Why Rural Addressing and House Number Visibility are Important

It is essential that residents prominently display their house number so that emergency services can locate you quickly if necessary.

Rural towns are often not as well-lit as cities and the darkness makes it harder for police, ambulance, and the SES to easily locate a specific address if the number is not easy to see. Numbers should be large in size and not hidden from the road.

The main reason a country property should have a rural address number is also so that emergency services can locate your property quickly.

The rural property address is consistent with residential addresses and therefore also assists agencies such as Australia Post, energy companies, banks and insurance companies and other organisations with service provision.

Council assigns an address using a distance-based system. These numbers will be based on how far in metres the property entrance is from the road’s starting point, divided by 10. The starting point is usually an intersection or junction but can also be the centre of a town.

To apply for a rural addressing number, complete a Rural Addressing Application Form and submit this to Council for assessment.  Council installs the initial rural address numbers, including post and post cap at no charge. Should a replacement number be required due to fading or damage, the customer will need to purchase the individual numbers in line with Council’s adopted Fees & Charges.

For rural addressing on a State-controlled road, the Department of Transport & Main Roads must approve the driveway access point, prior to Council installing the numbers.

Council notifies the State government who notifies the national address database, known as the ‘Geocoded National Address File’ that informs emergency services, postal services, State and Federal Electoral Commissions and electricity, gas, and water authorities.

For further information, see the Fact Sheet on Council’s website or contact Council on 4189 9100, or email.