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Graffiti prevention    

Removing graffiti can be a time consuming and difficult job. By taking preventative action you can avoid some of the expense and effort of removing graffiti.

    Maintenance

    Keep your property clean and tidy, and free of rubbish, weeds and damage, to show that you care about your property and that vandalism will not be tolerated. Encourage your neighbours to maintain their properties so the whole neighbourhood appears neat and clean.

    Fencing

    Consider installing a metal cyclone fence, a fence constructed with natural materials (e.g. bamboo or bush reed), or bar fencing (e.g. pool or wrought iron fencing) that does not offer the flat continuous surface graffiti vandals prefer. Textured surfaces are difficult to spray paint and makes graffiti hard to read. Graffiti vandals are less likely to vandalise such surfaces as they won’t get the recognition they desire.

    Paint colour   

    Discourage graffiti vandals from vandalising your walls and fences by painting them with darker colours. Graffiti is less noticeable on darker coloured surfaces and is less likely to give the vandal the recognition they are looking for. Always keep extra paint on hand so graffiti vandalism can be covered-over quickly.

    Protective coatings

    For areas that are repeatedly vandalised, use graffiti resistant materials or protective coatings so graffiti can be easily removed.

    Vegetation

    Install trellis on blank walls and fences to create an uneven surface. Alternatively, plant thorny and/or climbing vegetation in front of walls and fences to deter graffiti vandals. Climbing plants will make the surface difficult to graffiti.

    Security

    Ensure your property has adequate security to prevent access by graffiti vandals. Restrict access to walls and other flat surfaces by installing locks, fences and gates. Secure items such as benches, barbecues and wheelie bins so they can’t be used to gain access to walls or rooftops.

    Lighting

    Graffiti vandalism is often conducted in areas that are poorly lit in order to reduce the risk of getting caught or reported. Consider motion-activated lights and request your local council install lighting in community areas that are often dark and vandalised with graffiti.

    Report

    Report instances of graffiti vandalism to the NSW Graffiti Hotline at the earliest opportunity.