Automatic Gates Melbourne
An automatic gate is a gate with a motor, a control system and a set of safety devices, and each of those is a decision. The motor is sized to the weight and width of the leaf, with a margin for wind on a solid face. The power is mains where there is a supply near the driveway and solar with a battery where there is not. The safety devices are not optional, but they do have to be tuned to the gate they are on, which is where a cheap installation shows. This page is those decisions in the order we make them.
Motor, power, control, safety: the four parts of an automated gate
The motor comes first and it is sized, not chosen. A sliding gate motor is rated by the weight it can move; a swing motor by leaf length and weight, and a solid Colorbond leaf on an exposed site is rated up again for wind. Under-size the motor and the gate is slow, noisy and short-lived; the common brands, FAAC, LiftMaster and Nice, each make a residential range and a heavier one, and we specify which. Power is the next fact: a mains supply within reach of the gate post is the simplest, and where the driveway is a long way from the house a solar panel with a battery kit avoids trenching a cable. Control is a remote as standard, a keypad on the post, and a phone app if you want to open the gate for a delivery from work. Safety is the part people notice least and matters most: photo-electric beams across the opening, force limiting in the motor so the leaf reverses if it meets a person or a car, a manual release for a power cut, and a battery backup so the gate still opens and still fails safe in a blackout. Every one of those is fitted on every automated gate we install, and then tuned to that gate.
Which gate will your driveway actually take?
This page is automated only. Set the movement and material below and we will tell you which motor class your driveway needs, what to check for power, and the honest trade-off before the free site visit.
Sliding parks beside the opening and moves parallel to the ground, so it suits a sloping or windy driveway, as long as you have the side room.
Needs clear run-back room beside the opening to park the gate, roughly as much side space as the opening is wide.
Costs a little more than swing and needs a level track path, but it does not swing into the driveway and it handles slopes and wind far better.
Adds the motor and the AS 5889.1 safety devices, photo beams, force limiting, and a manual release, which we fit as standard, never as optional extras. This is the price step.
Light, rust-free, easy on a motor. Slat or infill styles suit most modern homes.
Measure the clear space beside your driveway (fence line, wall, or garden bed). If it is about as wide as the opening, sliding fits.
Confirm there is mains power near the gate, or ask us about a solar and battery kit for a driveway with no supply.
How the safety devices on an automated gate actually work
A gate that can move a person or a car has to stop before it does. AS 5889.1 sets out the devices; what separates a safe gate from a compliant-on-paper one is whether they were tuned to that gate on that site. Here is what each device does and how we set it.
Photo-electric beams, both directions
A transmitter and receiver either side of the opening, one pair for each direction of travel. Break the beam while the gate is moving and it stops or reverses. We align them at knee height so a child or a dog breaks them, and test with a broom handle before we leave.
Force limiting, tuned to the leaf
The motor measures the resistance it meets and reverses rather than pushing through. The threshold is set for the gate's own weight and the wind it will see, so it does not reverse in a gust or push through an obstruction. A motor left on factory settings is the most common fault we find on other people's gates.
Manual release, where you can reach it
A key or lever that disengages the motor so the leaf can be moved by hand. We fit it on the inside, show you how to use it, and leave the key on a hook by the door, not in a drawer.
Battery backup, sized for a blackout
A battery that runs the gate, and keeps the safety devices live, for at least 100 cycles without mains. A Melbourne summer outage is a few hours; a hundred cycles is a few days.
How an automated gate is built
Motors & safety
Structure & install
Warranty & assurance
Automatic gate installation process
1Site assessment
We measure width, slope, side room and power access to fix the right type and motor size.
2Quote & spec
Written quote naming motor brand, gate material, controls and every safety device.
3Gate fabrication
Leaves fabricated to order in your material and finish for a proper fit.
4Posts & track
Gate posts concreted, track or hinge system set, motor conduit laid.
5Motor & sign-off
Motor mounted and wired, beams, loops and intercom tested, first remote press.
Why choose us for automatic gates
Authorised distributors, not just installers.
Safety devices come with every automated gate, never as extras.
Photo beams, force limiting and a manual release on every powered gate, installed by our own authorised crews and handed over with the paperwork.
FAAC & LiftMaster authorised
Authorised installers, not third-party fitters running grey-market motors with no local backing.
Safety certified
Every automated gate installed per AS 5889.1 with certified photo beams, force limiting and manual release.
Smart integration
Systems support smartphone control, video-doorbell integration and home-automation compatibility.
Service any brand
We service and repair all gate brands, not just ours. Annual service contracts available.
Automatic gate questions
Straight answers on choosing a type, timing, retrofits and safety.
Ask us anythingBy the weight and width of the leaf, with a margin for wind if the face is solid. A sliding motor is rated by weight; a swing motor by leaf length and weight. We weigh the leaf we are quoting and name the motor model on the quote, because an under-sized motor is slow, loud and short-lived.
Ready for a straight gate quote?
Free site assessment · same-day quote · AS 5889.1 safety fitted as standard with a 2-year workmanship warranty.