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billboardsigns.com.auThe faces

A billboard’s size decides its paperwork

Billboards come in a handful of standard faces. Victoria asks more at 18 m²; NSW asks an impact statement of faces over 20 m², or over 8 m high, and brings in Transport for NSW where they are within 250 m of and visible from a classified road; Brisbane caps a billboard at 48 m² a side.

General information, not planning or legal advice.
  • 10 m² VicSmart
  • 18 m² Vic
  • 20 m² NSW*
  • 48 m² Brisbane

The faces, to scale

the small format, a 6 sheet poster, 3 x 1.5 m, 4.5 m², Dotto’s calculation from those dimensions; mounted mainly on walls and often located in suburban areas
a portrait 50s, 3 x 4.5 m, 13.5 m², Dotto’s calculation from those dimensions; it has a magazine cover look
a super6, 6 x 3 m, 18 m², Dotto’s calculation from those dimensions; commonly known as poster sites and seen in local areas attached to buildings, pole or frame mounted; the source gives the 24 sheet poster the same 6 x 3 m, the size at which Victoria defines a major promotion sign; this face reaches it at exactly 18 m² Victoria: from 18 m² an application must add more material; the same figure is the definition of a major promotion sign. It crosses Super6 / 24 sheet at 6 m along, Dotto’s calculation (18 m² ÷ 3 m)
a super8, 8.3 x 2.2 m, 18.26 m², Dotto’s calculation from those dimensions; the same proportion as supersites, to enable consistency of content for advertisers Victoria: from 18 m² an application must add more material; the same figure is the definition of a major promotion sign. It crosses Super8 at 8.18 m along, Dotto’s calculation (18 m² ÷ 2.2 m)
what the face showsa supersite, 12.33 x 3.35 m, 41.31 m², Dotto’s calculation from those dimensions; the most common large format sign, often sold in packs cells past 20 m² on the Supersite face, filled guide-sign green: past NSW's 20 m² concurrence size, for a face within 250 m of and visible from a classified road Victoria: from 18 m² an application must add more material; the same figure is the definition of a major promotion sign. It crosses Supersite at 5.37 m along, Dotto’s calculation (18 m² ÷ 3.35 m) NSW: an advertisement with a display area greater than 20 m², or higher than 8 m, within 250 m of and visible from a classified road, needs Transport for NSW concurrence before consent. It crosses Supersite at 5.97 m along, Dotto’s calculation (20 m² ÷ 3.35 m)
if the face is a screena spectacular, 18.99 x 4.5 m, 85.46 m², Dotto’s calculation from those dimensions; frame, gantry or pole mounted cells past 20 m² on the Spectacular face, filled guide-sign green: past NSW's 20 m² concurrence size, for a face within 250 m of and visible from a classified road cells past 48 m² on the Spectacular face, filled deep red: past Brisbane's cap of 48 m² per side Victoria: from 18 m² an application must add more material; the same figure is the definition of a major promotion sign. It crosses Spectacular at 4 m along, Dotto’s calculation (18 m² ÷ 4.5 m) NSW: an advertisement with a display area greater than 20 m², or higher than 8 m, within 250 m of and visible from a classified road, needs Transport for NSW concurrence before consent. It crosses Spectacular at 4.44 m along, Dotto’s calculation (20 m² ÷ 4.5 m) Brisbane: the area of a billboard sign must not exceed 48 m² per side, for a maximum of two sides. It crosses Spectacular at 10.67 m along, Dotto’s calculation (48 m² ÷ 4.5 m)
6 sheet · 3 x 1.5 m4.5 m² Portrait 50s · 3 x 4.5 m13.5 m² Super6 / 24 sheet · 6 x 3 m18 m² Super8 · 8.3 x 2.2 m18.26 m² Supersite · 12.33 x 3.35 m41.31 m² Spectacular · 18.99 x 4.5 m85.46 m²
  1. 6 sheet · 3 x 1.5 m · 4.5 m²
    the small format, a 6 sheet poster, 3 x 1.5 m, 4.5 m², Dotto’s calculation from those dimensions; mounted mainly on walls and often located in suburban areas
  2. Portrait 50s · 3 x 4.5 m · 13.5 m²
    a portrait 50s, 3 x 4.5 m, 13.5 m², Dotto’s calculation from those dimensions; it has a magazine cover look
  3. Super6 / 24 sheet · 6 x 3 m · 18 m²
    a super6, 6 x 3 m, 18 m², Dotto’s calculation from those dimensions; commonly known as poster sites and seen in local areas attached to buildings, pole or frame mounted; the source gives the 24 sheet poster the same 6 x 3 m, the size at which Victoria defines a major promotion sign; this face reaches it at exactly 18 m² Victoria: from 18 m² an application must add more material; the same figure is the definition of a major promotion sign. It crosses Super6 / 24 sheet at 6 m along, Dotto’s calculation (18 m² ÷ 3 m)
  4. Super8 · 8.3 x 2.2 m · 18.26 m²
    a super8, 8.3 x 2.2 m, 18.26 m², Dotto’s calculation from those dimensions; the same proportion as supersites, to enable consistency of content for advertisers Victoria: from 18 m² an application must add more material; the same figure is the definition of a major promotion sign. It crosses Super8 at 8.18 m along, Dotto’s calculation (18 m² ÷ 2.2 m)
  5. Supersite · 12.33 x 3.35 m · 41.31 m²
    a supersite, 12.33 x 3.35 m, 41.31 m², Dotto’s calculation from those dimensions; the most common large format sign, often sold in packs cells past 20 m² on the Supersite face, filled guide-sign green: past NSW's 20 m² concurrence size, for a face within 250 m of and visible from a classified road Victoria: from 18 m² an application must add more material; the same figure is the definition of a major promotion sign. It crosses Supersite at 5.37 m along, Dotto’s calculation (18 m² ÷ 3.35 m) NSW: an advertisement with a display area greater than 20 m², or higher than 8 m, within 250 m of and visible from a classified road, needs Transport for NSW concurrence before consent. It crosses Supersite at 5.97 m along, Dotto’s calculation (20 m² ÷ 3.35 m)

    * NSW, in full: over 20 m², or over 8 m high, and within 250 m of and visible from a classified road. The consent authority must get Transport for NSW’s concurrence before it can consent. A face over 20 m² or over 8 m high also needs an impact statement before consent.

    what the face shows
  6. Spectacular · 18.99 x 4.5 m · 85.46 m²
    a spectacular, 18.99 x 4.5 m, 85.46 m², Dotto’s calculation from those dimensions; frame, gantry or pole mounted cells past 20 m² on the Spectacular face, filled guide-sign green: past NSW's 20 m² concurrence size, for a face within 250 m of and visible from a classified road cells past 48 m² on the Spectacular face, filled deep red: past Brisbane's cap of 48 m² per side Victoria: from 18 m² an application must add more material; the same figure is the definition of a major promotion sign. It crosses Spectacular at 4 m along, Dotto’s calculation (18 m² ÷ 4.5 m) NSW: an advertisement with a display area greater than 20 m², or higher than 8 m, within 250 m of and visible from a classified road, needs Transport for NSW concurrence before consent. It crosses Spectacular at 4.44 m along, Dotto’s calculation (20 m² ÷ 4.5 m) Brisbane: the area of a billboard sign must not exceed 48 m² per side, for a maximum of two sides. It crosses Spectacular at 10.67 m along, Dotto’s calculation (48 m² ÷ 4.5 m)
    if the face is a screen
Whose sizesThe NSW Transport Corridor Outdoor Advertising and Signage Guidelines (November 2017) list these as the common billboard and poster sizes. Operators may sell other sizes.One scale. Each cell is a square metre.
10 m², Victoria: the most a VicSmart advertising sign may showWho says yes, and for how long 18 m², Victoria: an application must add more materialWho says yes, and for how long Over 20 m², or over 8 m high, NSW, within 250 m of and visible from a classified road: the roads authority must concurWho says yes, and for how long 48 m², Brisbane: the most a billboard sign may be, per side, for two sidesWhere a billboard may stand

Reading the lines

10 m², Victoria: the VicSmart limit

Victoria’s planning provisions put some advertising sign applications in the VicSmart class, and its criteria must all be met: the sign’s total display size stays at or under 10 square metres; it is not a pole, sky or reflective sign, or one that is internally illuminated, floodlit, electronic or animated; and it stands at least 30 metres from land in a residential zone, a road not counting as residential.

Who says yes to a billboard, and for how long

18 m², Victoria: more to apply

From 18 square metres, a Victorian application carries more. The planning provisions define a major promotion sign as a sign of 18 square metres or greater promoting goods, services, an event or any other matter, whether or not it is sold or hired on the site. At that size, the application must also describe the existing character of the area, list any other signs over 18 square metres or scrolling, electronic or animated signs within 200 metres, and include a photo montage or streetscape perspective.

Who says yes to a billboard, and for how long

20 m², NSW: over 20 m² or over 8 m high

NSW’s line sits in chapter 3 of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Industry and Employment) 2021. For an advertisement with a display area greater than 20 square metres, or higher than 8 metres above the ground, the consent authority must not grant consent unless the applicant has provided an impact statement that addresses the assessment criteria in Schedule 5 and the consent authority is satisfied that the proposal is acceptable in terms of its impacts. Where such an advertisement is within 250 metres of a classified road and visible from it, the consent authority also must not grant consent without the concurrence of Transport for NSW. Over 45 square metres, consent also needs a development control plan in force that was prepared on the basis of an advertising design analysis for the area or precinct or, for transport corridor land, the consent authority’s satisfaction that the advertisement is consistent with the Guidelines.

Who says yes to a billboard, and for how long

48 m², Brisbane: the most per side

Brisbane City Council’s rules for advertising devices cap a billboard sign at 48 square metres per side, including any electronic display component, for a maximum of two sides. A billboard sign is a freestanding display surface that may sit on the ground or be mounted on one or more vertical supports. Devices that meet the self-assessable requirements need no Council approval; a sign that does not comply needs a full assessment and a licence.

Where a billboard may stand

Where the formats come from

The faces on this page are the formats the NSW Transport Corridor Outdoor Advertising and Signage Guidelines (November 2017) describe. The NSW Transport Corridor Outdoor Advertising and Signage Guidelines (November 2017) list these as the common billboard and poster sizes. Operators may sell other sizes. This site covers NSW, Victoria and Brisbane; it does not cover the other states and territories.