Return to normal view

Remove Graffiti

The 2003 'Graffiti and Disorder Conference' (convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology see right-hand menus for link) estimated the cost of graffiti clean-up across Australia was $300 million a year. Some of this cost is passed on to the community through higher service costs, insurance premiums and council rates.

The quick removal of graffiti is a key means of discouraging further attacks. Graffiti offenders want their graffiti seen, so removing it as soon as possible lessens the impact. If graffiti is not removed from a location, more graffiti tends to occur. 

It is also easier to remove graffiti when it is fresh. Paint hardens the longer it is on a surface and becomes more difficult to remove, even with chemical removers.

General graffiti removal advice emphasises the need for specialist information and extreme care with the use of chemicals and hazardous materials.

The Victorian Government is working with local councils and communities to address graffiti removal and build on successful graffiti clean-up initiatives which include:

• Graffiti Clean-up Community Grants program, which funds annual grant rounds for local councils to partner with community groups to deliver local removal solutions
• Community Correctional Services Graffiti Removal Program, which has offenders on community-based orders cleaning up graffiti in local communities
• the development of a strategy to manage the clean-up and removal of graffiti from state government buildings and other structures

• the coordination and support of local-level networking between councils and other graffiti stakeholders to encourage the sharing of information and development of innovative approaches to graffiti removal.

Provisions in the Graffiti Prevention Act 2007 aim to assist in the removal of graffiti on private property by providing common procedures for local councils to undertake removal activities.