Hand 3 · The one who delivered any of the advertising material
In Queensland, the sign on the box has the law behind it
In Queensland, a legible, clearly visible sign on a letterbox makes it unlawful to deliver advertising material for a commercial purpose that is not addressed to anyone by name. This guide is Queensland's rules for the slot: the sign, where a delivered sheet may be left, and who has to take the steps.
General information about Australian law, not legal advice. In Queensland, a complaint about junk mail goes to the Distribution Standards Board first, and then a report can go to the department (Queensland Government, last reviewed 14 July 2026).
The sign, and what it turns away
The rules attach to unsolicited advertising material, and that means advertising material for a commercial purpose that is not addressed by name to an owner or occupier of the premises (Queensland Government). Advertising material itself is a circular, a flyer, promotional matter, information or a letter, or a newspaper, magazine or other publication distributed without charge, if it includes advertising for a commercial purpose; and a flyer is a single sheet of printed material circulated to announce an event, promote a cause or advertise a product (Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 (Qld), s 105).
A delivery is unlawful when a legible sign is in place and clearly visible to the deliverer. The Act's conditions: there must be a legible sign or marking on the exterior receptacle or other place for receiving mail, or on a boundary fence or gate adjoining the footpath or other public access point; the sign must state 'No Advertising Material', 'No Junk Mail', 'Australia Post Mail Only' or words to similar effect, or otherwise contain words in English indicating, expressly or by implication, that unsolicited advertising material is not to be delivered; and the sign must be clearly visible to the person delivering the material (s 107(1)).
Two limits sit on that rule, both the Act's own. It does not apply to the giving of unsolicited advertising material personally to a person at the premises (s 107(2)), and it does not apply to the delivery of a newspaper unless, having regard to s 106(2), the newspaper is unsolicited advertising material for the premises (s 107(3)).
Material that is not commercial advertising is not caught. Political campaign material, letters from neighbourhood watch groups, correspondence about lost animals, local council newsletters and infringement notices, such as a parking fine attached to a vehicle, do not contain advertising content for a commercial purpose, and can be placed in a letterbox (Queensland Government). Community newspapers are a special case: they are not initially unsolicited advertising material, but they can become so if the occupier tells the publisher that they do not wish to receive them, and the Queensland advice is to keep a record of that correspondence (Queensland Government).
If a sign is up and the material keeps arriving, the path runs in one direction: make sure the sign is clearly visible, contact the Distribution Standards Board, and, if the material continues after a complaint there, complete the department's reporting form. When the form is used, the address is disclosed to the distributor and the deliverer only to rectify the delivery, and for no other purpose (Queensland Government).
Where a delivered sheet may be left
Queensland requires a secure placement. A person who delivers unsolicited advertising material must ensure it is placed securely in a receptacle, slot or other place used for the delivery of mail to the premises; or in a receptacle or slot used for the delivery of newspapers to the premises; or under a door of the premises (s 108). A newspaper is exempt unless it is itself unsolicited advertising material (s 108(2)).
Nothing goes on a vehicle or a structure without consent. A person must not place any document in or on a motor vehicle without the express consent of a person who is a registered operator, owner or driver of the vehicle, and must not attach any document to a building or other fixed structure without the express consent of its owner or occupier or of a person acting for them, and it does not matter whether the document is advertising material (s 109(1) to (3)).
The Act gives the rule two exceptions and its own examples. A person does not contravene it when placing or attaching a document in the lawful performance of a function under an Act, or where the action is reasonable in the circumstances, and the examples are leaving a note on a vehicle with contact details after causing accidental damage, or a note saying the parking place is reserved for other purposes (s 109(4)). A document, for this provision, is any paper or other material on which there is writing, or any drawing, figure, symbol or other expression (s 109(5)).
Where this guide stops
The law in this guide is Queensland's, with Queensland's own guidance. The letterbox and litter rules of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory are not covered here. What Queensland gives is the full chain: the sign and what it turns away, the secure placement, the rules for vehicles and fixed structures, the duty on the person who arranges a distribution, the penalties of enforcement, and where a complaint goes.
Who has to take the steps
The duty sits on the person who arranges the distribution. Where a person (the responsible entity) authorises, or arranges for, the distribution of advertising material to premises in an area, that person must take reasonable steps to ensure the material does not, having regard to the way it is delivered, become waste, with a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units. If a delivery contravenes the unlawful delivery provision or the secure delivery provision, the responsible entity must, if the chief executive directs it, collect the material from the premises within the period directed, again with a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units (s 112). The Act's own example of reasonable steps is delivering the material in a way consistent with the Distribution Standards Board's code of practice for the delivery of advertising material (s 112(2)).
Two enforcement routes reach the sign rule and the secure delivery rule. An authorised person who finds a person committing an offence against the Act or contravening a prescribed provision (s 107(1), 108, or 109(1) or (2)), or reasonably suspects they have just done so, may require the person to state their name and address. A person who is required to give their details must comply unless they have a reasonable excuse, and the maximum penalty for failing is 50 penalty units (ss 232, 233).
The other route is the compliance notice. Where the chief executive reasonably believes a person has contravened a prescribed provision, the chief executive must first give a show cause notice inviting the person to show why a compliance notice should not be given, unless it is reasonably considered not appropriate in the circumstances. A compliance notice can require the person to refrain from contravening the provision and to remedy the contravention in the way the notice states, and a person who is given one must comply unless they have a reasonable excuse. For a notice that relates to s 107(1), s 108 or s 109(1) or (2), the maximum penalty is 40 penalty units (ss 246, 248, 251).
What a penalty unit is worth: an Act that expresses a penalty in penalty units is valued by multiplying the value of a unit by the number of units (Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld), s 5), and the value prescribed in the 2025 Regulation, as current at 1 July 2026, is $172.70 (Penalties and Sentences Regulation 2025 (Qld), s 4).