New address signs at the residential colleges will make it easier for emergency services to identify their location during a call out.

The signs are large, double-sided, bright blue and reflective and is part of a larger Armidale Regional Council initiative to make it easier for emergency service providers to identify rural, and other, properties during an emergency. The signs use a nationally recognised addressing system and will be trialled for six months to determine their effectiveness.

UNE’s collaboration with Armidale Regional Council on this project follows a near-death incident involving a student in 2017. Since then, the university and emergency management teams have been working to find a solution for improved signage to avoid similar incidents in future. More signs are under consideration for key locations around campus.