Making a formal complaint or report
Go to the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) website for guidance on when different types of noise, such as instruments or powertools, are permitted and which authority to contact regarding that noise.
Under some circumstances, Council can serve a notice on the occupier of premises requiring measures to be taken to control noise from a wide range of domestic sources, under Section 264 of the Protection of the Environment Operations (POEO) Act 1997.
The notice can require the noise-making activities to be restricted to certain times of the day or certain days.
Failure to comply with the notice can lead to prosecution.
Seek a noise abatement order
Under Section 268 of the Protection of the Environment Operations (POEO) Act, if you’re affected by offensive noise, you can seek a noise abatement order.
To apply for an order, contact your local court and consider asking your legal advisor for help.
The registry staff at your local court will explain the process.
There are fees for applying for a noise abatement order.
If the court is satisfied that there’s offensive noise or that it’s likely to recur, it may order the person to stop the noise or prevent a recurrence.
Failure to comply with the order could lead to prosecution.
Contact the police
If the noise is a one-off problem, such as an excessively noisy party, you could consider contacting the police.
Under Section 276 of the POEO Act, the police can direct a person making the offensive noise to stop.
A Noise Abatement Direction can be issued at any time of the day or night and can remain in force for up to 28 days.
Any person who fails to comply with such a direction can be fined up to $3,300 or issued with a $200 on-the-spot fine.
Breaches of the noise offence provisions of the Protection of the Environment Operations (POEO) Act can attract fines of up to $30,000 in the case of an individual and $60,000 in the case of a corporation.