City of Newcastle aim to minimise incidents of graffiti vandalism on our properties including:
- City of Newcastle buildings
- Park and playground equipment and facilities
- Bus shelters
- Street signs.
To report illegal graffiti on City of Newcastle property, please complete this form.
Please note, we are not responsible for removing graffiti on private property nor on public buildings or structures we don’t own including:
- NBN Infrastructure – army green nodes or street cabinets.
- Ausgrid assets - any graffiti located on a ie substation kiosks on footpaths, power poles, substations etc the customer needs to contact Ausgrid directly.
- Hunter Water assets such as canals and open waterways.
- Transport for NSW assets such as buses, ferries, rail, signage on bus stops traffic lights and signals, and wharves.
We carry out monitoring and regular surveillance of areas with vacant/derelict buildings. You can report vacant buildings by completing a Customer Request Form.
Under the Local Government Act, we can serve an order on the owner or occupier of a building / premises if it is not in a safe or healthy condition. The order requires the owner / occupier take action to ensure land / premises are returned to or kept in a safe or healthy condition.
We can also order owners to build structures to protect persons or property on / in public places if a derelict building is dangerous and in the immediate vicinity of a public place.
If the owner fails to carry out the actions required in an order, we can:
- Issue a Penalty Infringement Notice
- Take legal action in the Local Court
- Take legal action in the Land & Environment Court
- Carry out the actions required in the order and seek to recover the costs from the owner.
A vehicle is classified as being abandoned when the vehicle is parked on a public street and the owner of the vehicle cannot be identified.
We can impound and remove abandoned vehicles. Enquiries would be made to identify the owners of the abandoned vehicle and contact them prior to the removal of the vehicle.
If a vehicle has been burnt out and is on a public street, we will let police complete any relevant investigations. We can then proceed to impound the vehicle if it is not removed.
Where vehicles are causing a danger, we may remove the vehicle immediately.
The owner of the vehicle is liable for any costs incurred in the removal and storage of the vehicle as well as any related penalty notices.
If we tow a vehicle, it will be taken to our contracting agents holding yard. We will attempt to advise the owner that the vehicle has been towed and where it is located. If the owner does not claim the vehicle, it will be disposed of by public auction or destruction, dependent on the condition and value of the impounded vehicle.
Structures or devices including vehicles caravans or trailers displaying advertising material on public or private land is considered development activity. It is an offence to carry out development other than in accordance with a development consent. Penalties can be up to $1,100,000.
We regularly conduct patrols and may initiate legal proceedings for any detected breaches including the issuing of $3000 penalty infringement notices in accordance with The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. Enforcement action is often taken after a caution has been issued and time for compliance has been provided, however, where there are risks to public safety or significant impact on the public or the environment, legal proceedings may be commenced without warning.
Section 7.09 of the Newcastle Development Control Plan 2012 outlines requirements for the design of advertising signs and structures, including signage for home occupations as well as business in commercial and industrial areas.
To report unauthorised signs contact our Customer Service team.
We do not issue approvals for busking however if you would like to busk in the Newcastle local government area, please note that we will act on any complaints regarding offensive noise and footway obstructions.
Noise
We can regulate offensive noise in accordance with the provisions of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997. Offensive noise means that, by reason of its level, nature, character or quality, or the time at which it is made, or any other circumstances:
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Is harmful to (or is likely to be harmful to) a person who is outside the premises from which it is emitted
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Interferes unreasonably with (or is likely to interfere unreasonably with) the comfort or repose of a person who is outside the premises from which it is emitted
Footway Obstructions
We can regulate footway obstructions in accordance with the provisions of the Roads (General) Regulation 2000. A person must not place on a road anything that is likely to injure any person or damage any vehicle, or anything that is likely to restrict or endanger the use of a road by the public or interfere with public convenience.
For more information on the types of pollution that exist and what Council investigates visit Environmental Health.
Make a report
If you are concerned about your health, have witnessed instances of illegal behaviour that damages the environment or noticed changes to the environment around you due to pollution this should be reported.