The states, side by side
| State | The page | Hours it gives | Sundays and public holidays |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | NSW EPA, Interim Construction Noise Guideline (2009) | Standard hours for normal construction: 7 am to 6 pm on weekdays, and 8 am to 1 pm on Saturdays. | No work. |
| Victoria | EPA Victoria, construction noise | Advised working hours. Residential construction and demolition sites: 7 am to 6 pm on weekdays, 9 am to 1 pm on Saturday. Construction and demolition of commercial or industrial buildings: 7 am to 6 pm on weekdays, 7 am to 1 pm on Saturday. | Not among the normal working hours the page lists. |
| Queensland | Queensland Government, noise regulation fact sheet | For building work by a registered contractor or builder, or under an owner-builder permit, the default noise standard prohibits any audible noise before 6.30 am and after 6.30 pm, Monday to Saturday. These default standards apply unless the local council has varied them by local law. | Any audible noise prohibited at any time. |
| Western Australia | Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, regulation 13 fact sheet | Construction work carried out between 7 am and 7 pm on a day that is not a Sunday or public holiday, using the noise control practices in AS 2436-2010 and the quietest equipment reasonably available. | Out-of-hours work, including Sundays and public holidays, needs an approved noise management plan. |
| South Australia | EPA South Australia, construction noise | Recommends limiting noisy activities to between 7 am and 7 pm, Monday to Saturday. | Outside the recommended days. The page says some grounds may exist for work outside these hours if consent is given and procedures are followed, and to contact your council. |
Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory set their own rules, which this guide has not listed. Their environment regulators and councils publish them.
Recommended is not the same as required
Read the status of each rule, not only the times. The NSW EPA says its recommended standard hours “are not mandatory”, and that the relevant consent, determining or regulatory authority “may impose more or less stringent construction hours”. The guideline guides the EPA in setting licence conditions, and it helps councils decide whether to approve local construction projects.
This guide’s reading: in NSW, the hours that bind a particular site are likely to be the ones written into its approval or licence, which is why the approval is worth checking.
EPA Victoria makes a point that matters to neighbours: noise from a construction site during normal working hours “can still be unreasonable in some cases”, giving early-morning deliveries and jackhammers going for hours as examples. Construction site noise must not be unreasonable under the Environment Protection Act 2017.
In Western Australia, a site that wants to work outside the daytime hours must, among other things, show that the occupiers of premises likely to receive noise above the assigned levels were given written notice at least 24 hours before the work started.
How two councils set their own hours
A council’s own hours can differ from the hours on its state’s page, and from another council’s. Two examples:
City of Sydney
The council asks sites in the city centre to restrict potentially noisy construction to 7 am to 7 pm Monday to Friday and 7 am to 5 pm Saturday, and elsewhere in its area to work from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm Monday to Friday and 7.30 am to 3.30 pm Saturday. It asks for no work on Sundays or public holidays anywhere in its area. It says these hours may be changed to limit especially loud machinery such as rock breakers, rock saws and pile drivers, and that it may require developers to use respite periods or to do some noisy work at less sensitive times.
City of Melbourne
The council’s code says that under its Activities Local Law 2024, building works are limited to 7 am to 7 pm Monday to Friday and 8 am to 3 pm on Saturday, and that anything outside those hours needs an out-of-hours permit. Those permits are issued at the council’s discretion, and the code says that falling behind on a project “is not a compelling reason” to approve one.
The same code treats homes within 200 metres of a site boundary as a noise-sensitive zone, with typical sensitive periods of 7 am to 9 am on weekdays and 8 am to 10 am on weekends, and expects builders to schedule quieter work at those times where they can.
The hours in your street may differ from every example on this page. The site’s approval, and your council, are the places to check.