Noise can be annoying, interfere with speech, disturb sleep or interfere with work. Prolonged exposure to loud noise can also result in increased heart rate, anxiety, hearing loss and other health effects. The impacts of noise depend both on the noise level and its characteristics and how it is perceived by the person affected.
In NSW, noise pollution is regulated through the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act). The POEO (Noise Control) Regulation 2017 also sets certain limits on noise emissions from motor vehicles, vessels and domestic use of certain equipment.
Ballina Shire Council shares responsibility for enforcing noise control legislation with the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA), NSW Police, Transport for NSW (RMS) and Liquor & Gaming NSW (see NSW EPA website - reporting noise pollution).
It is important for anyone involved in resolving disputes over noise pollution to realise that what is acceptable to one person might be offensive noise to another. In responding to noise complaints, an authorised officer will take the approach of what a 'reasonable person' would consider offensive.
The POEO (Noise Control) Regulation 2017 sets out the hours within which certain equipment, such as domestic air conditioners, when used on residential premises should not be audible inside habitable rooms of any other residential premises; these are detailed in the table below.
A Penalty Infringement Notice (PIN) to the value of $300 may be imposed on individuals who continue to make noise up to 28 days after being warned to stop by an authorised officer of Council or the NSW Police.
Noise Source |
Time Restrictions |
|---|---|
|
Power tools and equipment, such as compressors, swimming pool pumps, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, chain saws and the like |
Between 8 pm until 7am weekdays and Saturday, and 8pm until 8am Sundays and public holidays |
|
Musical instruments and sound equipment such as radios, sound systems and public address systems |
10pm until 8am every day except 12 midnight until 8am on any Friday, Saturday or day preceding a public holiday |
|
Domestic air-conditioners and pump water heaters |
10pm until 7am weekdays and 10 pm until 8am weekends and public holidays |
|
Motor vehicles (except when entering or leaving premises) |
8pm until 7am on weekdays and 8pm until 8am weekends and public holidays |
|
Refrigeration units fitted to motor vehicles |
8pm until 7am on weekdays and 8pm until 8am on weekends and public holidays |
Note: Outside these hours the Police and Council can still place further restrictions on the use of these articles if they are causing offensive noise as defined by the POEO Act.
The standard hours for construction work are Monday to Friday 7 am to 6 pm Saturday 8 am to 1 pm No work on Sundays or public holidays.
There are some situations where construction work may need to be undertaken outside these hours but Council should be contacted prior to carrying out work outside these hours. The likely noise impacts and the ability to undertake works during the standard hours should be considered when scheduling work.
The POEO Act sets out the definition and the main legal framework for the regulation of unacceptable noise.
When investigating and responding to any noise complaint Council’s officers will need to conduct an offensive noise test to assess whether the noise can be considered as offensive under the POEO Act. The offensive noise test is a subjective test undertaken by an authorised officer of the Council and does not necessarily involve the use of any equipment to measure noise, as offensive noise is not based on a measured level.
The factors considered under the POEO Act include how often the noise occurs, the duration and frequency of the noise, its volume and characteristics and whether the noise is typical of activities conducted for the area and importantly how it is affecting a person within their home.
The complainant may initially be requested to complete a noise log providing specific information on the noise subject to the complaint. The noise log is then used to assess whether the Council is able to act on a person’s behalf to assist in managing and controlling noise that is causing concern.
For further information on what constitutes offensive noise please see:
Prior to lodging you enquiry with the Council, you may like to consider contacting your neighbour to discuss the problem and negotiate an appropriate informal resolution.
If this approach is not successful and where noise is a recurring problem, you may, depending on the circumstances, consider contacting a Community Justice Centre on 1800 990 777. This is a government funded organisation that specialises in settling differences between neighbours without getting into complicated legal processes. Community Justice Centres have achieved high success rates.
In certain circumstances Council may not be able to practically regulate the noise subject to a complaint or it may not be able to gather appropriate evidence to take action on a person’s behalf or the complainant may be unhappy with the outcome of Council’s investigation. In these circumstances a person will be advised that they may wish to consider taking private action independently of the Council by seeking a Noise Abatement Order through the local court under section 268 of the POEO Act.
For further information please see NSW EPA website - Seeking Noise Abatement Orders.
If mediation is unsuccessful in resolving the matter, a complaint can be made to Council, ph 6686 1210 during normal business hours or by email at council@ballina.nsw.gov.au. After hours complaints can be made on 6626 6954 but will not be logged until the next normal business day. Some out of hours noise complaints, such as noisy parties, can be reported to the local police station.
It is important when lodging a complaint with Council to relay all details of your complaint, including action already taken and the premises where the source of the noise has been identified. Unfortunately the Council is unable to investigate a noise unless the source property is identified by the complainant.
To support an ongoing noise complaint you are required to provide a noise log completed for at least 14 days, including a declaration that you are prepared to be a witness in Court for Council if required and a signed statutory declaration stating the impact the noise has on you (this is particularly important if Council officers are unable to witness and assess the noise).
Customers are encouraged to always provide their contact details and confidentiality can be provided if the customer lodging the request is able to provide adequate reasons for the protection of their identity. Anonymous complaints are only accepted if the request has a high public health/safety risk or a high risk of harm to the environment.
The POEO Act 1997 and the POEO (General) Regulation 2009 makes certain agencies the appropriate regulatory authority (ARA) responsible for various premises and activities.
The table below provides contact details for relevant organisations to lodge your enquiry for various noise issues.
Noise Source |
Contact |
|---|---|
|
Industrial/Commercial noise Large industrial premises (scheduled premises refer to POEO Public Register) |
EPA Environment Line 13 15 55 |
|
Transport noise |
|
|
Commercial airports and aircraft in flight |
National Noise Inquiry Line 1300 302 240 |
|
Noisy motor vehicles (including trail bikes) in a public place (such as roads, verges and car parks, or off-road including parks and reserves) |
EPA Environment Line 13 15 55 |
|
Noisy motor vehicles (including trail bikes) on private property |
Ballina Shire Council 6686 1210 |
|
Road traffic noise on freeways, toll ways and main roads |
Transport NSW 13 22 13 |
|
Recreational boating, jet skis |
Transport NSW 13 12 56 |
|
Construction Noise Major public infrastructure such as Pacific Highway upgrade |
EPA Environment Line 13 15 55 Transport NSW 13 12 56 |
|
Public Sporting and Community Events Concerts, fairs, sporting events and community events |
Ballina Shire Council 6686 1210 |
|
Fireworks on private or public land |
SafeWork NSW 13 10 50 |
|
Liquor Licenced Premises |
Liquor & Gaming NSW 02 9995 0837 |
|
Animals neglected, mistreated or abused |
NSW RSPCA 1300 278 358 or 02 9770 7555 |
NOTE: for a more detailed list visit the NSW EPA website - Dealing with Neighbourhood Noise.
The collection of waste including recycling materials must be undertaken at a time when it is safe for pedestrians, motorists and the local community. Scheduling waste collections can often be a compromise between managing these issues and not causing a noise nuisance to the community.
As a guide, Council and Council’s waste contractors generally work between the hours of 5.00am to 5.00pm. However, there may be exceptions to this depending on individual circumstances.
Commercial waste collectors don’t have binding times for waste collection but they need to have consideration for all the factors raised above.
Certain commercial businesses may have set waste collection hours specified within the development consent which can be enforced by the Council should collections be occurring outside these hours.
Council considers their garbage collection to be an essential service. If you have any enquiries about Council’s garbage collection please call 6686 1287.
Contact Council on 6686 1210 and lodge your enquiry. Please provide the following information;
Council will investigate whether the premise has binding waste collection times nominated in any development consent that they must comply with. If so, Council will approach the operator/owner of the premise to require compliance with their consent.
If there is no nominated waste collection times for the subject premises Council officers will speak or write to the waste collection company concerned to discuss appropriate collection times for that location.
If Council’s action does not resolve the matter evidence will need to be collected. This may mean that you will need to complete a noise log with information on the collections being made and submit a statement detailing the impact the noise is having on you. Council will consider the available evidence to determine if ‘offensive noise’ is being generated and/or non-compliance with a development approval is occurring. This will form the basis to determine if more formal action may be necessary to resolve the issue.
Noise from cars, motorcycles and trucks can come from different sources, such as horns, brakes, a refrigerator left running on a parked truck, engine or muffler noise from modified motorcycles or cars, deliberately revving engines or the use of amplified sound systems.
The NSW EPA, Police officers and in some instances Council officers have the power to enforce the Protection of the Environment Operations (Noise Control) Regulation 2008 in relation to managing vehicle noise.
The Police and the NSW EPA handle most noise complaints concerning cars and motorcycles. The Council can respond to complaints about alarms, vehicle refrigerator units and vehicles used on private property.
For further information, see the NSW EPA website - Motor Vehicle Noise.
It is an offence for an intruder alarm to be heard in any neighbouring residence when it sounds for more than:
For more information, please refer to the NSW EPA website - Managing Noise from Intruder Alarms.
The Council receives numerous noise complaints in relation to barking dogs and Council Rangers investigate these complaints.
Prior to lodging a complaint with the Council you must follow our barking dog procedure.
If you suspect that any animal is being mistreated or abused, report the matter to the NSW RSPCA on 1300 278 358 or 02 9770 7555.
Council does not have a policy for keeping animals that are not companion animals such as birds and rabbits etc and would only investigate complaints where the animal is creating an offensive noise problem, there is a danger to safety of the community, or keeping of the animals is causing offensive odours or unhealthy land. For further information visit our Keeping Animals webpage.
Residents should also be aware that some subdivision covenants prohibit the keeping of various animals including poultry and farm animals etc. Residents should check that covenants made at the time of subdivision are not breached by the keeping of animals.
At times complaints are received by Council about noise from the drying or de-husking of Macadamia nuts. This can be a particular concern when these activities take place for long periods or during the evening or night time when people are resting or sleeping.
If you are affected by macadamia nut processing noise Council encourages you to contact your neighbor in the first instance to discuss the problem and negotiate an appropriate informal resolution. If this approach is not successful and where noise is a recurring problem, you may, depending on the circumstances, consider contacting a Community Justice Centre on 1800 990 777. This is a government-funded organisation that specialise in settling differences between neighbours without getting into complicated legal processes, free of charge.
If these approaches are unsuccessful, you may wish to notify Council of your concerns by telephoning 6686 1210 during normal business hours or by email at council@ballina.nsw.gov.au. Council’s Environmental Health Officers will then investigation your concerns to determine if offensive noise is occurring.
Please refer to the below documents for further information about managing noise from Macadamia nut processing facilities.
The Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 sets out a process for resolving disputes including complaints concerning noise. This includes mediation and formal orders by the Strata Schemes Adjudicator and/or the Residential Tribunal. Under the Strata Management Act each Strata must have a set of by-laws. The model by-law provision concerning noise provides that:
An owner or occupier must not make noise at any time within their lot or on common property that is likely to disturb peaceful enjoyment of another resident or anyone using common property.
The best approach is to try to resolve the problem yourself, so talk to the person first. If that does not work or, if you feel intimidated, you should consider carrying out the following steps:
The General Manager
Ballina Shire Council
PO Box 450
Ballina NSW 2478
40 Cherry Street
Ballina NSW 2478
Opening Hours
8:15am - 4:30pm
Monday to Friday
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