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Commercial construction activities include building:
- shops
- supermarkets
- offices
- warehouses
- factories.
The Civil construction, building and demolition guide (publication 1834) provides information to help government and industry manage noise impacts from commercial construction sites. This guide is also relevant for demolition on commercial and industrial land, including when land is being redeveloped for residential use. The guide doesn’t apply to the maintenance or repair of existing buildings.
For more information about residential construction, see Noise guidance for businesses: Residential construction.
Enforcing construction site noise requirements
Councils generally enforce construction site noise requirements, including commercial construction site noise. While EPA’s noise guidance is not law, councils can apply requirements through permits and local law or as a reference in compliance decisions. If a council has a local law or another statutory control that’s different from information in the guidance, this then applies.
About normal work hours for commercial construction noise
The Civil construction, building and demolition guide (publication 1834), advises normal working hours for commercial construction and demolition site noise are:
- weekdays – 7 am to 6 pm
- Saturday – 7 am to 1 pm.
The guidelines do allow for some flexibility for work hours, depending on the circumstances of the noise. For example, quiet work like painting in the evening.
Read more about construction noise
Noise guidance for business: Residential construction
Reviewed 19 January 2021
