New road and place naming requests
At Landgate we accept applications from local governments or their authorised representatives, for new names relating to roads, suburbs, administrative boundaries and topographic features.
Where a local government has given delegated authority to a surveyor, the surveyor can submit the request along with evidence of their delegated authority.
Applications should be channelled through the relevant local government for their approval, or be endorsed by the government department where the feature is located.
If you would like to change an existing name, please view our Assessment process for name change proposals for more information.
Naming rules and requirements
All applications for road and other names should comply with the naming rules for places in WA.
Safety is one important reason we have road naming requirements. For example, emergency services could go to the wrong address if there are roads with the same or very similar names in nearby suburbs.
At Landgate, we refer to these two key governing documents below to help guide what we do in terms of naming:
- Policies and Standards for the Geographical Naming of Western Australia.
- A guideline to Aboriginal naming and dual naming of features and places in Western Australia
We strongly recommend you go through these before making a submission, as they outline the criteria used to assess name suitability.
Toolkit for Local Government
The toolkit is designed as an online submission portal. It allows local governments to access and directly lodge road naming requests. The portal can also be used to pre-test the suitability of a road name.
For road name request
Landgate provides an online form that can be used for two purposes:
1. To check, in advance, whether a proposed name meets the preliminary requirements of the Policies and Standards for the Geographical Naming of Western Australia.
The form can be used to check a proposed name for:
- a new road
- a change to an existing road
- to use an existing road name on an extended section of the road
- a combination of these if they are within the same development sit
2. To submit the checked and completed form online, together with all supporting documentation. Incomplete applications will not be progressed until all required information has been submitted.
All road naming requests must be submitted by a local government or its authorised representative.
Refer to our FAQs below for more information on using the form.
For park/reserve name request
Landgate provides an online form where you can check if a proposed park/reserve name meets the preliminary requirements of the Policies and Standards for the Geographical Naming of Western Australia, and submit new requests.
Frequently asked questions
Find out more about naming requests and how to use the form.
The online form advises if a proposed road name meets the preliminary requirements of the Policies and Standards for the Geographical Naming of Western Australia. The request will be finalised after it has been formally submitted by the relevant local government authority or its authorised representative, and assessed by the Geographic Names team.
You can submit a request that hasn’t met the requirements. However, you will also need to include compelling evidence explaining why the name should be approved. Please refer to the Policies and Standards for the Geographical Naming of Western Australia. It is important to include an alternative name should your preferred name not be approved.
You can use the Road Request form to submit requests for up to 20 road names within the same development site. After you have added a name to your list of 'proposed road names', simply return to the 'query name' field to enter the next name.
If there are more than 20 road name requests, you will need to use two forms. To link two request forms, answer 'yes' to the checklist question 'Is this request part of a previous submission for the same development site?'. A pop-up text box will allow you to enter the reference number for the first submission.
The lot number and plan number can be used to identify the development site by changing the ‘Search By’ field to Survey.
If the address for your development includes a letter as well as a number i.e. 25A, 25B etc, or there is a number and then a letter/number combination i.e. 25, 25A, 25B then you will need to use the lot number and survey details to submit the request. The supporting plan must clearly identify the lot and survey for the development site.
Landgate requires information about the origin of the proposed name/s and the reason it is being proposed. This information is to be included in the attachments supporting the road naming request. A website link is not sufficient as they may be deleted over time.
Yes. Please attach a plan that clearly shows the full extent of each road, and any adjoining road, including any possible future extensions to that road. You can attach documents using the 'supporting documentation' field at the bottom of the form.
Yes. Please attach a plan that clearly illustrates the full extent of the land parcel(s) you are proposing to name. You can attach documents to your request via the 'Supporting Documentation' field at the bottom of the form.
You can attach documents as JPG, PDF or TXT files etc. Please combine your documents into a single file prior to attaching; as a .ZIP file if the file is large.
The form will allow this for the development site details and for the extension of a road without a type however new road names will require a road type.
Landgate may at its discretion make minor changes to a request so it meets Policies and Standards for the Geographical Naming of Western Australia (for example a request to name a road ‘Smith Close’ might be changed to ‘Smith Street’ if technically the road is a Street not a Close etc).
Amendment to the placement of a name may also be deemed necessary to suit the road layouts and extents (short street short name).
Road names cannot generally be changed after approval, however, Landgate will support a change if there is a compelling reason. If a requested change is considered non-essential Landgate will charge a service fee.
To seek approval of a name for a geographic feature such as a lake, hill, river etc, please email your request directly to the Geographic Names Team.
Approval for road name requests that meet the Policies and Standards for the Geographical Naming of Western Australia are usually completed between 10 and 20 working days.
It is important that you only use a single window or tab to enter details into your form. Opening the form in more than one tab or window will cause an error in your submission.
General enquiries +61 (0)8 9273 7200