Yarra City Council adopts a proactive framework for illegal graffiti management in Yarra
13 February 2025
Project Background
Similarly to many locations in the inner city, illegal graffiti is a serious and complex problem in Yarra.
As part on an ongoing conversation with community, we looked at ways we can best work together to tackle illegal graffiti. This work has been laid out within our Graffiti Management Framework.
Our last Graffiti Management Framework was endorsed in 2019, and we have had a chance to review the document and our approach to illegal graffiti management.
The new Framework builds on our existing objectives and aims to provide more transparent and equitable approaches to graffiti management in Yarra. The draft was informed through detailed benchmarking, as well as community feedback received through the development of existing documents like the Councill Plan, Community Vision and Financial Sustainability Strategy.
From Monday 3 June to Monday 1 July 2024, we asked the community to share whether they thought we needed to add anything further to the draft Graffiti Management Framework before it was considered for adoption by Council.
What did we ask?
Participants were offered the opportunity to review the draft graffiti framework and answer two open-ended questions:
- Have we missed anything in the draft graffiti framework that you think is important to include?
- Do you have any other comments about the draft graffiti framework?
Who did we hear from?
What feedback did we receive?
The following table summarises the key feedback themes in order of prevalence:
| Theme | Number of responses reflecting this theme |
| Law enforcement / harsher penalties Desire to see more action from law enforcement including police patrols and stricter penalties for offenders | 18 |
| Local Laws Call for Council to issue more notices compelling property owners to act on preventing/removing graffiti, including the introduction of cost recovery models for property owners that do not act. | 14 |
| General dislike for graffiti Comments expressing general concern that graffiti affects the amenity of Yarra’s neighbourhoods. | 13 |
| In favour of graffiti Comments that graffiti adds character and artistic merit to inner city suburbs and gives Yarra a vibrant culture and attracts tourists | 12 |
| Increase height limit Suggesting Council should increase the height limit (from 2 metres) to include second storeys. | 11 |
| Unsightly/abandoned properties Call for Council to take more action regarding maintenance and security of unsightly properties and suggestions to raise a vacant property levy. | 10 |
| Spray cans Suggestions for Council to ban the sale of spray cans or penalise retailers who sell cans to minors. | 8 |
| Retail strips Call for Council to take more action regarding graffiti in retail strips | 8 |
| Positive feedback General support for Council’s draft framework | 8 |
| Brunswick Street The area of Brunswick Street was specifically mentioned most out of all streets and suburbs in Yarra | 7 |
| Education Introduce educational campaigns to deter youth vandalism | 7 |
| Green walls Council should invest in green wall creation and/or promote green walls as an option for graffiti deterrence | 7 |
| Improve response times Graffiti removal should be more rapid than the timeframes outlined in the draft framework | 7 |
| Prevention General comments that Council should focus on prevention rather than removal. | 7 |
In addition to the common feedback themes, the following suggestions were received through the consultation:
- offer tailored and customised graffiti treatments
- install signage to deter vandalism in hotspots
- create QR codes to assist the public to report graffiti.
The following changes were made in response to the feedback we received during the consultation and internal reviews:
- Service levels have been significantly improved:
- Council will aim to remove offensive graffiti on Council assets or private property within 1 working day of it being reported. This is marked as “Priority 1” within the Framework.
- Council will aim to remove graffiti in hotspots such as activity centres within 5 working days of it being reported. This is marked as “Priority 2” within the Framework and is four times as fast as the response time in the previous version (20 working days).
- Council will aim to remove graffiti in all areas of Yarra within 10 working days of it being reported. This is marked as “Priority 3” within the Framework and is twice as fast as the response time in the previous version (20 working days).
- The response time for graffiti removal on Council buildings and assets will remain within 5 working days of it being reported.
- Council has made it easier for renters to request graffiti removal themselves. Previously, graffiti removal required a request from the owner of the property.
- Council contractors will paint over graffiti up to 3 metres from the ground. This has increased from 2 metres in the original draft.
- Additional hotspot signage will be installed and QR codes will be explored for ease of reporting
- The length of the framework has been extended to 2030.
What comes next?
The Graffiti Management Framework was adopted at the Council Meeting on Tuesday 11 February 2025. View the agenda and minutes of the meeting.
As part of the Framework’s adoption, Council will immediately begin a proactive and assertive campaign to notify property owners in retail precincts and key activities centres of the need to remove graffiti. The cleaning of graffiti can be done either by Council or by property owners themselves. This practice also removes the need to ask for permission or objection before removing graffiti in these key activity centres.
If you would like to request removal of illegal graffiti, visit Yarra City Council’s website.
Visit the project page.
To read more about this consultation please visit the "Managing Graffiti in Yarra" project page.
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