Draft Place and Road Naming Policy and Guidelines
Council has drafted Place and Road Naming Policy and Guidelines for community feedback. Visit Participate MelbourneOpens in new tab to have your say.
New road names
New road names should reflect local history and culture, following state guidelines. They must be easy to pronounce and not duplicate existing names or resemble business names. The process includes advertising to local stakeholders, approval from relevant authorities, and can take several months. The City of Melbourne encourages names related to Aboriginal heritage and influential women in history.
Addresses and premise numbering
Most property numbers are allocated as part of the subdivision process, but these can be updated due to building occupancy changes.
A primary consideration for creating or changing an address is that the premise number and the road name reflect the point of access to the property. All addresses must be created to reflect the dwelling or retail premises’ primary point of entry. This must be in accordance with the Australian Standard AS/NZS 4819:2011.
Numbering will not be allocated or modified to match business branding or for similar reasons.
All properties in the municipality shall be allocated a unique street address. City of Melbourne will not approve requests for street number changes that conflict with the Australian Standards or:
- when a number is considered unlucky or lucky
- for cultural or religious reasons
- for personal preference
- when you have been incorrectly advised the property was a different number.
City of Melbourne verifies the location of the door openings and issues numbers proportionally along the street relating to those openings, along the length of the boundary, relative to the access point from which the dwelling, shop, office or feature is accessed. This is done in a systematic and logical sequence within the street range from the lowest to the highest; even on one side of the street and odd on the other.
Displaying street numbers – your obligations
While the allocation of street numbers is done by City of Melbourne, the correct display of street numbers is up to you.
By law, street numbers must be clearly displayed in a prominent position to allow your property to be quickly and easily identified and located. This is most important in an emergency situation, but also for deliveries, service authorities, customers and visitors to the property or business.
Your number display must:
- be placed at the front of the property, where it can be easily seen by passing foot and road traffic
- be at least 10 centimetres high
- use a colour which stands out clearly from the background (for example, black numbers on a white background provide the best contrast).
If your house is on a corner or has two street frontages, the number must only be displayed on the street that the address refers to. For example, if your house is on the corner of Queensberry and Swanston streets but is classified as being on Queensberry Street, the number must be displayed on the Queensberry Street side of the house, not on the Swanston Street side or both.
The street numbers displayed on your property must be renewed as often as necessary to maintain effectiveness. Penalties apply for premises not clearly identified or displaying incorrect numbers (see Activities Local Law 2024, Part 14).
If for any reason you wish to change your street number, you will need to contact us first.
Did you know?
You can find out about the history of each road name in the municipality using City of Melbourne mapsOpens in new tab.
