Ipswich City Council

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Noise

The Council have established nuisance laws to help make Queensland a more liveable place.

The laws aim to strike a balance between protecting our quality of life and the reasonable pursuit of activities that have the potential to annoy others.

How do the laws work?

The nuisance laws are complaint driven - that means a complaint must be made before a problem will be investigated. Anonymous complaints will not be accepted, but complaints will be kept confidential.

Once a complaint is made, it will be investigated and appropriate action taken.

Penalties

Investigating officers have the power to issue warning notices, on-the-spot fines or other notices for failure to comply with these regulations. A warning notice may be issued first, featuring information about the laws and steps to compliance.

Notices are issued to the person or business causing the nuisance and can require the person/business to stop their activities, or to reduce the nuisance to an acceptable level. Those issued with fines and notices can appeal against the decision.

Visit Infringements and Fines for information regarding payment of fines and the appeal process.

Which Authority do I Contact ?

The following matrix deals with indoor venues as well as other noise related matters but should give all interested parties a guide as to which Authority is responsible for the type of noise being experienced.

Source of Nuisance	Responsible Authority	Phone Numbers
Road traffic on State-controlled roads	Queensland Department of Main Roads	1800 806 414
Road traffic on Council-controlled roads	Local Government	(07) 3810 6666
Individual noisy vehicles or individual vehicle behaviour	Queensland Department of Transport	13 23 80
Rail noise	Queensland Rail	13 16 17
Air traffic	Air Services Australia	1300 301 120
Commercial and industrial activities (eg. auto mechanics, smash repairers), defined in the Environmental Protection Regulation as 'Environmentally Relevant Activities' under the control of the local government	Local Government	(07) 3810 6666
Lawn mowers, power tools and hammers	Local Government	(07) 3810 6666
Pool filters and spa pumps, air conditioners and refrigerators	Local Government	(07) 3810 6666
Animals - domestic (including barking dogs)	Local Government	(07) 3810 6666
Domestic construction of residential buildings less than 10 storeys	Local Government	(07) 3810 6666
Large construction activities - residential buildings greater than 10 storeys, commercial and industrial buildings	Department of Environment and Resource Management	1300 130 372
Liquor licensed premises	Queensland Department of Tourism and Racing - Liquor Licensing Division	13 13 04
Waterways - leisure boats, jet skis and other vessels	Local Government	(07) 3810 6666
Commercial and industrial activities not under the control of local government, eg. foundries, quarries and oil refineries	Department of Environment and Resource Management	1300 130 372
Amplified noise	Queensland Police Service	Please contact your nearest Police station
Alarm systems	Queensland Police Service	Please contact your nearest Police station
Musical instruments, parties and rowdy crowd behaviour	Queensland Police Service	Please contact your nearest Police station
Motorbike noise	Queensland Police Service	Please contact your nearest Police station

Further Information

Last Updated 27 Jun 2011 |

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