Graffiti

Management of Graffiti

The Town manages graffiti through a multi-strategy approach:

• Proactively reporting graffiti
• Ensuring rapid removal of graffiti from Town of East Fremantle facilities
• Providing information and support for graffiti prevention and removal
• Encouraging graffiti deterrents to residents
• Promoting community awareness, ownership and responsibility
• Working directly with Police to ensure a coordinated approach to identifying and catching graffiti vandals.

Graffiti Removal

Graffiti removal from Town of East Fremantle owned property and assets

The Town removes graffiti from its own property and assets, including:

• Town-owned property
• Parks, park furniture and playground equipment
• Public open space
• Public access ways
• Town of East Fremantle signage
• Rubbish bins
• Bus shelters

Graffiti removal from private property

Graffiti removal from private residential and/or private commercial property is the responsibility of the property owner and/or manager.

Visit the State Graffiti Taskforce to access information on graffiti removal for Private Property Owners. 

Please contact the Town if you require assistance or further information.

In the event that graffiti is present on private property and the property owner and/or manager does not cooperate in its removal, the Town may issue a notice requesting removal as per the Graffiti Vandalism Act 2016.

Division 2 — Notices 18.

Notice requiring removal of graffiti

(1) This section applies to graffiti that is —

(a) applied to property with the consent of the owner or occupier; and

(b) visible from a public place; and

(c) considered by the local government to be unsightly or offensive.

(2) A local government may give a notice in writing to a person who is the owner of property or the occupier of a place on which graffiti described in subsection (1) is applied, requiring the person to ensure that the graffiti is obliterated in a manner acceptable to the local government within a time set out in the notice.

Notices 19.

(3) If the person who is given the notice (the notice recipient) fails to comply with it for any reason, the local government may do anything that it considers necessary to obliterate the graffiti in a manner acceptable to the local government. (4) The local government may recover the reasonable cost of anything it does under subsection (3) as a debt due from the person who failed to comply with the notice.

 Download the Graffiti Vandalism Act 2016 

Graffiti prevention and deterrents

Here are some ways in which you can deter graffiti:

• Use anti-graffiti coatings
• Consider different styles of fencing
• Install shrubs and creepers rather than fences
• Rapid removal of graffiti has shown to deter repeat

For more information on graffiti, prevention and removal Visit the State Graffiti Taskforce

Graffiti Vandalism Act

The Town of East Fremantle recently endorsed a recommendation to approve delegate authority to enter private property to remove graffiti, even if it has been applied with the consent of the property owner.

The Graffiti Vandalism Act 2016 (Act) came into effect on 7 October 2016. The Act consolidates powers assigned to Police, Transit Officers and local governments that were previously contained in a number of pieces of legislation into a single Act to deal with graffiti offences.

For local governments, the Act provides additional powers to enter on to private property to remove graffiti that has been applied with the consent of the property owner but is visible from a public place and is considered unsightly or offensive.

Prior to exercising these powers, a local government is required to give notice to the owner or occupier of a property requiring the graffiti to be removed. Where the person to whom a notice has been issued fails to comply with the notice they commit an offence. A local government can then give effect to the notice and recover its cost of doing so from the person to whom the notice was issued.

It is important to note that a person to whom a notice is issued is able to object to the notice being issued by lodging an objection with the Chief Executive Officer or alternatively, may seek a review of the Town’s decision to issue a notice by the State Administrative Tribunal.

When issuing a notice under the Act the Town must advise the person to whom it is issued of their right to object to the notice.

Download the objection form

When the owner or occupier of a property objects to the Town entering the property to remove graffiti, the Town may obtain a warrant to enter the property and undertake this work.