Licensees have certain obligations to make sure any negative impact on local residents or businesses in their community is minimised. They also have a duty not to conduct business in a way that unduly disturbs, or unreasonably and seriously disturbs, the quiet and good order of the neighbourhood.
This page sets out some steps that can be taken by a neighbouring resident or business when experiencing a heightened level of disturbance or other negative impacts from the operation of a licensed venue.
It is reasonable to expect some level of noise or activity from the general operation of a licensed venue, including 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:
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. Any reasonable concern raised by local residents and businesses about neighbourhood disturbances should be taken seriously by a licensed venue. In our experience, this is an effective way to resolve noise and disturbance disputes quickly and in an informal way without outside intervention.
By approaching the venue directly to discuss your concerns, it helps the licensee and venue staff understand the issue so they can make positive change to address your concerns regarding disturbance. It might be the case that the venue doesn’t realise how they are affecting its neighbours.
Effective ways to approach a venue to discuss any noise and disturbance issues may include contacting the venue by phone, email or text message as soon as possible after the incident occurred or attending the venue in person. Other options may include organising a meeting with the licensee or venue operator.
L&GNSW’s preferred approach is the informal resolution of disturbance issues where possible. We strongly encourage local residents and licensees interact in a respectful and productive manner to achieve a mutual resolution.
When you experience a disturbance associated with a licensed venue:
The best thing about approaching the venue directly about local disturbance issues is that it 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.
You can ask for advice to help mediate and find a solution that works for you and the venue. This works best when:
We are able to provide assistance with noise and disturbance concerns about licensed venues in certain circumstances but if the venue does not have noise-related conditions on its liquor licence, we may be limited in what we can do.
Generally, we can only assist where:
We understand that it might not be appropriate in all instances to approach a venue directly. In those circumstances, we may ask you for more detail regarding why you have not attempted to engage with the licensee or venue staff to resolve any disturbance issues.
NSW Police may be able to provide advice and assist in resolving general disturbance concerns in situations requiring an immediate response. A local licensing officer would have a working relationship with all licensed venues in your area and may suggest an appropriate resolution to noise concerns. This is especially effective if you are located in regional NSW.
If your complaint relates to noise from amplified music, entertainment or patron noise from a licensed marine vessel, you should contact NSW Police Marine Area Command in situations requiring an immediate response. You may report the disturbance to L&GNSW; however, we may be limited in how we can respond to your complaint if it is urgent.
It is important to note that:
Every licensed venue has a development consent that contains conditions of consent. These may include conditions relating to patron capacity, trading hours, amenity provisions, and in some instances, acoustic requirements. Under recent changes, certain noise-related consent conditions cease to have effect, however all remaining conditions of consent remain in force and still apply to the venue.
