It is illegal in Victoria to mark graffiti on property without the owner's consent. In Victoria, state and local governments deal with graffiti through prevention, removal and enforcement.
Reporting graffiti
Call 000 to report graffiti in progress.
If your property is marked by graffiti, report it to your local police station (External link)
If you have information on illegal graffiti offences, contact your local police station or call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. You can provide information to Crime Stoppers without giving your details.
Prevention
Graffiti prevention measures aim to reduce opportunities for offending and encourage ownership and observation of areas by the community as a means of discouraging vandalism.
Reducing the opportunity for graffiti aims to deter graffiti by analysing the ‘risks and rewards’ of graffiti to the offender. By maximising the risks to offenders and minimising the rewards, it is possible to discourage offenders from damaging a particular area.
Graffiti prevention measures councils and communities may consider include:
- education and diversionary programs to help raise people’s awareness of the impacts of illegal graffiti and the legal and other consequences of engaging in graffiti vandalism
- support for community groups interested in addressing graffiti, including adopt-a-space and care-for-an-area projects
- planting trees or other vegetation to make graffiti-prone walls more difficult to access and less attractive to offenders
- applying anti-graffiti coatings to make removal easier and walls less appealing to offenders
- creating legal community art programs or initiatives, including installing community murals to deter offenders and improve streetscapes.
Individual communities are in the best position to determine which prevention measures are most suitable to their particular problem. The success of graffiti prevention measures depends on the extent of the graffiti problem as well as the suitability of the solution.
Removal
Quick removal tends to discourage further attacks. Graffiti is also usually easier to remove soon after it is marked. The remove graffiti page provides further information on available resources to help you remove graffiti.
Enforcement
The Victorian Graffiti Prevention Act 2007 (External link) creates a range of graffiti-related offences, gives police powers to investigate suspected graffiti offences and gives councils powers to remove graffiti from private property.
