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Delivery, transport and craneage — what happens on install day

From Modular Living Australia — the independent knowledge base Last updated: 8 Oct 2026

A finished module that exceeds standard dimension or mass limits travels as a Class 1 oversize overmass load under the Heavy Vehicle National Law, and in Victoria a permit application should be lodged at least 15 business days before the move.^[2][3] Crane hire is put at about A$260–A$1,530 per hour with four- to ten-hour minimums, and remote or complex lifts can push delivery-day totals to about A$23,000–A$30,600; these are builder-published commercial guidance, not independent survey data.^[1]

A modular home is finished in a factory and then has to be driven to your land and lifted into place. Those two sentences hide the single biggest practical constraint in the whole method: a finished module is a large, heavy object that cannot be taken apart, and Australian roads have rules about objects like that.

Install day is also the point at which a schedule stops being flexible. The factory build has a window of roughly 8–14 weeks;^[5] delivery has a date. Understanding what has to be true on that date — and what it costs if it isn't — is worth more than any other piece of preparation.

Why module size is decided by the road, not the design §

Anything that fits inside standard road limits can travel without special arrangements. Published guidance puts those limits at about 4.3 m in height, 2.5 m in width and roughly 9 m in length.^[4] Very few habitable modules fit inside them, which is why the standard method for moving a module is a permit.

Under the Heavy Vehicle National Law, a load that exceeds prescribed mass or dimension requirements and consists of a large indivisible item — one that cannot be divided without extreme effort, expense or risk of damage — is carried by a Class 1 oversize overmass vehicle, typically a prime mover with an extendable trailer or a low loader.^[2] A finished module is the textbook example.

The practical effect on design is direct: module width drives the permit category, the escort requirements, the route options and the price. A design that is 200 mm wider may cost meaningfully more to deliver, or may not be deliverable to a particular address at all. Ask early — not after the plans are signed.

Permits and lead times §

Permit applications for access to state and local council roads are submitted through the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.^[2] States apply their own conditions on top. Victoria, for example, advises allowing a minimum of 15 business days between lodging an over-dimensional load application and the planned move, and requires Class 1 applicants to reference their NHVR permit or the relevant Gazette notice.^[3]

Conditions attach to the permit, not just the vehicle. An oversize load wider than 2.5 m or longer than 25 m must carry four warning flags of at least 450 mm by 450 mm, fixed at each side of the front and rear.^[6] Travel times, escort vehicles and route restrictions are set case by case.

There is a further layer that catches people out. Separate laws may address disruption to telecommunications, electricity, rail, gas, water or sewage services caused by a large or heavy vehicle, requiring third party approvals in addition to the road permit.^[6] In plain terms: if overhead power or telecommunications lines have to be lifted or de-energised for the module to pass, that is a separate arrangement with a separate cost and a separate lead time.

Western Australia and the Northern Territory administer heavy vehicle access differently from the states covered by the NHVR scheme; the specifics are not covered by the sources compiled here. Confirm the process locally.

The crane §

Published cost guidance puts crane hire at roughly A$260–$1,530 per hour with four to ten hour minimums, and notes that remote or complex lifts can push delivery-day totals to roughly A$23,000–$30,600.^[1] These are builder-published commercial figures rather than independent survey data, and the spread is wide because the variables are:

• Module weight — determines crane capacity, which determines machine class and cost.
• Reach — how far the crane must lift over obstacles to reach the footings. A crane that cannot park adjacent to the slab needs a longer boom and a bigger machine.
• Standing ground — the crane needs firm, level ground to set up on, and outrigger loads are substantial.
• Number of lifts — a multi-module home is several lifts, not one.
• Remoteness — travel time to the site is chargeable, and in remote areas there may be only one suitable machine within range.

The minimum-hours structure is the part worth reading twice. If the crane is booked for a four-hour minimum and the slab is not ready, or the permit escort is late, or the access is blocked, the meter still runs.

Site access — the checklist that decides feasibility §

Before anything else is priced, someone has to establish that a semi-trailer and a crane can physically reach the position where the building goes. The constraints are ordinary and unglamorous:

For rural and remote blocks this list is the whole project. See building on rural land.

What "delivery included" usually means §

Published guidance notes that transport and installation are sometimes included only within a set radius of the factory.^[1] That single sentence explains most delivery-cost disputes. A price advertised as including delivery may include it to a nominated distance, after which a per-kilometre rate applies; and it may cover the truck but not the crane, or the crane but not the standing time, or neither if the site turns out to be inaccessible.

Three questions settle it:

1. Delivery is included to what distance, measured from where, and what is the rate beyond it?
2. Does "installation" include the crane, the crew, the permits and the escorts — or only the placement itself?
3. Who carries the cost if the delivery is aborted or rescheduled, and for what reasons?

Get the answers in the inclusions and exclusions schedule, not in an email.

The week before §

1. Confirm the footings are complete, cured and signed off.
2. Confirm the permit is issued and the route is approved — allowing the lead time the state requires.^[3]
3. Confirm any third party approvals for overhead services are in place.^[6]
4. Arrange parking suspensions and notify neighbours.
5. Confirm crane access, standing ground and the booked hours.^[1]
6. Confirm who is on site to accept the building and record its condition on arrival.

Related guides §

• Site works and site costs — everything that has to be finished before the truck arrives.
• Gardens and outdoor space with a modular home — trees, decks and landscaping around the house.
• How long does a modular home take to build?
• Tiny house on wheels or fixed foundation — where road limits shape the dwelling itself.
• Glossary — oversize overmass, craneage, third party approvals.

References §