Graffiti issues

Every week, we proactively inspect and remove graffiti on Council land to ensure that all public areas in the City of Stonnington can be enjoyed by all. 

If you notice graffiti in parks, public parking areas or other Council lands in Stonnington, you can report it, and we will organise removal.

Graffiti is a form of vandalism. We encourage you to call 000 and report perpetrators and any vandalism to the police if you see it in progress.

We will also report repeat offenders to the police. 

What is graffiti?

Graffiti refers to the defacing, damaging, tagging, writing, or drawing of symbols or images onto any surface, typically with paint. This is done without the Council's or property owner's permission. 

Graffiti is different to street art. Street art is for the benefit of the surrounding community where the artist has obtained the Council's or property owner's permission. 

What we remove

You can report graffiti that is on: 

  • poles and walls in public areas 
  • park benches, playgrounds and other park equipment 
  • your home or property, provided it is seen from council areas and less than 2 metres high 
  • some utility assets, power poles, and bridge overpasses and underpasses, where safe to do so. 

To help us with reporting, please include photos and the exact address of the graffiti. This helps us identify and locate which piece of graffiti you are referring to.

What we do not remove

We cannot remove graffiti that is not in or visible from Council areas or graffiti that falls within one of the below categories:

  • inaccessible, or over 2 metres high
  • on public transport, such as trains, or other transport areas, bus shelters
  • telephone boxes
  • sections of laneways more than 3 metres back from a main street
  • inside private buildings
  • on building sites
  • in abandoned or derelict buildings.

What you can do

If we cannot remove the graffiti, we encourage you to:

  • pick up one of our graffiti removal kits from our service centres during business hours
  • report the graffiti to the organisation that manages the specific piece of infrastructure:
    • train or train station: contact Metro Trains on 1800 900 007
    • telephone boxes or poles: contact Telstra on 13 22 00
    • bus shelters - contact Ooh! Media 1300 791 989
    • tram shelters - contact PTV 1800 800 007

What's in a graffiti removal kit

Removal kits include safety equipment, 500ml graffiti remover and a cloth.

Call 000 if you see vandalism in progress

We encourage you to call 000 and report vandalism to the police if you see it in progress.

We will also report repeat offenders to the police.

Take photos and document the exact address

Photos and exact location help us identify and locate which piece of graffiti you are referring to.

Report the issue to us

We encourage you to report the graffiti to us.

The form allows you to upload photos and specific descriptions of the graffiti, which help us to identify the specific piece of graffiti.

Request graffiti removal

Alternatively, you can report graffiti to us via phone on our Graffiti Hotline on 1800 067 072.

If possible, we will remove the graffiti

Once reported and if we can, we will remove the graffiti within 2 days if vulgar or offensive. Otherwise, within three weeks.

We may contact you for more information on the graffiti's specific location if we cannot find it in the description or photos provided.

If we cannot remove the graffiti, we will contact you via phone or email and advise you of your options for removing the graffiti.

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