The short answer: a keyed removable security bollard, supplied and installed, usually lands in the low hundreds of dollars per bollard in Melbourne. A DIY post from a hardware store can be under $100 to buy. Crash-rated and automatic bollards are a different category and run much higher.
The rest of this guide explains where those numbers come from, what pushes a quote up or down, and how to compare two quotes that look nothing alike.
Bollard prices at a glance
Prices below are what we could see listed publicly in early November 2026, plus our own installed pricing. Retail prices change, so treat them as a guide.
| Type | What you get | Typical price |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware store removable or fold-down post | Product only. Padlock often not included. You install it. | Around $70 to $110 each |
| Specialist removable lockable bollard, supply only | Heavier steel or stainless post with an in-ground sleeve. You or your concreter install it. | Around $200 to $360 each |
| Keyed removable security bollard, supplied and installed | Bollard, sleeve, unique lock, core drilling and setting, flush cap. | Usually the low hundreds per bollard |
| Crash-rated or automatic (retractable, hydraulic) | Engineered to a tested impact rating, or powered to rise and lower. | Quoted per project, well beyond a security bollard |
The hardware and supply-only figures come from public listings, linked in the sources below. The installed figure is what most Key Bollards jobs come to. Your exact number depends on the things in the next section.
What changes the price of an installed bollard
Two driveways side by side can be quoted differently. These are the usual reasons.
- The surface. Plain concrete is the easiest: a clean core-drilled hole, sleeve set, done. Pavers, asphalt or a thin or cracked slab can need breaking out and a new footing first, which adds time and materials.
- How many bollards. Travel, setup and the drill rig cost the same whether we fit one bollard or four, so the price per bollard usually drops as the number goes up.
- Removable, fixed or fold-down. A removable bollard needs a sleeve and a lock. A fixed post is set permanently. Fold-down units are hinged at the base. Each is built and fitted differently.
- Keying. Every one of our locks is unique by default. Keying several bollards alike, so one key runs the whole site, is common for businesses and body corporates.
- Access and timing. Tight sites, basements, or work done before or after trading hours can change how the job is planned.
Why are bollards so expensive?
It is a fair question when a hardware store post costs less than a tank of fuel. The gap is mostly not the steel. It is what holds the steel in the ground and what stops someone lifting it out.
A removable bollard is only as strong as its sleeve. If the sleeve is shallow, loose or set in a crumbling edge, the post can be levered or driven out no matter how thick it is. Getting the sleeve plumb, at the right depth and properly anchored takes a core drill, the right bits for the surface, and time. That labour is the biggest part of an installed price.
The lock is the other part. A post held by a padlock is as secure as that padlock, and anyone who has bought the same model may have a key that fits. A bollard with its own unique lock, with no shared master key, is a different level of control. We wrote more about this in the cheap bollard is the expensive one.
Supply only vs supplied and installed
Buying supply only and getting a concreter to fit it can look cheaper on paper. Before you go that way, ask:
- Who core-drills the hole, and do they have the right bit size for the sleeve?
- How deep does the sleeve go, and what is it set in?
- Who stands behind it if the sleeve moves or the lock fails?
If the answers are vague, the saving is often smaller than it looks once the second trade's call-out fee is added. If you are comparing a hardware store post with an installed one, our Bunnings vs installed bollards guide goes through the differences in detail.
Crash-rated and automatic bollards
If a quote is in the thousands per bollard, it is usually for one of two things. Crash-rated bollards are engineered and tested to stop a vehicle of a given weight at a given speed, and are used for things like hostile vehicle protection in public spaces. Automatic bollards (retractable or hydraulic) rise and lower on a remote or access system, and need power, drainage and servicing.
Both have their place. Our bollards are security bollards: Australian made steel, keyed, and built to stop cars being driven on or off a property. They are not crash-rated, and we will tell you if your site needs something that is.
How to get an accurate price
A useful quote should be fixed, should say what is included (bollard, sleeve, lock, drilling, cap, cleanup), and should be based on your actual surface. Photos of the area and a rough idea of how many bollards you need are enough for a starting point. A site visit confirms it.