Property Numbering Can Save Your Life

Clear and visible property numbers are crucial when emergency services need to find a property quickly.

According to Ambulance Victoria, clearly numbering your house or business can save a life, as seconds or even minutes can be lost trying to find an address.

Clint Hick, Senior ALS Team Manager (acting) for Benalla and Mansfield branches of Ambulance Victoria said that property numbering should ideally be:

• In contrasting colouring to the background and large enough to read from the road
• Visible at night i.e. a colour that stands out or is reflective
• Visible from the road in either direction, particularly in rural areas with long driveways and those in 80-100km zones.

“Over time numbering can fade or be hidden by trees which makes locating an address much harder,” he said.

Your number should be placed at the front of the property where it can easily be seen by passing foot and road traffic and be at least 10 centimetres high.

The numbers do not have to be on the house itself. They can be on a mailbox, fence, or post in front of the home and the placement of the number should reflect the point of access to the property.

This is most important in an emergency situation, but also helps deliveries, utility providers, customers and visitors to the property or business.

Mansfield Shire Council Mayor, Cr. Harry Westendorp suggested that you should check that your property number is clearly visible now.

“Street numbering is extremely important,” he said.

“Owners and occupiers of all properties are required by the local law to have a street number properly displayed at the front of their property."

“We have all had the experience of not being able to find a place because it was not numbered clearly or there was no number at all – it is very frustrating.”

In the urban areas of Mansfield Shire, it is usual to find the even numbers on one side of the street and odd numbers on the other.

Out of town addressing is distance related – for example, a property that is 600 metres from an intersection would be number 60 and a property that is 5.75 kilometres from the start of the road would be number 575. 

If you have any queries in regard to the number or address of your property, contact Council’s Rates department on 5775 8555.