Noise

Noise pollution can be defined as unwanted noise that unreasonably intrudes on daily activities.

In urban areas, noise pollution has many sources, most of which are associated with urban living: road, rail and air transport; industrial and commercial noise; construction noise and neighbourhood and recreational noise.

Noise pollution can have negative impacts on the quality of life and health, and needs to be addressed in planning and pollution control strategies.

In the Northern Territory (NT), the NT Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA) is the main regulator that sets standards, assesses, manages and regulates noise issues and resolves complaints under the provisions of the Waste Management and Pollution Control Act 1998 (WMPC Act).

The NT EPA responds to noise complaints from a variety of commercial, industrial, entertainment and domestic sources.

The NT EPA utilises the WMPC Act, which is the key legislation for environmental protection in the NT. The WMPC Act provides the NT EPA broad powers to deal with unreasonable noise emissions.

The Northern Territory Noise Management Framework Guideline PDF (1.7 MB) provides guidance to the community and industry about the noise regulatory framework as it applies in the NT.

It addresses the noise issues that the NT EPA and other NT noise regulators deal with on a day to day basis.

This guideline defines the framework for assessing environmental noise impacts from industrial and commercial premises and industrial development proposals, and provides greater certainty for business and the community in understanding how noise is regulated in the NT.

Find out how to make a noise report or complaint.