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Apply to share fencing costs

Share fencing costs with neighbours

Property owners are responsible for building and maintaining fences on their property. If you share a fence with a neighbour, you should chat to them to discuss sharing fencing costs.

Find out who owns a neighbouring property

For owners

If you are a property owner and need to find out who owns the property you share a fence with, please complete an Application for ownership details for fencing form with:

  • your details
  • why you need the information
  • a copy of your ID (driver's licence or rates notice that clearly shows your address or ownership of the property).

For agents / contractors

If you are applying for this information as an agent or contractor on behalf of the owner, you must complete the Third Party Authorisation Form for Contractors and Agents. Please note this requires the owner to declare and sign the form.

Note: The information we provide can only be used for fencing matters stated on the application form. No other personal information will be provided about the neighbour. 

How to submit the request

You can submit the request:

What happens next?

We will assess your application. If successful we will get back to you within 7 business days.

Share fencing costs with Council

We will share the cost of constructing, repairing or replacing the dividing fence between private land and a Council property. This is in accordance with our Shared Cost Fencing Policy.

When we will contribute

We will contribute to fencing costs for properties including:

  • Council offices and customer service centres
  • Council-owned residential properties
  • Council works depot
  • Council-run pre-schools and maternal and child health centres

We will not contribute to land open to the public at all times

We do not occupy land that is open to the public at all times. We will not contribute to fencing costs for properties including:

  • drainage reserves
  • municipal and recreational reserves
  • municipal car parks
  • playgrounds
  • road and right-of-ways
  • tree and plantation reserves
  • walkways

Exemptions for pensioners

If you are eligible for a Municipal Rates Concession, we will contribute half the reasonable cost fencing work if:

  • the fence is part of the home where you live
  • the fence is shared with an open public reserve (not a road or a right-of-way)

How much we will contribute

We will typically contribute $50 per metre of the reasonable cost of a 1.65m high timber paling fence, unless a higher standard of fencing is required to meet our needs.

You may request to use an alternative fencing material, such as pre-painted steel posts and sheeting. We will consider requests on a case-by-case basis. You will need to cover any additional costs of using alternate fencing material.

Check your title for building requirements

Before you submit an application, you should check your title to make sure there are no building requirements on your property.

How to apply

1. Obtain a quote and a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)

You should get several quotes from fencing contractors and pick your favourite.

Quotes should include:

2. Complete an application form

Please complete a Shared Cost Fencing Application form.

3. Submit your application form, quote and SWMS

Please submit your application form, quote and SWMS to us:

What happens next?

  • If we approve your application, we will issue a purchase order to your fencing contractor to cover our share of the cost. Please allow up to 10 business days.
  • When the construction work is complete, you should pay only your share of the cost. The fencing contractor can invoice us and we will pay our share of the cost.

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