Depending on where you live in Sydney, your business or your home could be a target for advertisers who want to promote their event. If you have a large fence that’s easy to attach posters to and you live on a main road, chances are you’ve had your fair share of posters plastered on your wall unlawfully.
If you are a business located at a busy intersection you’re also probably aware of the urban pollution problem caused by individuals and businesses putting up notices for live music venues and night club events.
Knowing when to take action
In some instances, while it’s irritating, it’s hardly the time to get out your video surveillance footage and take it to the council. If someone has lost their beloved pet, or kids are advertising a garage sale, it’s best to look past it and move on. If you catch the person in the act of posting on your property however, you have every right to politely tell them not to post on your premises again and to remove what is there.
In the case of someone still putting up posters after you’ve warned them, or you’ve noticed time after time new posters are going up, it’s time to take action.
Notice boards are the best option for businesses
For garage sale notices and missing pet posters a notice board is a great idea. If you are a business, you want to support your local community as much as possible so providing locals with a place to advertise for free is the ideal option.
Bill posters will be prosecuted
Putting up posters illegally can ensue large fines. Warning notices can start from $320 once the council has seized the posters and there are other fines that can range anywhere from $750 for individuals and up to $1500 for organisations.
Bill posting as it is referred to, is an illegal form of pollution under the NSW Protection of the Environment Operations Act.
Councils are able to issue fines directly to venues for advertising unlawfully and producing promotional posters that have been posted without permission.
Gathering evidence
Setting up security systems such as video cameras and cctv systems means that people know that you mean business and won’t tolerate vandalism to your private residence or commercial property. In many cases, if someone sees that they are under surveillance, they won’t put a poster up, because they know they can be fined. Once you have security systems installed and have also the correct signage to let people know about it, you may find the problem will go away all together.
Ask a surveillance specialist what is the best form of video equipment for your property and proceed from there. In the case that someone does put up a poster, you’ll have the HD video footage to prove who it is. Depending on the circumstances either the individual or the company they work for will be heavily fined.
