Election signs

Requests for election signs on private property:

• must be lodged and approved by Brisbane City Council
• are free of charge  

To display election signs you must:

• have Council approval
• place signs only on private property that is not in public places such as roads, footpaths, telegraph poles, parks and easements

Registration of signs on private property

Prior to an election sign being displayed on private property, the proposed location of the sign must be registered with Council.

To register an election sign, an Election sign application (PDF - 35kb) must be completed.

A Register of private property election signs (Excel - 40kb) must be also completed. 

You should then email the register and application to Council for approval.

Approval process 

Applications will be processed and an approval reference number will be returned to the applicant. The register of private property election signs spreadsheet will also be supplied with the recognised and approved lists of registered sites.

It is the responsibility of every candidate to maintain, update and forward the spreadsheet to Council each time there are changes to the registered sites and number of signs.

The list cannot contain more sites than the number of signs permitted in that type of election, that is whether for Local, State or Commonwealth Government.

If the candidate would like to change the approved list of registered sites and numbers of signs, an updated document needs to be sent via email. Council will then register the updated list and return it to the candidate and it will become the new approved list.

Display rules for private property

An election sign may be displayed on private property:

• no earlier than four weeks before the day of an election
• no later than seven days after the day of an election

Election signs cannot be displayed on a road or public place.

Each candidate in the election is permitted to have a maximum number of signs on private property:

• local elections - maximum of 50 signs
• state elections - maximum of 50 signs
• commonwealth elections - maximum of 150 signs
• Lord Mayor elections - maximum of 500 signs within the city

A double-sided election sign on private property is counted as one sign.

The maximum size of each election sign on private property is 0.6 square metres.

Mobile election signs

The guidelines for election signs on motor vehicles, including signs towed at the back of a car or truck, are:

• not covered under the above election sign policy
• subject to the normal motor vehicle sign approval process
• not free

Mobile motor vehicle signs are sometimes used by candidates and political parties for election purposes. All such advertisements must go through the advertising signs approval process with Council. These are subject to application and licence fees and there are restrictions in their use.

Mobile election sign dimensions

The allowable dimensions of a mobile election sign are a maximum:

• length of 3.5 metres
• height of 2 metres
• area of 7 square metres

Mobile election sign restrictions

A mobile election sign becomes unlawful if it is:

• parked on a road for more than five minutes
• left unattended in a public place

The provisions for mobile election signs do not apply to messaging incorporated onto the body panels of a vehicle.

For more information read pages 40 to 43 from the:

Advertisement Subordinates Local Law 2005 schedule 2 to 8 (PDF - 482kb)

Council election sign complaints

To lodge a complaint, phone Council on 07 3403 8888.