Neighbourhood disturbances
Licensees have an obligation to minimise any negative impact on local residents and businesses. They also have a duty to maintain the quiet and good order of the neighbourhood. This means that licensees must not operate in a way that unduly or unreasonably and seriously disturbs the area.
It is reasonable to expect some level of noise or activity from the general operation of a licensed venue. This includes noise from amplified or live music, other entertainment, such as karaoke or patron noise.
A disturbance is likely to be one of two things, or both:
- excessive noise from inside the venue or people leaving the venue
- anti-social behaviour from people leaving the venue, including alcohol-related violence.
There are steps you can take as a local resident or business when you experience a disturbance from the operation of a licensed venue.
Steps to solving sound and noise problems
Talk with the venue
The simplest way to resolve a disturbance dispute with a licensed venue is to speak with the licensee or venue manager as soon as possible.
Licensed venues should take all reasonable concerns from local residents and businesses seriously. This helps resolve noise and disturbance issues quickly. In many cases, it avoids the need for outside intervention.
By approaching the venue directly to discuss your concerns, it helps the licensee and venue staff understand the issue. The venue can then make positive changes to address your concerns of disturbances. It might be the case that the venue doesn’t realise how they are affecting its neighbours.
There are several effective ways to raise noise or disturbance issues with a venue:
- Call, email or text the venue soon after the incident.
- Visit the venue in person.
- Arrange a meeting with the licensee or venue operator.
Act early and document things
Acting early can help resolve issues.
Where possible, L&GNSW supports informal solutions to disturbance issues. We encourage residents and licensees to communicate in a respectful way and work toward a shared solution.
When you experience a disturbance associated with a licensed venue:
- Write down the exact details of the incident as soon as possible after the disturbance. Include the type of disturbance, date and time.
- Include any actions you took at the time if any. For example, if you contacted the venue or NSW Police, and who you spoke to.
- Call the venue about your concerns as soon as possible after the incident. Record who you spoke to and what happened.
- Arrange to meet with the licensee or venue manager to discuss your concerns. This gives you a chance find a solution if you can’t resolve them by speaking over the phone. Focus on practical and reasonable solutions in your discussions.
- Approach discussions with an open mind and be respectful and clear about what an acceptable solution might be. Consider other options the venue may offer that could achieve the same result.
- If the issue relates to more than one licenced venue, provide them all with the same information. You should also let them know who else you’ve raised the issue with.
Approaching the venue directly about local disturbance issues allows the licensee to use your feedback to improve what they do. It also encourages them to respond quickly and discuss possible solutions to resolve the issue. This can improve relationships between locals and the venue.
When to seek assistance
You can ask for advice to help mediate and find a solution that works for you and the venue. This works best when:
- you don’t feel comfortable raising your concerns with the licensee or venue operator
- you have raised your concerns with the licensee or venue operator but haven’t been able to come to a solution or you are not satisfied with the steps they have taken to address your concerns.
Who to contact about a disturbance
Help is available if a licensed venue is causing a disturbance. Depending on the situation, you may need to speak to L&GNSW, the police, or your local council.
Contact the L&GNSW Sound Compliance & Enforcement team
We can provide help with noise and disturbance concerns about licensed venues in certain circumstances. If the venue does not have noise-related conditions on its liquor licence, there may be limits to what we can do.
Generally, we can only assist where:
- You have tried to resolve the issue directly with the venue, where appropriate.
- The venue has noise-related licence conditions on their liquor licence. For example, the LA10 noise condition or a requirement to use a noise limiter condition. You can check the conditions of a venue's licence on the public register.
- L&GNSW is the appropriate regulator for the type of noise generated. For example, sound from amplified or live music, other entertainment activities, like karaoke, or patron noise.
We understand that it might not be appropriate in all instances to approach a venue directly. We may ask you for more detail about why you have not tried to engage with the licensee or venue staff to resolve any disturbance issues.
Contact your local police
In situations that need an immediate response, NSW Police may be able to give advice and help resolve a disturbance issue.
A local licensing officer would have a working relationship with all licensed venues in your area. The officer may suggest an appropriate resolution to noise concerns. This is especially effective if you are in regional NSW.
If your complaint relates to amplified music, entertainment, or patron noise coming from a licensed marine vessel, contact NSW Police Marine Area Command for urgent help. You can also report the issue to L&GNSW, but there may be limits to how we can respond in urgent situations.
Report the incident to NSW Police if your complaint relates to:
- an act of violence
- criminal activity
- vandalism
- the use of a prohibited drug
- property damage.
Contact your local council
Every licensed venue has a development consent that contains conditions of consent. These may include:
- conditions relating to patron capacity
- trading hours
- amenity provisions
- in some instances, acoustic requirements.
Some noise-related consent conditions no longer apply under recent changes made by the vibrancy reforms. However, all remaining conditions of consent are in force and still apply to the venue.
If your concern is about a development consent condition that doesn’t involve music or entertainment at a licensed venue, contact your local council.
Contact your local council if your concerns relate to:
- parking issues
- deliveries
- waste and recycling collection
- loading and unloading operations
- mechanical and industrial noise such as ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration units
- construction work at a licensed venue.