park wall. Cheap, but car park walls are usually common property, and drilling into them normally needs body corporate approval. That's a big part of why freestanding options are easier to get signed off. This Australian real estate coverage of freestanding systems and by-law constraints is worth a read if you're weighing it up.
Off-site self-storage. Plenty of room, but you pay every month and drive across town every time you need something.
An over-bonnet storage unit. A lockable steel unit that stands on its own legs over the front of your car, using the space above the bonnet that's otherwise empty. You keep your full parking bay, and your gear stays in your own building.
This is the question we're asked most. The Kookaburra is 2.35m long and 1.0m deep, and its legs adjust so it stands anywhere from 2.05m to 2.35m tall. It holds 2.3m³, roughly the volume of a three-seater couch or a double-door fridge, and is rated to 500kg.
To fit, your bay needs:
Our car park ceiling height guide walks through measuring properly. The quickest route is the online compatibility check. If you don't have measurements handy, we can check compatibility from a photo, and if you're close to the minimum our team can verify measurements on-site. Fit is confirmed before you order.
In most apartment and townhouse buildings, yes. Check your by-laws and speak to your strata manager before you order.
Being freestanding helps a lot. The Kookaburra needs no drilling into walls, ceilings or the slab, and it comes out without leaving marks. When you apply, your strata manager will usually want:
Your building may also ask about access, sprinklers and other services. We provide an approval request form to support your application, and our body corporate approval guide covers what to expect.
Renting suits tenants and anyone unsure how long they'll stay. There are two plans: $25 a week on a 12-month minimum term with a one-off $149 delivery and installation fee, or $29 a week on a 6-month term with a one-off $199 fee. The weekly rate you start on is the rate you keep, and at the end of your term you can keep it or give 14 days' notice and we'll collect it. See the rental plans.
Buying suits owners and long-term residents. The unit is $1,749, with delivery and installation quoted separately for your location. A bought unit comes with a 5-year structural warranty and Lifetime Parts Cover on the original lock mechanism and gas struts, and Afterpay and Zip are available. If you move, it comes with you.
Either way, installation takes about two hours. On the day, clear your bay and make sure our team can get through the gate or into the building.
The Kookaburra holds 2.3m³, about the same as a three-seater couch or a double-door fridge. Customers use it for camping gear, golf clubs, surfboards, tools, prams, archive boxes and seasonal items.
It suits many sedans, hatchbacks, SUVs, 4WDs and utes, but it depends on your ceiling height and your bonnet height. You need at least 2.1m of clearance to the lowest point overhead. The online compatibility check confirms fit before you order.
No. The Kookaburra is freestanding on adjustable legs, so there's no drilling, anchoring or permanent change to the building.
Yes. It comes out without damage or marks and moves with you to your next bay or building. If you rent, we collect it when your term ends.
Each unit has a three-point locking system and closed steel panels to help deter unauthorised access. As with any storage, security also depends on how it's locked and the car park around it.