{"id":22995,"date":"2026-08-05T03:56:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T03:56:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/?p=22995"},"modified":"2026-08-05T23:18:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T23:18:01","slug":"advocating-for-a-stronger-future-for-the-sign-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/2026\/08\/05\/advocating-for-a-stronger-future-for-the-sign-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Advocating for a Stronger Future for the Sign Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Advocating for a Stronger Future for the Sign Industry<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A key role of the New Zealand Sign & Display Association (NZSDA) is ensuring the voice of the industry is heard when government and local councils review sign-related legislations.<\/p>

Over the past six months, the NZSDA has represented the industry by providing feedback on Auckland Council’s Signs Bylaw Review and proposed election signage changes in the Manawat\u016b \/ Palmerston North region. Our submissions focused on ensuring regulations were practical, enforceable, and recognised the important role signage plays in supporting businesses and communities.<\/p>

Palmerston North Election Signage Review<\/strong><\/p>

The NZSDA’s submission to Palmerston North City Council provided an industry perspective on the proposed election signage rules. While not every recommendation was adopted, we were thrilled to see the final outcomes reflected many of the recommendations made by the NZSDA.<\/p>

  • The definition of a digital sign was amended to include permanent advertising structures such as commercial digital billboards;<\/li>
  • Clarifications were made that election advertising can be displayed on illuminated, digital and other signs consented for non-site-related advertising;<\/li>
  • The Council further distinguished permanent, consented advertising infrastructure from temporary election signage.<\/li><\/ul>

    \u00a0<\/p>

    This closely reflects the NZSDA\u2019s position that existing commercial billboard infrastructure has already been assessed for traffic, amenity and planning effects and should be able to carry election advertising.<\/p>

    Other outcomes consistent with the NZSDA’s submission included retaining larger sign sizes in business and industrial zones, maintaining the proposed 0.6m\u00b2 residential sign limit (they were considering dropping this this to 0.5m\u00b2), removing references to sign parks, clarifying the relationship between the Bylaw, District Plan and electoral legislation, and refining the Bylaw’s purpose to focus on safety, nuisance and impacts on public places rather than duplicating the District Plan’s role in managing visual amenity.<\/p>

    Auckland Signs Bylaw Review<\/strong><\/p>

    The NZSDA also participated in Auckland Council\u2019s Signs Bylaw Review, providing industry feedback on how signage regulations can support businesses while maintaining positive outcomes for public spaces.<\/p>

    As New Zealand\u2019s largest commercial region, Auckland\u2019s signage rules have a significant impact on sign companies across the country. The NZSDA\u2019s involvement ensured the perspective of the sign industry was represented throughout the review process.<\/p>

    Advocacy is an ongoing commitment. While council processes are different across regions, the NZSDA will continue to work towards greater consistency, practical regulation, and recognition of the essential role signage plays across New Zealand.<\/p>

    By representing our members and engaging directly with decision-makers, the NZSDA helps create a stronger future for the sign and display industry.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A key role of the New Zealand Sign & Display Association (NZSDA) is ensuring the voice of the industry is heard when government and local councils review legislation that affect sign businesses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nzsda-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22995"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23014,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22995\/revisions\/23014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}