Advertising and activities on road reserves

A road reserve is the public land beyond your property. It can include the road, footpath, nature strips, roadside, drains and kerb.

Any advertising and activities in road reserves must be safe, properly maintained and suitable for the area.

They must not disrupt:

• road users
• temporary roadworks or
• public utilities.

When you need a permit

For roads reserves managed by the NT Government, you must follow certain rules. This includes applying for a permit in most cases.

Before you apply for a permit, you must read the advertising and activities in NT Government road reserves guidelines PDF (6.0 MB)

The guidelines also explain how to apply for a permit and when permits are required.

When you don't need a permit

In some cases, you don’t need to apply for a permit to advertise or conduct activities.

You don’t need a permit from the NT Government if the road reserve is owned or controlled by:

• local government
• private individuals
• Aboriginal entities.

You may need another kind of permit or follow specific rules for:

• parking a vehicle for sale in an area designated as outlined in the guidelines
• placing a memorial on a road
• to host a road event e.g. one-off community events such as a parade
• working in a road reserve
• election signage - read the election signage policy on the Department of Logistics and Infrastructure (DLI) website
• real estate advertising
• displaying a banner near Fred’s Pass on Stuart Highway.

Before you apply for a permit

You must read the guidelines.

Depending on what you'd like to do, you must also meet the following requirements.

Advertise in road reserves

To advertise in a road reserve, you must meet the advertising criteria.

You must have a permit to work in the road reserve to access advertising signs.

For urban areas, advertising permits are limited to selected zones.

Refer to the guidelines for these locations or the interactive map in the online permit application.

Activities in road reserves

You must make sure that activities for the sale or exchange of goods or services are safe and the area remains tidy.

The following rules apply:

• you must have and maintain adequate public liability insurance
• activities must not cause a traffic hazard by:
  • distracting road users or
  • attempting to attract the attention of drivers other than approved static signage
• you are liable for any risk associated with activities within the road reserve
• motorists must be able to access and exit sites safely
• vehicles used must be registered and the registration maintained.

All activities must comply with the guidelines.

If you don’t follow the guidelines, your permit may be cancelled.

Fees and charges

The following fees and charges apply. All costs including signage and installation are your responsibility.

To continue advertising in road reserves, you must also pay renewal fees. If you don’t pay the fees, or follow the guidelines, the signage will be removed.

How to apply for a permit

To apply for a permit, follow these steps:

Step 1. Get supporting documents

If you're applying for a permit to:

• advertise in a road reserve, you must provide:
  • an image of the sign
  • your own engineered design of the sign and structure or use the relevant civil standard drawing (CS-3519, CS-3520 or CS-3521) from the Department of Logistics and Infrastructure website
• do activities in a road reserve, you must provide:
  • your business or charity information
  • your insurance – certificate of currency
  • an image of any vehicles or stalls
  • an image or details of any signs to be used.

If you are applying on behalf of someone else, you must also provide a completed owners authorisation form DOCX (130.4 KB).

Step 2. Submit application

Submit your application online.

By applying for a permit, you agree to accept and comply with:

• the requirements specified in the guidelines
• any other conditions stated in any permit granted to you.

Apply online

If you are granted a permit

Conditions will apply to the permit and each will be valid for a specified period of time.

To continue advertising or doing activities after your permit expires, you must renew it before it expires.

If you are advertising signage and materials, you must remain responsible for them.

This includes fixing any sign that needs maintenance. If you don’t, it will be removed.

Contact

For more information, contact:

Department of Logistics and Infrastructure
Level 3 Highway House
Palmerston NT 0830
road.reserves@nt.gov.au

Phone: 1300 011 151