Air Conditioner Rules in NSW:
Noise Hours, Council Approval and Strata

Checked 22 September 2026, with a link to every source

Most of what people call council bylaws for air conditioners are NSW state laws that your council enforces. Three sets of rules matter for a Sydney home: the noise regulation, which sets the hours an air conditioner can be heard next door; the exempt development standards, which decide whether a new or relocated outdoor unit needs council approval; and in an apartment, your strata scheme's rules.

The noise hours changed on 28 August 2026. Air conditioners can now be heard next door until 11pm rather than 10pm, and the time limits do not apply at all during a severe or extreme heatwave. Several council websites were still showing the old 10pm rule in September 2026. The figures on this page are the current ones, and each links to its source so you can check it yourself.

Servicing or repairing an existing air conditioner needs none of these approvals. They matter when a unit is new, replaced, moved, or keeping the neighbours awake.

This page is general information, not legal advice. For a specific property, check the linked source or ask your council.

NSW Air Conditioner
Rules at a Glance

  • Noise hours. A home air conditioner must not be heard inside a neighbour's home before 7am or after 11pm on weekdays, or before 8am or after 11pm on weekends and public holidays.

  • Heatwaves. Those hours do not apply while the Bureau of Meteorology has a severe or extreme heatwave warning in place for your area.

  • Council approval. An outdoor unit at a house is exempt development, with no development application needed, provided it meets every state standard.

  • Heritage. On a heritage item or in a heritage conservation area, the outdoor unit has to sit at or behind the rear building line. On a heritage item it must also be on the ground.

  • Strata. Installing or replacing a reverse cycle air conditioner in a strata apartment is a minor renovation that needs owners corporation approval.

  • Licensing. Anyone installing or servicing a split or ducted system in NSW needs a licence for air conditioning and refrigeration work, and anyone handling the refrigerant needs an ARC licence.

Air Conditioner Noise Hours in NSW

The rule is in the Protection of the Environment Operations (Noise Control) Regulation 2026, which commenced on 28 August 2026 and replaced the 2017 regulation. It is a state law, enforced by councils and the police.

The Hours

  • Monday to Friday: not to be heard in a neighbour's home before 7am or after 11pm

  • Saturday, Sunday and public holidays: not to be heard before 8am or after 11pm

The test is whether the air conditioner can be heard inside a room of a neighbouring home, whether that room's doors and windows are open or shut. It applies to air conditioners on residential premises. Noise from commercial premises is handled under different rules.

What Changed on 28 August 2026

  • The evening cut-off moved from 10pm to 11pm, every day of the week.

  • The time limits do not apply during a severe or extreme heatwave declared by the Bureau of Meteorology.

  • Heat pump hot water systems did not change, and still must not be heard next door after 10pm.

  • Pool, spa and other residential pumps moved from 8pm to 9pm.

  • On-the-spot fines for most noise offences went up by about a third.

The NSW EPA's review page has the background and the consultation report.

The Heatwave Exemption

The time limits are lifted while a Bureau of Meteorology heatwave warning at severe or extreme level is active for your area. A low intensity heatwave does not count, and the normal limits come back when the warning ends. If you need to run a system late on a hot night, check the Bureau's heatwave page first.

Inside the Hours Is Not a Free Pass

Running within the permitted hours does not make any level of noise acceptable. An air conditioner loud enough to be offensive noise can be dealt with at any time of day. Councils can issue a prevention notice or a noise control notice requiring the owner to fix it, police can direct that the noise stop, and a neighbour can apply to the Local Court for a noise abatement order. The NSW EPA's neighbourhood noise pages explain each route.

When an Aircon Gets Louder

An air conditioner that is louder than it used to be has almost always changed mechanically. The usual causes are worn fan motor bearings, a chipped or unbalanced fan blade, loose panels resonating against the casing, and perished anti-vibration mounts passing compressor vibration into the wall or balcony slab. An outdoor unit boxed into a light well or a narrow side passage also sounds louder than the same unit in open air, because the sound reflects rather than disperses.

Most air con noise is repairable, and a repair is usually quicker and cheaper than the dispute. See air conditioning repairs

Do You Need Council Approval
for an Air Conditioner?

Usually not, at a house. Installing an air conditioner is exempt development under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008, which means no development application and no certifier, provided the installation meets every standard in the policy. Miss even one and it needs development consent from council. NSW Planning publishes a plain English summary.

The Standards for a Home

On a residential property, the air conditioner must:

  • not be on a wall or roof that faces the main street, or in front of the building line to that street

  • be at least 450 mm from every boundary of the lot

  • be fixed to an external wall, mounted on the ground, or sit on the floor of a balcony

  • be no higher than 1.8 m above existing ground level

  • not weaken the structure of the building or reduce the fire resistance of a wall

  • during the policy's peak time, be no more than 5 dB(A) above the background noise level at any boundary

  • during off peak time, not be audible in a habitable room of a neighbouring home

  • have any hole through a wall properly waterproofed

The general requirements for all exempt development in clause 1.16 of the policy apply as well. Commercial and other non-residential properties have their own standards in clause 2.6(1A), including larger setbacks for a unit built into an external wall.

Balconies

NSW Planning confirms an air conditioner can be installed on the floor of a balcony as exempt development. In an apartment the strata rules still apply on top of that, and they are usually the bigger hurdle.

Keep the outdoor unit clear of the balustrade. A condenser pushed against a balcony railing is a step for a small child. The building code's climbing rule covers the railing itself rather than what sits beside it, but it also requires a barrier to protect people from falling and to restrict the passage of children.

Heritage Items and Conservation Areas

If the property is a heritage item or a draft heritage item, or sits in a heritage conservation area, the outdoor unit has to be installed at or behind the rear building line to stay exempt. On a heritage item or draft heritage item it must also be ground mounted. Anything else needs development consent.

This catches more homes than people expect. Mosman alone has 13 heritage conservation areas and around 500 heritage items and archaeological sites, and most councils across the North Shore and Eastern Suburbs have conservation areas of their own. To check a property, enter the address in the NSW Planning Portal Spatial Viewer and turn on the heritage layer, or use your council's heritage pages in the directory below.

Some councils run an exemption process for minor work on heritage properties. In Mosman a heritage exemption has to be applied for and approved in writing before work starts, and council will not consider work that has already begun.

When Your Council's Own Rules Apply

A council's development control plan, or DCP, only comes into play when an installation is not exempt and needs a development application. That is where the council-specific rules live, and they vary.

  • Woollahra has specific air conditioning controls, in force since 12 April 2021. Air conditioners are expected to go inside the building, in a plant room or similar, where that is possible. An outdoor unit is only accepted where it cannot reasonably go anywhere else, is not visible from the street or public domain, and is discreet from neighbouring properties. In the Paddington conservation area it must sit behind the front wall, lower than 1.8 m, and not on a roof. Woollahra DCP Amendment 15

  • North Sydney's DCP says mechanical equipment such as air conditioners should not be placed next to the bedrooms or living rooms of neighbouring homes. North Sydney DCP 2013

Air Conditioning
in Strata Apartments

In a strata scheme, installing or replacing a reverse cycle air conditioner is a minor renovation under NSW strata law. You need approval before the work starts:

  • Put the request to the owners corporation in writing, with plans of the work, the dates and times it will be done, and the details and qualifications of the tradespeople doing it.

  • It is decided at a general meeting and needs more than 50% of the votes cast in favour. If your by-laws allow it, the strata committee can decide it instead.

  • If a strata committee refuses, it must give written reasons within three months. If it does not refuse within three months, the application is taken to be approved.

Work that goes further, such as structural changes, can be a major renovation needing a special resolution and 14 days' written notice, and the owners corporation may want a by-law covering the unit. Your existing by-laws can also set rules of their own, including where outdoor units may go, how pipework is run and who maintains the unit afterwards. Ask the strata manager for the by-laws before you get an air con quote, because they often decide where the outdoor unit can go. Company title buildings are different again, with approval coming from the company's board under its own rules.

Repairs and servicing on an existing unit need no strata approval, although most buildings want a certificate of currency and licence details on file before a contractor goes onto common property. We supply both on request.

Who Is Allowed to Work
on an Air Conditioner

In NSW you need a licence or certificate to install, maintain or service an air conditioning system, other than a self-contained plug-in unit. Unlicensed work carries fines of up to $22,000 for an individual and $110,000 for a company.

Anyone who handles the refrigerant also needs a refrigerant handling licence from the Australian Refrigeration Council, and a business that acquires, stores or disposes of refrigerant needs a Refrigerant Trading Authorisation. Releasing refrigerant into the atmosphere is an offence under Commonwealth law whatever the quantity, which is why an old unit cannot simply be unbolted and left out for council clean-up. See air conditioner removal

You can check any technician yourself:

Artarmon Air Conditioning holds NSW contractor licence 394793C and Refrigerant Trading Authorisation AU60391.

Council Contacts for
Air Conditioner Noise and Heritage

Start with your neighbour. If that goes nowhere, Community Justice Centres offer free mediation before anyone makes a formal complaint. If you do need council, these are the pages for the councils we cover. For heritage status at any address, the Spatial Viewer works across all of them.

Lower North Shore

See our Lower North Shore service area

Upper North Shore and Northern Beaches

Eastern Suburbs and Inner City

Frequently Asked Questions

  • It does not have to be off, it has to be inaudible next door. Under the NSW noise regulation in force since 28 August 2026, a home air conditioner must not be heard inside a neighbouring home before 7am or after 11pm on weekdays, or before 8am or after 11pm on weekends and public holidays. The old cut-off was 10pm, and plenty of websites still show it.

  • Yes, during a severe or extreme heatwave. The 2026 noise regulation lifts the time limits while the Bureau of Meteorology has a severe or extreme heatwave warning active for your area. A low intensity heatwave does not count, and the normal limits return when the warning ends. Artarmon Air Conditioning's advice is to fix a unit that has become loud before summer, because the offensive noise rules still apply at any hour.

  • Usually not at a house. A split system is exempt development in NSW if it meets every standard in the state Codes SEPP, including sitting at least 450 mm from each boundary, not facing the main street and meeting the noise limits. If it misses any standard, or the property is heritage listed and the unit cannot go at or behind the rear building line, it needs development consent from council.

  • Under NSW planning rules, yes. NSW Planning confirms an air conditioner can be installed on the floor of a balcony as exempt development. The owners corporation still has to approve it as a minor renovation, and the by-laws may say where it can sit. Artarmon Air Conditioning's advice is to keep it well clear of the balustrade, because a condenser against the railing is a step for a small child.

  • Yes. NSW strata law treats installing or replacing a reverse cycle air conditioner as a minor renovation, which needs owners corporation approval by more than half the votes cast at a general meeting, or strata committee approval where the by-laws allow it. Repairs and servicing on the existing unit need no approval, and Artarmon Air Conditioning can supply a certificate of currency and licence details to the building manager.

  • Yes, but where the outdoor unit goes is restricted. To stay exempt from council approval, a unit in a heritage conservation area must be installed at or behind the rear building line, and on a heritage item it must also be mounted on the ground. Anything else needs development consent, and some councils, Woollahra in particular, then expect the unit to be out of sight from the street.

  • Talk to them first, because most loud units have a mechanical fault the owner has not noticed. If that fails, Community Justice Centres offer free mediation. Your council can investigate and issue a notice requiring the noise to be dealt with if it breaches the time limits or amounts to offensive noise. Artarmon Air Conditioning repairs the usual causes, from worn fan motor bearings to perished anti-vibration mounts.

  • No. Servicing or repairing an existing air conditioner needs no council, heritage or strata approval, because nothing about the installation changes. Approval only comes into it when a unit is new, replaced, relocated or visibly altered. Artarmon Air Conditioning will tell you at the point of diagnosis if a repair is turning into a replacement that is likely to need approval, before you commit to anything.

Where These Rules Come From

Noisy Outdoor Unit?
Book a Repair

If your air conditioner has become the reason the neighbours are knocking, the fix is usually mechanical and usually quick. Tell us what it sounds like and when it started, and we will tell you what it is likely to be before we arrive.

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