Report Local Issues

If you've seen a vehicle which has been left unattended on a public road for over one month,

Please include the following information:

• Vehicle details (eg. make, model, colour and registration number)
• Vehicle location
• Length of time abandoned
• Any damage to the vehicle
• Car owner details (if known)

We can impound and remove unattended and abandoned vehicles. We'll try to identify the owner and contact them before removing the vehicle.

If a burnt-out vehicle is on a public street, we'll first wait for the police to conduct any relevant investigations. If a vehicle is causing danger, we might remove it right away.

The owner of the vehicle is responsible for the costs of towing and storage, plus any penalties. 

If we tow a vehicle, it will be taken to our contracting agent's holding yard. We'll notify the last registered owner of where the vehicle has been towed to. If the owner doesn't claim the vehicle, it'll either be publicly auctioned or destroyed, depending on its condition and value.

For more information, visit:

• NSW Office of Local Government
• NSW Department of Planning and Environment 

We may investigate reports of illegal dumping in public and private places, attend the sites of illegal dumping and conduct investigations in an attempt to identify where the waste material originated from and who was responsible for dumping the waste.

The negative impact of dumping

Illegal dumpers are part of our community, they are regular people just like you, except, they dispose of their waste illegally. This irresponsible waste dumping creates a number of risks that may adversely affect the environment in which we live. These risks include:

• Dangerous or unsafe play areas
• Health problems
• Environmental hazard
• Poor visual amenity.

Under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997, it is an offence to transport waste to or deposit waste in a place that cannot lawfully be used as a waste facility and also an offence to cause or permit it to be transported or deposited. Penalties for this offence can be up to $250,000 for individuals and $1 million for corporations. On the spot penalty notices of up to $5000 can be issued by officers for lesser offences.

Dispose of your waste correctly

We provide a free bulk waste service for residents to legally dispose of unwanted household bulky items.

Please play your part in protecting the environment in which we live by acting responsibly.

For more information on the types of pollution that exist and what Council investigates visit  Environmental Health. 

Make a report

If you are concerned about your health, have witnessed instances of illegal behaviour that damages the environment or noticed changes to the environment around you due to pollution, this should be reported. 

Call the 24 hour Environment Protection Authority pollution line on 131 555

The Office of Environment & Heritage look after neighourhood noise issues.

Here are some tips on managing neighbourhood noise:

Talk to your neighbours

Try to solve the problem amicably by talking to whoever is causing the noise that is affecting you. The person may not know that the noise is affecting you or is a problem. Often people are happy to work with you to solve the problem.

Community Justice Centre

Contact the Community Justice Centre. Community Justice Centre. an independent centre that specialises in settling differences between neighbours without entering complicated legal processes. Services are free, confidential and voluntary.

Local Court

Seek a noise abatement order by contacting Newcastle Local Court.

Barking dogs

If the issue cannot be resolved between neighbours Seek advice and further information from  Community Justice Centres website or by calling  1800 990 777.

Alarms

Motor Vehicles

For vehicles, it is an offence for an alarm to sound for more than:

• 45 seconds for cars manufactured after 1 September 1997

• 90 seconds for older cars.

The sounding of motor vehicle intruder alarms is regulated under the Protection of Environment Operations (Noise Control) Regulation 2017. Motor vehicle intruder alarms should not sound for more than:

• more than 90 seconds for vehicles manufactured prior to 1 September 1997

• more than 45 seconds for vehicles manufactured on or after 1 September 1997.

Building

The sounding of building intruder alarms is regulated under the Protection of Environment Operations (Noise Control) Regulation 2017.

Building alarms should not emit noise that can be heard in any residential premises for a period more than:

• ten minutes if installed before 1 December 1997 or

• five minutes if installed after 1 December 1997

Noise from vehicles

Vehicles are not allowed to make  'unnecessary noise' such as noise from intentional wheel spins and 'doughnuts'. Contact the police to make a report or Roads and Maritime Services to make a report.

Noise from domestic equipment

Find out more at  Protection of Environment Operations (Noise Control) Regulation 2017 

Noisy Parties

Contact the Police Assistance Line on 131 444.

We do not issue approvals for busking however if you would like to busk in the Newcastle local government area, please note that we will act on any complaints regarding offensive noise and footway obstructions. 

Noise 

We can regulate offensive noise in accordance with the provisions of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997. Offensive noise means that, by reason of its level, nature, character or quality, or the time at which it is made, or any other circumstances: 

• Is harmful to (or is likely to be harmful to) a person who is outside the premises from which it is emitted 

• Interferes unreasonably with (or is likely to interfere unreasonably with) the comfort or repose of a person who is outside the premises from which it is emitted

Footway Obstructions 

We can regulate footway obstructions in accordance with the provisions of the Roads (General) Regulation 2000. A person must not place on a road anything that is likely to injure any person or damage any vehicle, or anything that is likely to restrict or endanger the use of a road by the public or interfere with public convenience. 

City of Newcastle aim to minimise incidents of graffiti vandalism on our properties including:

• City of Newcastle buildings
• Park and playground equipment and facilities
• Bus shelters
• Street signs.

If you've seen illegal graffiti on City of Newcastle property:

Please note, we are not responsible for removing graffiti on private property nor on public buildings or structures we don’t own including:

• NBN Infrastructure – army green nodes or street cabinets.
• Ausgrid assets - any graffiti located on a ie substation kiosks on footpaths, power poles, substations etc the customer needs to contact Ausgrid directly.
• Hunter Water assets such as canals and open waterways.
• Transport for NSW assets such as buses, ferries, rail, signage on bus stops traffic lights and signals, and wharves.

• Bill posters are rarely removed by the person who posted it and often become litter and end up in our waterways creating pollution.
• The clean up of litter and bill poster removal is costly.
• Bill posters can create a distraction to drivers and in some cases cover important signs and road safety information.

What can I do to lawfully promote my event?

• Social media

• Websites

• Newspaper advertising

• Noticeboards

• The inside of shop windows with the shop owner’s approval

• Approved bill poster poles

• Approved signs at the event venue

Use this form to report a dead animal in a public space.  We remove dead animals from council property such as council roads and land including parks and reserves. 

Before you get started you'll need: 

• The address or location of the animal  

Report it

Note we do not remove dead animals from private property. Contact your local vet for assistance if needed. 

We carry out monitoring and regular surveillance of areas with vacant/derelict buildings. If you've seen a vacant or derelict building,

Under the Local Government Act, we can serve an order on the owner or occupier of a building / premises if it is not in a safe or healthy condition. The order requires the owner / occupier take action to ensure land / premises are returned to or kept in a safe or healthy condition.

We can also order owners to build structures to protect persons or property on / in public places if a derelict building is dangerous and in the immediate vicinity of a public place.

If the owner fails to carry out the actions required in an order, we can:

• Issue a Penalty Infringement Notice
• Take legal action in the Local Court
• Take legal action in the Land & Environment Court
• Carry out the actions required in the order and seek to recover the costs from the owner.

Structures or devices including vehicles caravans or trailers displaying advertising material on public or private land is considered development activity. It is an offence to carry out development other than in accordance with a development consent. Penalties can be up to $1,100,000.

We regularly conduct patrols and may initiate legal proceedings for any detected breaches including the issuing of $3000 penalty infringement notices in accordance with The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. Enforcement action is often taken after a caution has been issued and time for compliance has been provided, however, where there are risks to public safety or significant impact on the public or the environment, legal proceedings may be commenced without warning.

The Newcastle Development Control Plan (DCP) outlines requirements for the design of advertising signs and structures, including signage for home occupations as well as business in commercial and industrial areas.

If you've seen an unauthorised sign,