ACT Government supports new standards for buildings to reduce noise penetration from external sources

The ACT Government is supporting a national move to help minimise the impact of noise on people who live in areas where external noise may affect their quality of life. 

The ACT has joined with other states and the Northern Territory at the recent Building Ministers’ Forum to support the development of a construction standard to ensure residential buildings in busy areas are constructed in a way that helps to minimise noise from external sources. 

As we move towards having more infill development and more buildings are built in parts of our cities where external noise is greater, we need to introduce measures that will limit the potential for this to become a source of irritation to residents. 

The ACT Planning and Land Authority (ACTPLA) can already take steps, such as development approval conditions and requirements in deeds of development to address possible noise in some circumstances. It can also require anyone undertaking new activities that might generate noise to incorporate measures to limit that noise. 

However this decision by the Building Minister’s Forum would go a step further by providing new standards for buildings to reduce noise penetration from external sources where appropriate. 

The standard, which will be developed by the Australian Building Codes Board, will only apply in certain areas and these will need to be determined by planning bodies in each jurisdiction. 

For example ACTPLA will need to prepare maps of locations in which significant noise could be anticipated next to residential development. The standards will then apply to new residential construction in those locations. 

An analogy to this standard would be identifying bushfire prone areas and applying higher building standards in these areas. 

While not wanting to speculate on the outcome of this process some of the things that might be included in a standard like this would be the use of certain materials, thicker walls and window sound insulation. Multi-residential buildings are already subject to a minimum standard to insulate against noise from one apartment to the other. 

The standard is expected to be delivered within a year and as with all similar standards will be subject to a regulation impact process and industry consultation at the national level.