Noise from schools

Schools are typically located in residential areas.

Residents nearby schools may experience noise from the day-to-day operation of the school, including bells and announcements, or from garbage collection and other maintenance activities.

School facilities may also be used by the community (e.g. music, sport, religious activities) and noise may arise from these activities. 

Talk to your local school

If you experience noise from the day-to-day operation of a school or from community use of school facilities, you are encouraged to contact the school directly. Direct communication with the school is often all that is required to reach a mutually satisfactory solution.

Who to contact next?

If you continue to experience offensive noise after you have contacted the school, and they have had a reasonable time to investigate your referral, then you can lodge a complaint, as follows:

• School Infrastructure NSW by email [email protected] or 1300 482 651. Alternatively for school activities at NSW Government schools, the NSW EPA via Environment Line by email at [email protected] or 131 555.
• for private schools and noise from community use of NSW Government schools, the relevant local council.

When you make your complaint, please be ready to provide the following information:

• name and address of the school
• a description of the noise including why it is a problem for you
• a copy of your communications with the school/ School Infrastructure NSW and
• a copy of any response received from the school/ School Infrastructure NSW.

Regulation of noise from schools

In NSW, noise is regulated by the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 and the Protection of the Environment Operations (Noise Control) Regulation 2017.Offensive noise means noise that by reason of its level, nature, character or quality, or the time at which it is made, or any other circumstances:

• is harmful to (or likely to be harmful to) a person who is outside the place where the noise is coming from, or
• interferes unreasonably with (or is likely to interfere unreasonably with) the comfort or rest of a person who is outside the place where the noise is coming from.

When a complaint is lodged with the EPA, the EPA will assess the information and determine whether further investigation is warranted. The assessment will take into account that school activities are inherently noisy at times as part of their typical and normal operations.

The EPA will generally not proceed with an investigation when the matters raised relate to noise that is typical of normal school operations and recognises that school activities will have noise impacts that will be disruptive to neighbours from time to time.