Report illegal bill posters

The material you see pasted or taped to telegraph poles, fences, hoardings and the sides of buildings is visually polluting, and often placed on public property illegally.

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What you need to do

Bill posting regulations

Displaying posters legally

There are 8 poster pillars around the city, offering a free and legal way to promote your event. The pillars operate on a first come, first served basis and all posters are removed every Tuesday, ready for a new selection.

We encourage people not to post over other posters unless they’re out-of-date or there’s more than one copy of the poster on view. The poster pillar locations are listed below.

Poster pillar locations

Community posters and public notices

Community posters and notices such as those used to promote school fetes, garage sales, markets, or missing animals are not considered bill posters. We allow these posters and notices to be displayed for 1 week in these areas before we remove them:

  • Newtown: King Street eastern side from Church to Union streets
  • Glebe: Glebe Point Road from St Johns to Toxteth roads
  • Broadway: Broadway northern side from Wattle to Harris streets
  • Darlington: City Road from Carillon Avenue to Cleveland Street
  • Surry Hills: Crown Street from William Street to Sir John Young Crescent.

Election posters

Election posters can be legally displayed for 14 days before Commonwealth, NSW parliament and local government elections.

All posters must be removed within 7 days after the election.

No campaign posters of any kind are to be displayed in the vicinity of the Sydney Cenotaph in Martin Place or the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park.

Fines and laws

Bill posting is an offence under law. Our rangers can issue on-the-spot fines to the person putting up the poster. Fines range from $330 for individuals to $400 for businesses. Police may also take action if they catch a person putting up posters.

Bill poster laws relate to commercial advertising. Signs posted by community members to advertise garage sales, find missing pets or to promote local fetes are not in breach of these laws.