Quick answer: if your shopfront, facade, signage or footpath work puts equipment, materials or people on the footpath or road, you'll usually need a council permit, and councils commonly ask for a traffic management plan with it. What's required depends on the council, the equipment and whether the road is a main road. This guide covers how it works in Victoria, with examples from Melbourne councils.
A new sign is going up over the shop. The front is getting a repaint. A stretch of footpath outside is being relaid. None of it feels like roadworks, so plenty of people assume there's no traffic paperwork involved.
Councils often see it differently. If anything you're using sits on the footpath or the road, even for a morning, you're occupying public space. Depending on the council and the works, you may need a permit, and a traffic management plan to go with it, before you start.
When does shopfront or facade work need a traffic management plan?
The trigger is where the equipment sits, not how big the job is. Scaffolding, a cherry picker, a scissor lift, a travel tower or a pallet of materials on the footpath all count as occupying it.
The City of Melbourne, for example, needs a permit to occupy public space for cherry pickers, scissor lifts and travel towers on a footpath, road or laneway, and the traffic management plan goes in with the application. Port Phillip asks for a traffic management plan with any permit for scaffolding, a hoarding or a gantry on council land, along with proof of public liability insurance.
If everything stays inside your property boundary and nothing crosses onto the footpath, the occupation permit question usually falls away. Confirm it with the council before you book the scaffold, not after.
Does installing or replacing a sign need one?
The sign itself can need its own approval, and that's a separate question from traffic. The traffic question is about how it goes up. A truck parked in a traffic lane, an elevated work platform on the footpath or a crane lift over the road will usually need a permit, and councils usually ask for a plan with it.
If the shop is on a main road managed by the Department of Transport and Planning rather than the council, there's another step. If the works or any traffic management devices sit on a state arterial road, a Memorandum of Authorisation from DTP is also needed, and the plan has to be designed for that road. OnPoint is DTP-approved to design traffic guidance schemes for Category 1 and 2 roads, so main road jobs are covered.
Do footpath replacement works need a traffic management plan?
Usually, yes. Lifting and relaying a footpath is work in the road reserve, which needs the council's consent. The council will normally ask for a traffic management plan and a guidance scheme showing where every sign and barrier goes before it issues the permit. It's the same principle as a driveway crossover, just running along the frontage instead of across it.
The plan has to show how people get past. On most footpath jobs that means keeping a path open, usually at least 1.2 metres wide unless the council's conditions say otherwise, or setting out a signed alternative route. If the footpath is closed for more than a day or two, some councils also want a separate pedestrian management plan.
Can a small job use a simple plan?
Sometimes. Councils don't all set the same bar. Frankston, for instance, says plans for minor works don't have to be professionally drawn, as long as they follow its own traffic management plan template. The City of Melbourne asks for a plan prepared by a qualified traffic management practitioner in a range of situations.
So the first call is to the council, to find out which applies. Where a qualified plan is required, a generic one downloaded from the internet is likely to be sent back.
What does the council usually want with the permit application?
It varies by council, but they commonly ask for some version of this:
A traffic management plan or traffic guidance scheme for the work area
A site plan showing the area you'll occupy, with dimensions
The dates and hours you'll be on the footpath or road
A certificate of currency for public liability insurance. Port Phillip, for example, asks for at least $20 million
The application and daily occupation fees. Boroondara's fees for 2026 to 2027 are $136.50 to apply and $197 per day
Yarra's hoarding form goes a step further and lists two plans: one for putting the hoarding up and one for while it's standing.
How far ahead should you apply?
Earlier than you'd think. The City of Melbourne says applications for elevated work platforms in public space need detailed assessment and take longer than its standard timeframes. Port Phillip asks you to allow five business days to assess a scaffolding or hoarding permit. That clock only starts once the application is complete, plan included, so getting the plan sorted first is the part you control.
Getting the plan right the first time
We prepare traffic management plans and traffic guidance schemes for shopfront, facade, signage and footpath works across Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory. We're independent, so the plan is drawn for your site, not to sell you a crew.
If you'd like the plan drawn for your site, send us the address and what's going up. Quote in 15 minutes, plans drawn within 4 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit if the scaffold stays inside my property boundary?
If nothing sits on or crosses the footpath or road, you usually won't need an occupation permit for it. Check before you build it, because a hoarding, gantry or scaffold that projects over the footpath counts as being on council land.
What if the job runs longer than the permit?
Ask the council to extend it before it runs out. The City of Melbourne lets you extend the dates or amend the traffic management plan on a space occupation permit through its online services, and Boroondara takes extension requests online too. If the permit has already expired, Boroondara asks you to apply for a new one.
Do I need more than one plan for a hoarding?
Some councils ask for two. Yarra's hoarding application lists one traffic management plan for installing the hoarding and an aftercare plan for while it stands. Check the permit conditions for both stages.
What changes if the shop is on a main road?
Councils manage local streets and the Department of Transport and Planning manages state arterial roads. If the works or any traffic management devices sit on an arterial road, a Memorandum of Authorisation from DTP is also needed, and the plan has to be designed for that road.
