Spruiking and touting

As part of the Street Activity Policy 2011, City of Melbourne regulates ‘spruiking’ conducted in the public place by retail businesses and their employees.

All businesses within the City of Melbourne that employ staff to spruik outside their premises must either hold a permit or only employ spruikers who have a permit. Amplified spruiking is banned unless exceptional circumstances apply and it has been approved.

What is spruiking?

Spruiking is using a human voice to generally promote goods or services to passing pedestrians on a street or in a public place. This is different to touting, which involves standing in front of a business and enticing or propositioning individuals to enter the premises and purchase goods. Touting is not permitted under the Activities Local Law 2009 anywhere within the City of Melbourne municipality.

For an overview of spruiking please download the following fact sheet:

Spruiking Fact Sheet (PDF, 97kb)

Spruiking Fact Sheet (text only, 16kb)

Spruiking Practice Guide 2011

The Spruiking Practice Guide provides information for spruikers in the City of Melbourne. Spruikers must abide by the permit conditions and the Spruiking Practice Guide 2011 which addresses issues such as the behaviour of the spruiker, interaction with the public and general conditions under which spruikers may operate.

It also outlines some simple guidelines to ensure that the City of Melbourne can best manage its city streets in the interests of all its stakeholders. Spruikers who do not comply with the practice guide could be considered in breach of council’s Activities Local Law.

Download a copy here:

Spruiking Practice Guide 2011 (PDF, 154kb)

Application for a non-amplified spruiking permit

Businesses or persons wishing to spruik without amplification must submit an application to the City of Melbourne for a spruiking permit.

Download an application form here:

Spruiking Application Form (text only, 2.2MB)

Please call the City of Melbourne on 03 9658 9658 if you would like an application form mailed to you.

Once your application has been considered by the City of Melbourne, a non-amplified spruiking permit may be issued.

Permit Fees

An annual fee of $200 will apply to hold a spruiking permit.

Permit expiry

All permits are valid for 12 months from the date of issue.

Application for an amplified spruiking permit

If amplified spruiking is intended as part of a special event, the City of Melbourne’s written consent is required.

Guidelines for exceptional circumstances to spruik with amplification

Where permit holders feel that exceptional circumstances apply to their spruiking operation, an application to spruik with amplification or other sound generating devices can be made in the form of a written proposal to the City of Melbourne addressing the following criteria guidelines:

• whether the spruiking proposal is permanent or temporary (i.e. one-off promotion)
• the nature of amplified spruiking proposed - i.e. a constant and/or loud spruiking may cause complaints (supported by a complaint mitigation strategy)
• whether amplified spruiking at the proposed site has achieved an iconic status (such as Myer windows)
• other positive and distinctive feature(s) created by the spruiker.

Applications to spruik with amplification or other sound generating devices should be addressed to the Manager Street Trading, GPO Box 1603, Melbourne, Vic 3001.

The City of Melbourne will assess applications against the above criteria. Applications to spruik with amplification must be received 21 days prior to the start date of the proposed use.

No amplified spruiking activities are permitted to commence until such time as the appropriate permit is issued by the City of Melbourne.

All businesses or people in the City of Melbourne that carry out amplified spruiking without approval may incur a penalty. Spruiking activities using sound-generating devices such as musical instruments, percussive devices, or devices incorporating loudspeakers are generally not permitted.

Penalties for spruiking without a permit

If a spruiker operates without a permit or breaches the interim Code of Conduct, the spruiker and the owner or manager of the business who employs the spruiker will be penalised under the Activities Local Law 2009.

Penalties may include revocation of the permit, temporary or permanent refusal of future permits for the premises, or the issuing of an infringement notice incurring a penalty of $500.

If a person is found spruiking with an amplifier without council approval the spruiker and the owner or manager of the business who employs the spruiker will be issued a notice to comply with the local law and must cease the activity immediately. Failure to comply will lead to further enforcement action.

For more information contact the City of Melbourne on (03) 9658 9658 or spruiking@melbourne.vic.gov.au