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Victoria's Graffiti Management

In response to community concern about graffiti, the Victorian Government has developed a graffiti management strategy and introduced graffiti-specific legislation to address the issue of graffiti in Victorian neighbourhoods. The 2009-11 Graffiti Prevention and Removal Strategy builds on the previous two-year strategy that included the introduction of the Graffiti Prevention Act 2007 (the Act).  

The Graffiti Prevention Act 2007 (see Related Weblinks below) is the central component of the Victorian Government's 2009-11 Graffiti Prevention and Removal Strategy. The Act identifies the illegal marking of graffiti as a crime in its own right which attracts tough fines and prison time, gives police greater powers to search for and seize graffiti-related items and a provides a process for councils to remove graffiti from private property.

The Act was commenced in two stages:

• on 17 April 2008 all of the Act commenced except those provisions establishing the restriction on the sale of spray paint cans to minors
• on 30 June 2008 the restriction on the sale of spray paint cans to minors (ss. 10, 11(2) and 11(5)) commenced.

 Victoria's Graffiti Prevention and Removal Strategy aims to:

• prevent graffiti from recurring
• remove and clean-up existing graffiti
• enforce graffiti laws and use technology to help deter and detect graffiti offenders.

The strategy supports key priorities in Growing Victoria Together: A Vision for Victoria to 2010 and Beyond which aim to improve feelings of safety in the community, reduce fear of crime and support the building of friendly, confident and safe communities in Victoria.

The 2009–11 Graffiti Prevention and Removal Strategy has four main components besides ongoing support for the Graffiti Prevention Act:

• Community Correctional Services Graffiti Removal Program – The highly successful Community Correctional Services (CCS) Graffiti Removal Program puts offenders on community orders to work to clean-up graffiti.  In July 2009, the program reached a key milestone – the removal of 500,000 square metres of graffiti.
• Graffiti Clean-up Community Grants – The annual grants round funds local government/community partnership projects that provide communities with the opportunity to develop and deliver local responses to graffiti. These not only influence the neighbourhood’s visual amenity and perceptions of public safety, they help to engage and strengthen communities too.
• State Assets Graffiti Clean-up – This initiative aims to support state government departments graffiti clean-up from their assets with an emphasis on advice and up-to-date information about graffiti removal and safety issues.  Any direct graffiti removal from prioritised assets will use the CCS Graffiti Removal Program.
• Communication & Coordination – Information resources will continue to be distributed to increase public awareness of graffiti and the Graffiti Prevention Act 2007as well as the achievements of state and local government responses,  The Victorian Government will support council-led networks to promote local-level information sharing as well as partnerships that engage local community and business sectors in sustainable responses to graffiti.

Community concerns about graffiti

Graffiti is used to describe any form of writing, drawing, marking, scratching or otherwise defacing property by any means so that the defacement is not readily removable by wiping with a dry cloth. Some graffiti is legal (for example, a mural painted by street artists at the express invitation of a council), but mostly it involves markings applied to a surface without the property owner’s consent.

The State Government’s graffiti management strategy is concerned with illegal graffiti that is marked on property without the owner’s consent.

Community concerns about graffiti include:

• Cost of graffiti clean-up  The estimated cost of graffiti clean-up across Australia in 2003 was $300 million a year. The cost of graffiti is passed on to the community through higher service costs, insurance premiums and council rates.
• Community perceptions of safety  In the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2005 household survey on crime, 26 per cent of Victorians identified graffiti and vandalism as the third most important problem in their neighbourhood after dangerous driving and theft from homes.
• Community perceptions of social decline  In ‘broken windows theory’, graffiti in a neighbourhood signals that the authorities (such as police and local councils) and residents are not in control or concerned about the area. This encourages further criminal activity which leads to economic decline and social instability. A 2008 study by Keizer, Lindenberg and Steg (see Related Weblinks in the right-hand menus) showed that the broken window theory did hold true. In a no-litter, no-graffiti situation, 13 per cent of passers-by took a €5 note from a mailbox. When the area was litter-strewn and graffitied, thefts doubled to 27 per cent.  In another scenario, motorists were three times more likely (87 per cent) to trespass through an illegal shortcut when bicycles were illegally locked to the railings.
• Potential harm to graffiti offenders  Graffiti offenders are potentially exposed to noxious chemicals through their use of aerosol paint, especially if personal safety measures are not taken. The quest to mark graffiti on hard-to-reach locations, including moving trains, drains and the exteriors of buildings, exposes them to injury and even death.

 Disclaimer

This website is provided for general information only. The information provided on this website does not constitute legal advice. The State of Victoria does not represent or warrant that this website is accurate, authentic or complete. You should assess whether the information is accurate, authentic or complete and where appropriate, seek independent professional advice.