City of Melbourne looks to ramp up graffiti eradication while improving safety

May 17, 2022

Environment / Safety /

The City of Melbourne has delivered a high-spending draft budget for 2022-23 which includes a record $33.6 million investment in eradicating illegal graffiti, making the city attractive and clean, and improving safety.

More than 96,000m2 of graffiti has been removed in the past year – a 57% increase on the previous 12 months.

In March alone, more than 10,000m2 of graffiti was scrubbed from the central city as part of the Clean Melbourne Graffiti Blitz. Since the start of the blitz, using information and footage supplied by the City of Melbourne, Victoria Police has arrested 20 people in relation to illegal tagging.

Building on this momentum, the Rapid Response Clean Team will be expanded to fast-track graffiti removal across the municipality with a further $1.4 million. The City is also doubling their investment in high pressure cleaning.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp advises “we’re investing in momentum and putting our best foot forward as visitors, students and office workers return to our great city, with a record $33.6 investment to make our city cleaner and safer.

“Every Melburnian takes great pride in their city – that’s why our teams are ramping up their work to clean footpaths, remove graffiti and litter, and make sure our community facilities are up to scratch.”

“We’re proud to lead the fight against illegal graffiti and tagging, but we can't do it alone. We need property owners to step up and clean their buildings and assets.”

“Cleaning the city is a challenge, and we need support from our community to ensure our streets are sparkling. Residents and visitors can report graffiti and litter digitally through the QR codes on City of Melbourne bins.”

To keep people safe and crack down on antisocial behaviour, $5.4 million will be invested into critical safety infrastructure and resources, including $2 million to improve city lighting in areas such as St Kilda Road and the Yarra River’s north bank.

A continued focus will be on upgrading the Safe City Camera fibre network and running the digital radio system to enhance city surveillance.

Homes Melbourne will accelerate its vital work to improve housing access and affordability across the municipality. The $20 million Make Room project will also see the conversion of a Council-owned building into safe and supported accommodation.

The draft Budget also includes more than $2 million to ensure rough sleepers have access to food, healthcare and other support services, in collaboration with the Salvation Army, Melbourne City Mission and Launch Housing.

An additional $1.4 million will enable Council to strengthen relationships with community members, and identify and act on the needs of each neighbourhood.

Council is investing $30.5 million to deliver essential waste collection services for residents and businesses. In the past year, 50,000 tonnes of waste and recycling has been collected, including more than 7,500 mattresses – the equivalent height of more than five Australia 108 towers.

The roll out of the popular food and organics waste collection service will continue, with a focus on high-rise apartments. More than 20,000 households can already access the service, which has diverted more than 2,500 tonnes of waste from landfill.

Health, Wellbeing and Belonging portfolio lead Councillor Dr Olivia Ball adds “we want to make Melbourne a safer place for workers, residents and visitors. That’s why we’re investing more than $5.4 million to deliver critical safety work and deter antisocial behaviour.”

“Melbourne is a caring city. We’re continuing to increase support for the most vulnerable members of our community, boosting access to affordable housing, and creating a sense of belonging.”

The draft Budget includes:

Record $28.2 million for city cleaning
Record $5.4 million to boost city safety
More than $30 million for waste collection
$2 million for homelessness support
$1.4 million for neighbourhood planning

Feedback on the draft Budget 2022–23 can be provided from 6pm Tuesday 17th May to midnight Tuesday 14th June.

After a special meeting of the Future Melbourne Committee to consider community feedback, the final Budget is expected to be adopted by councillors on Tuesday 28th June 2022.

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