Purpose of the reforms
In late 2023, the NSW Parliament passed the 24-Hour Economy Legislation Amendment (Vibrancy Reforms) Act 2023 (the Vibrancy Reforms). These regulatory reforms seek to boost NSW’s night-time economy, benefiting:
- live music
- hospitality
- creative sectors and workers.
The Vibrancy Reforms aim to bring vibrancy back to NSW’s night-time economy and community.
A big part of these changes is about how Liquor & Gaming NSW (L&GNSW) manages sound from licensed venues.
The Vibrancy Reforms designated L&GNSW as the lead regulator for noise complaints related to licensed venues under the Liquor Act 2007. These new rules started on 1 July 2024 and introduce a streamlined approach to handle sound management.
The Vibrancy Reforms strengthened the disturbance complaint framework and thresholds. This helps to ensure all disturbance complaints are valid and reasonable.
Changes to noise related liquor licence conditions from November 2025
In November 2025, the NSW Parliament passed the 24-Hour Economy Legislation Amendment (Vibrancy Reforms) Act 2025. These additional reforms remove certain noise or amenity related conditions that were imposed before 24 November 2022 and that prohibit or restrict live music or other entertainment or imposes a sound limit or acoustic restrictions.
Examples of licence conditions that have been automatically removed are:
| Conditions that prohibit or restrict live music or entertainment |
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| Conditions that impose sound limits or acoustic restrictions |
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Venues don’t need to take any action to make this change happen and L&GNSW will automatically remove these conditions from liquor licences.
Licensees still have an ongoing obligation to minimise any negative impact on residents and businesses. L&GNSW encourage licensees to consider responsible sound management practices at their venue and will continue monitoring venues to ensure that they are operating appropriately.
If the removal of these conditions results in unreasonable disturbance to people living near it, L&GNSW can either reimpose the old condition or impose an updated condition that more appropriately addresses noise or amenity issues.
Learn about automatic noise removal conditions.
Understanding noise and disturbance complaints
Some level of noise will arise from the normal operation of a licensed venue. This includes noise from patrons, live or amplified music and other entertainment.
Licensees have an obligation to minimise any negative impact on residents and businesses. This means that licensees must ensure the operation of the venue does not detract from the amenity of community life.
L&GNSW deals with two types of complaints relating to entertainment sound associated with licensed venues.
Noise complaints
Noise complaints are reports made by members of the community raising concerns about the level of noise made by a licensed venue. This may include:
- noise from amplified music
- other types of entertainment, such as karaoke and trivia
- patron noise
- anti-social behaviour from patrons when leaving a venue.
L&GNSW records these complaints for intelligence purposes and/or further investigation. L&GNSW may take action depending on the circumstances.
L&GNSW focuses on resolving noise complaints through education, support and informal engagement first.
L&GNSW encourages venues and residents to work together to resolve noise issues. If a neighbour contacts the venue directly, the venue can respond to concerns or put steps in place to reduce noise issues. An informal resolution to noise complaints is the preferred approach.
Read more about making a noise complaint.
Statutory disturbance complaints
A person can make a statutory disturbance complaint under the Liquor Act 2007. It follows a formal process set out in legislation.
A person making this complaint must meet specific legal requirements before L&GNSW can accept and uphold a complaint. The process provides an opportunity for the licensee or venue operator to implement changes to mitigate noise impacts and are a positive step in seeking a resolution.
Finalising a complaint can take several months and follows a formal process to ensure fairness for everyone involved.
After the investigation, L&GNSW will publish a decision. The decision explains whether there was enough evidence to uphold the complaint and what regulatory action, if any, L&GNSW will take.
Possible outcomes include:
- no further action taken in relation to the complaint
- a warning issued to the licensee
- imposing licence conditions on the venue’s liquor licence, such as a requirement to comply with the LA10 noise criteria.
Learn more about making statutory disturbance complaints.
Noise complaints and statutory disturbance complaints L&GNSW may handle
L&GNSW assesses noise and disturbance complaints to determine the most appropriate way to resolve them. In some cases, we may determine that the concerns raised in the complaint are better managed by another agency or regulator, such as NSW Police or local council. If there is a more appropriate agency to report the matter to, L&GNSW will provide the complainant with the relevant information and in some cases, can make that referral on behalf of the complainant.
Complaints that L&GNSW will consider
- Amplified and live music coming from the licensed premises
- Use of speakers and PA systems for announcements
- Other forms of entertainment, such as, karaoke, trivia, bingo, comedy and raffles
- Patron noise coming from the licensed venue, including noise from patrons entering and exiting, talking, singing to music
- Patron behaviour when leaving a venue, including anti-social behaviour, yelling or swearing.
Complaints that L&GNSW will not consider
- Noise from waste disposal and collection, including recycling material
- Noise from delivery services, such as food and liquor supplies, including loading and unloading operations
- Mechanical and industrial noise including ventilation, air conditioners, kitchen exhaust fan systems and refrigeration units
- Noise from construction works
- Acts of vandalism and damage to public and private property
- Parking and traffic related issues or offences
- Enforcement of alcohol-free zones or alcohol prohibited areas
- Patrons’ ‘pre-loading’ or engaging in prohibited drug use in public areas such as residential streets or public parks
- Littering in residential streets or private property
- Location of taxi ranks, bus stops and pick up/drop off locations for ride share services.
These matters are more appropriately addressed by NSW Police or the relevant local council.
Changes to the statutory disturbance complaint framework from July 2024
The Vibrancy Reforms made key changes to the statutory disturbance complaint framework in the Liquor Act 2007.
More people needed to lodge a complaint
The number of people needed to make a statutory disturbance complaint in most circumstances has increased from three to five. These people must live or work in the neighbourhood of the venue and must be from different households or businesses.
Complainants must try to resolve issues first
Before making a statutory disturbance complaint, complainants must try to resolve the issue directly with the venue.
This means you can call, write to, or meet with the licensee or venue operator to talk about possible solutions.
L&GNSW will only consider a complaint if the complainant can show they’ve made a genuine attempt to resolve their concern informally with the venue. This helps both parties work towards a fair outcome and avoid escalation.
Order of occupancy
Order of occupancy is an important factor in the disturbance complaint framework. It helps decide how serious the disturbance must be for the complaint to be upheld.
This rule helps protect licensed venues from unreasonable complaints and expectations around the level of noise, especially in areas where residences and venues are close together.
Venues can lose this protection if there is a substantial change in the operation of the business carried on at the licensed venue.
A venue does not lose their order of occupancy just by offering live music between midday and 10pm indoors, or between midday and 6pm outdoors. This does not count as a ‘substantial change to the operation of the business.'
This protects venues that want to host live music without dealing with unreasonable noise complaints.
Threshold for upholding a statutory disturbance complaint
The threshold or level of disturbance on which a disturbance complaint may be upheld will differ depending on who has the order of occupancy – the venue or the complainant. Disturbance complaints must meet a higher threshold when the order of occupancy is in favour of the licensed venue.
Order of occupancy in favour of the complainant
A statutory disturbance complaint may be upheld if the quiet and good order of the neighbourhood in which the licensed venue is located has been unduly disturbed.
Undue disturbance
Undue disturbance is not defined in the Liquor Act 2007. L&GNSW gives the term a general meaning as a disturbance that is inappropriate or unsuitable for the neighbourhood, based on the specific context.
This is a subjective assessment. It depends on the strength and relevance of the evidence provided and obtained during the complaint process.
Order of occupancy in favour of the licensed venue
A statutory disturbance complaint can only be upheld if both of the following apply:
- The licensed venue caused an unreasonable and serious disturbance to the quiet and good order of the neighbourhood
- The complainant could not have reasonably foreseen the disturbance when they moved into or started working in the area.
Unreasonable and serious disturbance
Unreasonable and serious is not defined in the Liquor Act 2007. L&GNSW gives the terms a general meaning to be significant and beyond the limits of what is acceptable. This is a subjective assessment. It depends on the strength and relevance of the evidence provided during the complaint process.
L&GNSW assesses this on a case-by-case basis. The strength and relevance of the evidence provided and obtained during the complaint process is key.
L&GNSW won’t consider a neighbourhood unreasonably and seriously disturbed if the complainant could have taken reasonable steps to reduce the impact but did not.
What counts as a reasonable step depends on the situation. For example, renters may have less control over their property than homeowners.
Reasonable steps might include:
- closing windows and doors at night
- checking that seals or insulation are in place, if safe and practical to do so.
Reasonably foreseeable
A change is reasonably foreseeable if an ordinary person, using common sense, would expect the licensed venue might change how it operates.
For example, it is reasonable to expect that a café might expand its operations by offering outdoor dining on the footpath next to the venue.
You can read the statutory disturbance complaint guidelines that outline the matters L&GNSW may consider when deciding a complaint.
Sound management tools under the Vibrancy Reforms
The Vibrancy Reforms introduced changes to how sound is regulated at licensed venues. These changes affect development consent conditions, liquor licence conditions, and noise enforcement. Learn about the tools regulators can use to manage entertainment sound across different settings, including Special Entertainment Precincts.
Development consent conditions
Local councils often set noise-related conditions as part of a venue’s development consent. Councils apply these under local planning laws.
Under the Vibrancy Reforms, some of these conditions will no longer apply while a venue is licensed under the Liquor Act 2007.
The following development consent conditions automatically ceased to have effect from 1 July 2024:
- decibel-based limits, such as LA10 noise criteria
- rules about when live or amplified music can be played
- requirements to use a noise limiter
- conditions about the placement or use of speakers.
In addition, from December 2025, conditions of development consent or plans of management will be switched off that prohibit 'live entertainment' at hotels, clubs and small bars (excludes state significant or complying development consents).
Further reforms have switched off additional live entertainment conditions on Development Consents from 3 December 2025.
Conditions of development consent or plans of management will be switched off at all licensed premises that prohibit:
- particular music genres
- the number or types of instruments
- the number of musicians
- the playing of original music or whether dancing occurs
- the presence of a dance floor, and
- the direction a stage faces or use of decorations (e.g. mirror balls).
Venues and councils don’t need to take any action to make this change happen.
All other development consent conditions will continue to apply to licensed venues. These include (but aren’t limited to):
- staffing requirements
- building design and soundproofing
- signage rules
- heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) noise
- waste and recycling, including glass collection and disposal
- maximum patron capacity.
Liquor licence conditions
Unless a licensed venue is in a Special Entertainment Precinct, all existing conditions on the venue’s liquor licence remain in force.
Offensive noise provisions
Licensed venues are exempt from noise pollution provisions contained in the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997, including offensive noise laws. This exemption only applies if the venue is operating in accordance with its liquor licence, including any licence conditions, and the Liquor Act 2007.
Improvement notices for noise from licensed venues
Improvement notices help manage noise issues from licensed venues, including situations that need an immediate response.
Under section 75 of the Liquor Act 2007, NSW Police and NSW Maritime can issue an improvement notice if they reasonably believe the noise from a venue:
- is being emitted from the venue (including licensed marine vessels) in a way that unduly disturbs, or unreasonably and seriously disturbs, the quiet and good order of the neighbourhood, or
- is being emitted near the venue by patrons, staff or contractors (for example, musicians contracted to perform at the venue) or
- breaches a noise or noise related liquor licence condition.
L&GNSW can also issue an improvement notice if there is a reasonable belief a breach of the Liquor Act 2007 or Liquor Regulation 2018 has occurred or about any matter related to a licensed venue, including any conduct on the licensed premises.
An improvement notice can be issued to:
- the licensee
- an employee of the licensee
- an agent acting on behalf of the licensee.
A police officer or maritime authority that issues an improvement notice may also lodge a statutory disturbance complaint with L&GNSW about the same noise issue.
Local councils cannot issue improvement notices under the Liquor Act 2007.
Special Entertainment Precincts and sound management
Special Entertainment Precincts (SEPs) are specific areas designed to support live entertainment. In these areas, there can be different rules, including for noise, to help venues and nearby residents and businesses know what to expect.
When a SEP is established, local councils must prepare a precinct management plan. The plan includes information on the regulation of noise from amplified music from venues in the SEP. The plan must include a sound management framework which will set out the sound criteria for entertainment sound for each venue located within the SEP. For example, this may include fixed or defined decibel levels designed for specific sound category areas or zones within the SEP.
The sound criteria standards set out in a precinct management plan override any existing development consent conditions for a licensed venue relating to noise, to the extent that they are inconsistent with the plan. All other development consent conditions that fall outside of the precinct management plan continue to apply to licensed venues.
These rules in the SEP plan override any conflicting noise conditions on a venue's development consent or liquor licence.
Licensed venues in a SEP following the precinct management plan are also exempt from noise pollution laws.
Statutory disturbance complaints in SEPs
People can still lodge a statutory disturbance complaint against a venue in a SEP. However, a higher threshold applies before the complaint can be upheld.
To uphold the complaint, both of the following must be true:
- The venue did not follow the sound management rules in the precinct management plan
- The level of disturbance was unreasonable. For example, if acoustic testing shows the venue's noise clearly exceeds the sound limits in the plan.
If there’s evidence that the venue has breached the sound limits, L&GNSW may take regulatory action. This could include:
- Issuing a direction under section 34A of the Gaming and Liquor Administration Act 2007 to require the venue to follow the precinct’s sound management rules
- Issuing an improvement notice under the Liquor Act 2007 if the venue has breached the Liquor Act or contributed to unreasonable noise.