9 month old crate training advice

Trying to keep this post short because I tend to write essays every time I post lol, but I need help with crate training my 9 month old aussie. For background, I got him a week shy of 3 months old. I attempted to crate him overnight for bedtime but it was difficult because I live in an apartment and obviously can’t have him barking during the night so that went out the window by day 3. Since then he’s been allowed to be out in the living room only during the night with me on the couch. I know this situation isn’t ideal and I’ve had to compromise his training in some ways due to the apartment living (we do plenty of physical and mental enrichment activities don’t worry) but I’m ready for him to sleep in his crate overnight again. He goes into the crate willingly when he knows I’m about to leave for work/errands/etc. so he has no problem with the crate itself. I will say there are virtually never times where he’s crated when I’m home, so I have a hunch that that will be the first hurdle we encounter. Basically I’m looking for advice and training on how to keep him from barking in his crate and the best way to transition him from free roam to crated during the nighttime. I appreciate you guys!