SA Power Networks is making it easier for South Australians to beautify their local neighbourhood by simplifying the application process to decorate Stobie poles.

There has been an explosion over the past decade in the number of applications to paint, install mosaics or apply other artwork to Stobie poles.

Thanks to a variety of community grant schemes, applications to decorate Stobie poles have gone from a handful a year to more than 450 in 2025, relating to nearly a thousand poles.

To simplify the application process, SA Power Networks will no longer ask artists and community groups to submit their plans for approval by us.

Instead, now if artworks meet the requirements set out in our guidelines for Stobie pole art, the design can be submitted straight to council for review without an application to SA Power Networks first.

SA Power Networks External Affairs Manager Cecilia Schutz said Stobie pole art is a uniquely South Australian way to add to the beauty of our local streets.

“The design of the Stobie pole is a perfect canvas for artists to celebrate and connect their local communities,” Ms Schutz said.

“By making it easier to get approval for the art, and by no longer limiting which Stobie poles are able to be decorated, we hope to further contribute to the vibrancy of South Australian life.”

SA Power Networks has previously directly supported a project in the City of West Torrens, in which local artists told their stories of community through Stobie pole art. A guide to considerations before submitting art to a council can be found on our Stobie pole art page.

“The century-old Stobie pole is its own South Australian story,” Ms Schutz said.

“We love seeing how new stories are being told on concrete and steel across the neighbourhoods and communities in which our people also live and work.”