Brisbane City Council runs a small set of public street art walls: surfaces where anyone can turn up and paint, free, without a permit. They're where a lot of the city's writers practise, and if you want to pick up a can yourself, they're the only places you can do it without the property owner's permission.
Here's where they are, the rules, and what happens if you paint anywhere else.
The council's street art walls
As of October 2026 the council lists four sites. They're all in parks, and three of them are drainage culverts under major roads, so expect concrete, shade and the odd puddle.
Ekibin Park East, Greenslopes
The north-west wing walls of the drainage culvert, off Ridge Street.
Ekibin Park South, Annerley
The north-western wall of the drainage channel beneath the South East Freeway. It's close enough to Ekibin Park East that you can check both in one trip.
Stanton Road Park, Tingalpa
The drainage culvert walls beneath the Gateway Motorway, on the city's east side.
Paddington Skate Park, Caroline Street
Inside the skate park at Neal Macrossan Playground Park in Paddington. It's the newest of the four, added in 2024, and the closest to the city centre.
The council can change a site's status at any time, so check its street art walls page before you head out with a bag of cans.
The rules
The council's conditions are short and sensible:
- No permit or booking. Just turn up.
- Nothing offensive. Offensive work will be removed.
- Take everything with you. Empty cans and rubbish included. Littering is an offence.
- Respect other painters and their work. Paint over old or damaged sections where you can, rather than fresh pieces.
No opening hours are listed, but these are parks, so daylight is the polite and practical choice.
What about the walls in Fortitude Valley?
The Valley has more murals than any other suburb in Brisbane, and its laneways and walls change constantly. But they're private property: the murals there are painted with the owner's permission, often as commissions. Painting on them without that permission is graffiti in the eyes of the law, however good it looks.
If you want to see the city's best walls rather than paint them, our Brisbane street art guide covers where to find them, and the Street Art & Laneways Trail links the best of them into a walk.
What illegal graffiti costs in Queensland
Queensland takes graffiti seriously. Under the Criminal Code, wilful damage by graffiti carries up to seven years' imprisonment where the property is in or visible from a public place, and courts must order offenders to remove graffiti as part of their sentence. Simply carrying a graffiti instrument (a spray can or marker) with intent to use it illegally can bring a fine of up to 20 penalty units or a year in prison.
Brisbane City Council defines graffiti as marks made without the owner's consent. Chalk on footpaths doesn't count. To report graffiti, call the council's Taskforce Against Graffiti on 07 3403 8888.
Want to paint something bigger?
Two council programs let residents paint legally beyond the walls:
- Artforce Brisbane has been turning traffic signal boxes into artworks since 1999, with more than 1,200 boxes painted. Brisbane residents can apply with a design, and about 80 boxes are painted each year.
- Commissions. Plenty of Brisbane businesses commission murals. A property owner's written permission is what turns graffiti into street art, legally speaking.