Consent to work on the road
Planning to work within a road reserve, including the road and roadside up to the fence line? Here's how to apply for consent.
It's an offence to work within a public road reserve without consent.
If you want to do any kind of work, you may need approval from the coordinating road authority (CRA).
The Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) is usually the CRA for freeways and arterial roads, while your local council handles municipal roads.
How to get consent
If you plan to do any work on, in, under, or over a road (including the roadway, roadside, medians, service roads, pathways, and nature strips), you must get approval from the CRA before starting. You also need to notify the CRA when the work is finished.
To get approval, you'll need to contact the correct CRA and submit your application. You can download application forms for freeways and major roads from this website and submit them electronically.
Once you submit your application, the DTP will send you a confirmation (even for mailed application) with a reference number and contact details for any questions
If you include all the information they need, they'll let you know their decision in writing within 20 business days.
Cost
There is a fee for submitting an application for consent. The fee amount varies depending on the road classification and work type. You can find the fee details on the Working within the road reserve page under 'Steps to applying for works in the road reserve permit: Fees'.
Exemptions
There are some activities that don't require consent from the CRA.
For example, working on your driveway where it meets a main road, or mowing the nature strip, usually doesn't require approval. However, if these activities could affect traffic such as a lane closure, you should contact the CRA to confirm whether an application is needed.
Use traffic control devices to create a safe worksite
If your worksite safety assessment based on the Code of Practice for Worksite Safety – Traffic Management and your traffic management plan shows that you need traffic control devices to manage traffic, you'll also require authorisation under the Road Safety (Traffic Management) Regulation 2019.
To get this authorisation, you must submit a Memorandum of Authorisation (MoA) application and traffic management plan.
The MoA is not consent from the CRA to conduct works in the road reserve.
The MoA only authorises the placement, removal, or modification of traffic control devices, such as roadwork signs, temporary speed limits, and traffic cones.
All roadworks require a traffic management plan, which must be prepared according to the Code of Practice for Worksite Safety – Traffic Management. This plan must be available for inspection onsite at all times when a worksite is set up, except for periods of aftercare. The traffic management plan must include all of the traffic control devices that you plan to use.
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