Australian Capital Territory
Roads and Public Places (Removable Signs) Code of Practice 2005
Disallowable instrument DI2005–207
made under the  
Roads and Public Places Act 1937, Section 12A (Code of practice for removable signs)
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The Roads and Public Places Act 1937 (the Act) was amended in November 1998 to allow movable signs to be regulated by a code of practice. 

Section 12A of the Act empowers the Minister to determine the code of practice as a disallowable instrument and section 12B provides that this may include matters relating to – 

a)	the materials from which, and the methods by which, a sign may be constructed;
b)	the sizes of signs;
c)	the locations where a sign may be placed;
d)	the words or images that may be displayed on a sign;
e)	how the person responsible for a sign may be identified;
f)	the number of signs that a person may keep in a public place; and
g)	the requirements relating to insurance that a person who places or keeps a sign in public must satisfy. 

A code of practice was determined in 1998, which implemented and expanded a refined version of an administrative guideline previously developed in consultation with the business community. 

In the attached Schedule, Section 7 (Placement of Movable Signs) of the Code of Practice has been amended to add a provision 7(1)(viii) to prevent businesses within arcades from placing movable signs in public open space if an arcade directory sign has been installed for the particular arcade. This change was developed in response to complaints from members of the public as to the safety hazard caused by the number and placement of movable signs outside shopping arcades. The definition of an “Arcade Directory Sign” has been added to section 1 (Interpretation) of the Code of Practice.

Section 5(1) (Insurance requirements) of the Code of Practice has been amended to increase the public liability insurance requirement for the placement of a movable sign in a public place from the former minimum limit of $5,000,000 to $10,000,000. This limit is consistent with current public liability insurance requirements.