Neighbour’s Noise: Exactly What Hours Are Legal in Your State (and How to Prove a Breach)

Updated for the NSW Noise Control Regulation 2026. The Protection of the Environment Operations (Noise Control) Regulation 2026 commenced on 28 August 2026. In New South Wales, air conditioners can now run until 11pm (with no time limit during a severe or extreme heatwave), and pool and spa pumps until 9pm. Every other state and territory is covered further down.

NSW noise hours at a glance

Noise from these sources must not be heard inside a neighbour’s home during these times (source: NSW EPA, Preventing neighbourhood noise, updated 31 August 2026):

“A neighbour’s home” here means a residential room: not a garage, storage area, bathroom, laundry, toilet or pantry. The heatwave exemption applies when the Bureau of Meteorology has a severe or extreme heatwave warning in force for the district. The penalty is $400 for an individual and $800 for a corporation, and a court can impose up to $5,500 and $11,000. Outside these hours, council and police can still act if the noise is “offensive noise”.

It’s the third Saturday in a row the angle grinder started before seven. Or the pool pump next door runs from 10pm to 6am, two metres from your bedroom wall. Or the Friday-night parties don’t wind down until two. You’ve mentioned it, politely, twice. Council said “keep a diary”. Police said “call us when it’s happening”. You’re now averaging five hours’ sleep.

Residential noise in Australia is regulated far more precisely than most people realise. Most states set hours for the common sources, and in those states noise from a listed source that can be heard in a neighbour’s home during the restricted hours is a breach with no “reasonableness” argument required. Inside the hours, the test is whether the noise is offensive or unreasonable, and that’s where the diary comes in.

Your rights

Two layers of law protect you. Statutory noise rules set “prohibited times” or “permitted hours” for equipment and activities: power tools, lawnmowers, pumps, air-conditioners, amplified music, musical instruments, vehicles in driveways. Noise from those sources that is audible in your home during the prohibited times is a breach that council or police can act on with a warning, a direction, and then a penalty notice. Outside the specific rules, noise that is “offensive”, “unreasonable” or an “environmental nuisance” by its volume, character, time or duration is also prohibited. Common-law private nuisance sits underneath all of it: a substantial and unreasonable interference with your use and enjoyment of your land is actionable in court, with damages and an injunction available, regardless of council.

Noise hours by state and territory

New South Wales

The Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 and the Protection of the Environment Operations (Noise Control) Regulation 2026 set the hours in the table at the top of this page. Your local council or the police can give a noise abatement direction under section 276 of the Act at any time of day or night: it directs the person to stop the noise, can stay in force for up to 40 days, and cannot be appealed. If the noise keeps happening, you can apply to your Local Court for a noise abatement order under section 268. The NSW EPA says the court may ask you to try mediation at a Community Justice Centre first, and that evidence such as signed statements from at least two witnesses helps.

Victoria

Regulation 114 of the Environment Protection Regulations 2021 sets prohibited times when these items must not be heard in a habitable room of another home (EPA Victoria):

• Power tools, chainsaws, circular saws, compressors, lawn mowers and petrol-engine equipment: before 7am and after 8pm on weekdays; before 9am and after 8pm on weekends and public holidays.
• Pool and spa pumps, heaters (including air conditioners used for heating) and vacuum cleaners: before 7am and after 10pm on weekdays; before 9am and after 10pm on weekends and public holidays.
• Air conditioners and evaporative coolers used for cooling: before 7am and after 11pm on weekdays; before 9am and after 11pm on weekends and public holidays. During a heat health warning you can use an air conditioner at any time.
• Musical instruments, stereos, radios and TVs: before 7am and after 10pm Monday to Thursday; before 7am and after 11pm on Friday; before 9am and after 11pm on Saturday and public holidays; before 9am and after 10pm on Sunday.

Your local council investigates residential noise (EPA Victoria does not). Police respond to late-night noise such as parties. Police or council can direct a person to stop unreasonable noise, and the direction can stay in force for up to 72 hours; ignoring it is an offence.

Queensland

The Environmental Protection Act 1994 sets default noise standards:

• Power tools and other regulated devices (including lawn mowers, leaf blowers, compressors, generators and ducted vacuum systems) used at home: no audible noise before 7am or after 7pm Monday to Saturday, or before 8am or after 7pm on Sundays and public holidays (s 440S).
• Builders doing building work: no audible noise before 6.30am or after 6.30pm Monday to Saturday, and none on Sundays or public holidays (s 440R).
• Pumps, including pool pumps and heat pumps: no audible noise before 7am or after 10pm on any day, with decibel limits in between (s 440T).
• Air conditioners: a decibel limit rather than a curfew: no more than 3 dB(A) above the background level before 7am and after 10pm, and 5 dB(A) from 7am to 10pm (s 440U).

Your council may have a local law that replaces some of these default standards. For loud music and parties, call Queensland Police: under section 581 of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000, an officer satisfied the noise is excessive can enter without a warrant and give a noise abatement direction.

Western Australia

The Environmental Protection (Noise) Regulations 1997 set “assigned levels” by time of day, with the strictest from 10pm to 7am (9am on Sundays and public holidays). Equipment that needs an operator, such as power tools and lawn mowers, can go over those levels at a home only if it is used reasonably, between 7am and 7pm Monday to Saturday or 9am and 7pm on Sundays and public holidays, and for no more than 2 hours a day (1 hour for a musical instrument) (reg 14). Council environmental health officers deal with ongoing noise; councils such as the City of Cambridge direct reports of noisy parties to the police.

South Australia

Under the Local Nuisance and Litter Control Act 2016, the Legal Services Commission’s Law Handbook explains that noise from tools and other non-fixed equipment at a home can be a local nuisance if it reaches neighbouring premises between 8pm and 9am on a Sunday, or 8pm and 8am on any other day. Fixed machinery such as an air conditioner can be a local nuisance if it is loud enough to be heard in a habitable room or outdoor entertaining area next door. Construction noise is restricted at any time on Sundays and public holidays, and before 7am or after 7pm on other days. Your local council handles complaints and can issue a nuisance abatement notice; the maximum penalty for an individual is $10,000.

Tasmania

The Environmental Management and Pollution Control (Noise) Regulations 2026 set prohibited times when equipment must not be heard in a habitable room of another home. They are enforced by local councils and Tasmania Police. EPA Tasmania lists:

• Lawn mowers and powered garden equipment: allowed 7am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm Saturday, 10am to 8pm Sundays and public holidays.
• Musical instruments and amplified sound: allowed 7am to 10pm Monday to Thursday, 7am to midnight Friday, 9am to midnight Saturday, 10am to 10pm Sundays and public holidays.
• Portable equipment such as power and percussion tools, compressors, portable pumps and generators: allowed 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 6pm Sundays and public holidays. EPA Tasmania’s pages give 8am on one page and 9am on another for Saturday, so 9am is the safe start.

Australian Capital Territory

The Environment Protection Act 1997 and Environment Protection Regulation 2005 set noise limits by zone rather than curfews. In residential areas the limit is 45 dB(A) from 7am to 10pm Monday to Saturday (8am to 10pm on Sundays and public holidays) and 35 dB(A) at all other times; in units and townhouses, noise from your home must be 5 dB(A) quieter. Garden equipment and power tools for maintenance or repairs can exceed the limit from 7am to 8pm Monday to Saturday and 8am to 8pm on Sundays and public holidays. Complain to Access Canberra (13 22 81); noise from people, such as yelling, goes to ACT Policing.

Northern Territory

The NT EPA regulates noise and resolves complaints, including from domestic sources, under the Waste Management and Pollution Control Act 1998. For noise happening now, police can direct the occupier to stop “undue noise” under the Summary Offences Act 1923, with a specific power for social gatherings after midnight (s 53A), and can enter the premises to give the direction (s 53E).

Strata and apartment buildings also have by-laws with their own noise rules and their own tribunal path. The Claim Done document asks your state first and drafts the notice to that state’s permitted hours, Act and enforcement path.

What to do right now

1. Start a noise log tonight. Date, start time, end time, source, description, effect on you (woken, couldn’t work, child woken). Do it in real time, not from memory. Councils and courts weight contemporaneous logs heavily.
2. Record the noise itself. Record from inside your own home and note the time; avoid recording anyone’s private conversation, as surveillance laws differ between states. A phone decibel app isn’t calibrated evidence but shows relative levels.
3. Check the hours for your state against the log. Mark every entry that falls in a prohibited time. Those are likely breaches to raise with council.
4. Send a formal written notice to the neighbour (and the owner, if they’re a tenant or a short-stay host). Attach the log, quote the permitted hours, state the impact, ask for it to stop within 14 days, and set out where it goes next if it doesn’t.
5. Lodge with council (or police, for parties) on day 15, with the log and the notice attached. A complaint that arrives with evidence and a copy of a warning already given gets actioned; a phone call doesn’t.

Why the diary is the case

Enforcement officers can only act on what they can prove. For a one-off party, that’s police attending. For chronic noise, it’s a pattern, and only you can document it. A log showing the pump running 10:15pm to 6:40am on 22 of the last 30 nights is a breach of the prohibited times on each of those nights; a log showing music to 1am on nine Fridays in a row establishes “offensive” or “unreasonable” noise even where no fixed hours apply. Add corroboration where you can: a second neighbour’s log, a dated recording, a note of each time you asked. The same log later supports a court application for an abatement order or an injunction, and a claim for damages if it comes to that.

Who to complain to

Council for equipment, animals and ongoing noise (in the ACT, Access Canberra; in the Northern Territory, the NT EPA). Police for parties, music and noise happening right now. The state or territory environment regulator for industrial or commercial sources. A mediation service, such as a Community Justice Centre in New South Wales, can help you reach an agreement. The Local or Magistrates Court for a noise abatement order (in New South Wales) or a nuisance claim.

Frequently asked questions

What time should you be quiet for your neighbours?

It depends on the source and the state. In New South Wales, amplified music must not be heard in a neighbour’s home after 10pm (midnight on Friday, Saturday and the night before a public holiday), and power tools must stop by 8pm. In Victoria, music and TVs must not be heard after 10pm Sunday to Thursday and after 11pm on Friday, Saturday and public holidays. In Queensland, power tools must stop by 7pm. At any hour, council and police can act on noise that is offensive or unreasonable.

Is it illegal to vacuum after 10pm?

In Victoria, vacuum cleaners are on the list: one that can be heard in a habitable room of another home after 10pm (or before 7am on weekdays, 9am on weekends and public holidays) is unreasonable noise. In Queensland, a ducted vacuum system is a regulated device, so it must not be audible after 7pm. New South Wales does not list vacuum cleaners in its restricted hours, but council and police can still act on offensive noise at any time.

What time can you start using power tools?

• New South Wales: 7am on weekdays, 8am on weekends and public holidays.
• Victoria: 7am on weekdays, 9am on weekends and public holidays.
• Queensland: 7am Monday to Saturday, 8am on Sundays and public holidays.
• Western Australia: 7am Monday to Saturday, 9am on Sundays and public holidays (up to 2 hours a day).
• South Australia: 8am, or 9am on Sunday.
• Tasmania: 7am on weekdays, 9am on Saturday, 10am on Sundays and public holidays.
• Australian Capital Territory: 7am Monday to Saturday, 8am on Sundays and public holidays.

How do I stop noisy neighbours?

Start with a calm conversation if you feel safe. If that does not work, keep a dated noise log, check it against your state’s hours above, and send a written notice that quotes the hours and asks for the noise to stop. If it continues, report it to council (or police, for a party happening now). In New South Wales, council or police can give a noise abatement direction that lasts up to 40 days; in Victoria, a direction lasts up to 72 hours. For noise that keeps recurring, consider mediation (in New South Wales, through a Community Justice Centre), and in New South Wales you can apply to the Local Court for a noise abatement order. None of these steps guarantees the noise will stop, but a log and a written notice make every later step easier to take.

Facts checked on 11 October 2026 against: NSW EPA, Preventing neighbourhood noise and Changes to noise control regulations (both updated 31 August 2026); EPA Victoria, Residential noise and Manage noise from your neighbours; Queensland Environmental Protection Act 1994 ss 440R to 440U and Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 s 581; Western Australia’s Environmental Protection (Noise) Regulations 1997 regs 8 and 14; the South Australian Law Handbook; EPA Tasmania, Noise Regulations; Access Canberra, Noise standards; NT EPA, Noise, and the Northern Territory Summary Offences Act 1923.

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