Noise annoyance, either from surrounding construction, loud entertainment venues or just noisy neighbours is much too common — with the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Victoria urging people to take action when it gets too loud.
EPA Victoria chief executive Lee Miezis said excessive noise is not just annoying, it can harm your health and the environment, too.
“EPA, your local council and Victoria Police all play a role in enforcing the regulations, and it is not just about volume limits,” he said.
“Noise can cause harm when it disturbs sleep or interferes with rest and recreation. That’s all part of the General Environmental Duty (GED), Victorian law that makes it everyone’s responsibility to take reasonable steps to reduce the risk of harm to people and the environment.”
Since the GED applies to everyone, EPA urges people to remember that they might be the noisy one, if they’re not being considerate.
“This summer, be kind to the environment and your community — fulfil your environmental duty, assess how your activities may impact the environment, your community and your neighbours, and take whatever action is necessary,” Mr Miezis said.
Noise is one of the most common types of pollution reported to EPA.
In 2024, EPA received over 7700 reports, nearly half of them involving shops and offices (25 per cent) and residences (18 per cent).
Industry accounted for 15 per cent of noise complaints, construction sites 13 per cent, indoor entertainment venues 8 per cent, and outdoor entertainment events and venues 4 per cent.
At the lower end of the scale, major infrastructure projects were less than 2 per cent and wind turbines less than 1 per cent of complaints.
“In the early days of COVID-19 in 2020/21, reports of noise from residences more than doubled, and reports about industrial premises dropped to less than half. Clearly, more people were at home to hear, and make, unreasonable noise,” Mr Miezis said.
So, who do you call when noise annoys you?
According to the EPA, for residential complaints contact council or police after hours, for commercial and industrial contact EPA Victoria, and for a licensed music venue contact the Liquor Control Victoria if it’s a licensed pub, club or bar.
