Report odour

Find out how to report odour. Strong and offensive odours can impact our health and the community. Every report we get about an odour helps us to find the cause of the smell and do something about it.

If your business has caused pollution, report a pollution incident.

What you can report

You can report odour from industrial sources and large-scale facilities to us. This includes:

  • landfills
  • sewage treatment facilities
  • abattoirs
  • animal processors
  • food processing plants
  • composting facilities.

Report odours from neighbours and small business to your local council(opens in a new window).

Report odours from sewer pipes and drains to your local water corporation(opens in a new window).

How to report odour to EPA

Report odour online, or call our 24-hour pollution hotline on 1300 372 842.

Report online(opens in a new window)

What to include in your report

The more information you can give us, the quicker we can respond and find out what's causing the smell. When making your report, tell us:

  • when you first smelled the odour
  • where you smelled it
  • how strong or weak it is
  • how long it lasted
  • if you have smelled it before
  • how the smell is affecting you
  • what the odour smells like.

Even details like wind direction and speed can help us, if you know them.

You can report anonymously, but if you do we cannot send you updates about your report. We also cannot contact you if we need more information.

Describing what odour smells like

When reporting odour, use the list below to describe what it smells like. This helps us to identify the source of the odour.

Cooked food

  • coffee (burnt or roast)
  • grain
  • fried, oily or fatty
  • meaty (cooked or burnt)
  • nutty

Hydrocarbons or fuel

  • bitumen or tar
  • diesel
  • gas (mercaptan)
  • oil or grease
  • petrol

Vegetable origin

  • cabbage
  • compost or mulch
  • garlic or onion
  • paper or pulp
  • seaweed
  • woody or resinous
  • yeast or fermentation

Chemicals or solvents

  • ammonia
  • alcohol or medicine
  • chlorine
  • metallic or foundry
  • paint thinners or spray paint (acetone)
  • sour or acidic

Animal origin

  • chicken or poultry farm
  • fish (amines)
  • livestock
  • manure (faeces)
  • rendering
  • skin or hides
  • urine (uric acid)

Rotting or putrid

  • dead animal or rotten meat
  • decayed organics or compost
  • garbage or rubbish
  • grease trap
  • milk or dairy (rancid)
  • rotten eggs
  • sewage or septic

Burnt or smoky

  • feathers or hair
  • plastic
  • rubber
  • waste or landfill
  • wood or wood smoke.

What happens next

After you have made a report, we send you a confirmation email with a reference number.

We review your report to assess the risk to human health and the environment. We review new reports 7 days a week.

If we confirm it's a high-risk incident with significant impact on the community or environment – for example, a tyre fire or a major chemical spill – we take action quickly. Due to the volume of reports we receive, low-risk reports can take longer to action.

We update you on the progress of your report and what action we plan to take.

Keep an odour diary

If you often experience offensive odour, we recommend that you record odours in an Odour diary. Your diary could become evidence to help us investigate and address the cause of the odour.

Impacts of odour pollution

Offensive odour interferes with people’s normal enjoyment or use of the environment. It can cause people to feel revolted, disgusted, upset or annoyed. Depending on the cause of the odour, it may be harmful to our health.

Businesses must make sure that any odour from their activities or premises does not impact the local community.

Learn more about odour and its impact on our community and environment.

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