The short answer
A skip bag suits a small, light job you want to fill slowly: the bag costs little and there’s no hire period, but pick-up is priced separately, the weight limits are low (200 to 600 kg for 1 to 3 m³ at Aussie Skip Bags) and a crane truck has to reach it. A skip bin suits heavier or bigger jobs: mini skips start at 2 m³ with higher weight limits, and the price includes delivery, collection and a hire period. For soil, tiles or concrete, a skip is usually the better choice.
Skip bag and skip bin side by side
Skip bag or mini skip bin
| Skip bag | Mini skip bin | |
|---|---|---|
| Sizes | 1, 2 or 3 m³ (Aussie Skip Bags) | 2 or 3 m³, then 4 m³ and up |
| Weight limit | 200, 400 or 600 kg (Aussie Skip Bags) | 0.6 t for 2 m³ and 0.8 t for 3 m³, light mixed loads (Yarra Valley Skip Bins) |
| What you pay | The bag, then a separate pick-up priced by postcode | One price for delivery, collection and the hire period |
| How long | No time limit | A hire period, often 3 days, with extra days charged |
| Collection | Crane truck; the bag within 5 m of the driveway or kerb, clear of trees and power lines | Skip truck; room on the driveway and clear overhead |
| Heavy waste | Soil, rubble or tiles only to a line about 20 cm up the bag | Single-material skips priced for soil, concrete or bricks |
Each figure is from the business named: Aussie Skip Bags’ own site, checked 22 October 2026; Yarra Valley Skip Bins’ published limits and standard 3-day hire, checked 1 October 2026. Other providers set their own sizes, limits and terms.
What a skip bag costs
You pay twice: once for the bag, and again when it’s collected. Aussie Skip Bags, which collects across Greater Melbourne including the eastern suburbs, sells its Joey (1 m³), Flyer (2 m³) and Boomer (3 m³) bags for $34, $40 and $44 plus postage, and Bunnings sells them in selected stores. The pick-up price depends on your postcode and shows only when you enter it, so check it before you fill the bag.
Some providers include the bag and charge only for collection. Blue Croc Rubbish, based in Mornington, publishes these collection prices for its Croc Bags; check that it collects from your postcode:
Croc Bag collection prices
| Bag | Published price | Who publishes it |
|---|---|---|
| General waste, 3 m³ (up to 600 kg) | $429.00 | Blue Croc Rubbish, Mornington |
| Garden waste, 3 m³ | $329.00 | Blue Croc Rubbish, Mornington |
| General waste, 1 m³, no soil, concrete, bricks or tiles | $249.00 | Blue Croc Rubbish, Mornington |
| General waste, 1 m³, with soil, concrete, bricks or tiles | $299.00 | Blue Croc Rubbish, Mornington |
| Soil, concrete, bricks or tiles only, 1 m³ | $249.00 | Blue Croc Rubbish, Mornington |
As published on Blue Croc Rubbish’s Croc Bags page, checked 22 October 2026; the bag itself is listed at $0.00. The page doesn’t say whether GST is included, and its terms say prices exclude GST unless stated. Mattresses cost an extra $50.
Mini skip prices for the same volume
A skip’s price covers delivery, collection and the hire period in one figure. For 2 and 3 m³, two skip companies in the east publish:
- Yarra Valley Skip Bins: 2 m³ $425 and 3 m³ $495, for a light mixed load up to 0.6 t and 0.8 t.
- ASAP Bin Hire: 2 m³ $290 and 3 m³ $390, for general waste.
Neither states whether GST is included. Compare a bag’s pick-up price for your postcode with these before you choose. Every size and price is on skip bin prices.
Skip bag weight limits and heavy waste
Aussie Skip Bags’ limits are low for the size: it allows 200 kg in its 1 m³ bag, 400 kg in 2 m³ and 600 kg in 3 m³, and warns that a cubic metre of soil, rocks, concrete, bricks or tiles “can weigh over 1000kg”, so heavy waste goes only to the line near the bottom of the bag. An overweight bag may not be collected, or may cost extra.
Light, bulky waste suits a bag: garden prunings, packaging, a broken chair. A bathroom of tiles, a garden bed of soil or a broken-up path is a job for a mini skip, which carries a heavy-load limit of 0.9 t at 2 m³ and 1.0 t at 3 m³ at Yarra Valley Skip Bins. See skip bin weight limits.
Where each can go, and permits
Both stay on your property. Aussie Skip Bags asks for the bag within 5 m of the driveway or kerb and clear of trees and overhead power lines, so its crane truck can reach it; Blue Croc says its bag must stay on your property, never on the footpath, nature strip or road. A skip sits on the driveway.
On your own property, a bag needs no council permit, and a skip generally doesn’t either: Whitehorse and Maroondah say so. A skip on the street does, and the skip company applies: see skip bin permits. Townhouses and steep blocks with no room for a skip, but room for a bag near the kerb, are where a bag earns its place.
What can’t go in a skip bag or a skip
The lists are close. Aussie Skip Bags refuses:
- Asbestos, chemicals, liquid waste, paint and oil cans
- Vehicle batteries, gas bottles and tyres
- Mattresses and e-waste
- Medical waste, silica dust and food
Skips have much the same rules, and mattresses and tyres cost extra where they’re taken. See what can go in a skip bin.
Common questions
Is a skip bag cheaper than a skip bin?
The bag is cheap, $34 to $44 plus postage at Aussie Skip Bags, but the pick-up is priced separately by postcode. Blue Croc Rubbish (Mornington), if it collects from your postcode, charges $249.00 to collect a 1 m³ Croc Bag and $429.00 for a 3 m³ general waste bag. Mini skips in the east are published from $290 for 2 m³ of general waste (ASAP Bin Hire). Neither page says whether GST is included, so compare the full price for your postcode.
How much can you put in a skip bag?
Aussie Skip Bags’ limits are 200 kg for its 1 m³ bag, 400 kg for 2 m³ and 600 kg for 3 m³. Heavy waste like soil, concrete or tiles goes only to the line about 20 cm up the bag.
How long can I keep a skip bag?
Aussie Skip Bags has no time limit and no daily charges. Blue Croc says there’s no time limit either, but that a bag shouldn’t be left out in the weather for more than six months. A skip comes with a hire period, often 3 days, and extra days cost more.
Do I need a council permit for a skip bag?
Not on your own property, and the providers require the bag to stay on it. Blue Croc says a bag must never be left on the footpath, nature strip or road. A skip on your driveway generally doesn’t need one either (Whitehorse and Maroondah say so); a skip on the road does.
Can I put soil or concrete in a skip bag?
Only a little. Aussie Skip Bags says a cubic metre of soil, rocks, concrete, bricks or tiles can weigh over 1,000 kg, and asks for heavy waste to go no higher than the line about 20 cm up the bag. For more than that, a mini skip priced for soil or concrete is the better fit.
Where this information comes from
The rules and prices on this page come from these published pages, checked on 22 October 2026.
- Aussie Skip Bags · Skip bag business; bag sizes, weight limits and bag prices, pick-up priced by postcode
- Aussie Skip Bags: FAQs · Skip bag provider’s terms: what’s allowed, weight, placement, no time limit
- Aussie Skip Bags: Melbourne · Skip bag provider’s Melbourne coverage, including the eastern suburbs
- Blue Croc Rubbish: Croc Bags · Skip bag provider, Mornington: collection prices, sizes, limits and placement
- Blue Croc Rubbish: terms and conditions of trade · Provider’s terms, July 2026
- Yarra Valley Skip Bins: skip bin hire prices · Skip hire business, Dixons Creek (Yarra Ranges); price table by size, waste and weight limit, no visible date, GST not stated
- ASAP Bin Hire: Bayswater skip bins · Skip hire business, Kilsyth; main “Our skip bins” table (the page also shows a second, different price guide), GST not stated
- Whitehorse City Council: skip bins and shipping containers · Council permit rules and fees, 2026–27
- Maroondah City Council: skip bins, bulk waste and shipping containers · Council permit rules; fees from Maroondah’s 2026/27 fees and charges