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Workplace health and safety

Home > Workplace health and safety > Law and penalties > Noise Code of Practice 2004

Noise Code of Practice 2004


Notice regarding Codes of Practice

From 18 November 2004 the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB) was amended so that all Advisory Standards and Industry Codes of Practice were continued as Codes of Practice and expire 10 years after their commencement date.

Every effort was made to ensure that the information contained within a Code was accurate when the Code was made and commenced. Codes of Practice are not routinely updated to reflect legislative change.

It is your responsibility to be aware of and familiar with legislative changes that have been made since the commencement of any Code of Practice.

1. What is noise?
2. Responsibilities
3. Noise assessments
4. How should noise be managed?
5. What are noise control measures?
6. Audiometric testing
Appendix 1 - extract from the Workplace Health and Safety Regulation 1997
Appendix 2 – Obligations under the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
Appendix 3 – Noise hazard identification checklist
Appendix 4 – Instruments for assessing noise levels
Appendix 5 – Guidance material
Appendix 6 – Ototoxins
Appendix 7 – Acoustic shock
Appendix 8 – Dictionary

Important information about the Noise Code of Practice 2004

What is this Code of Practice about?

The purpose of the Noise Code of Practice 2004 is to give practical advice about identifying sources and levels of noise, assessing exposure to noise and eliminating or minimising noise exposure as a risk to health and safety at the workplace.

Workplace health and safety obligations

The Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB) places obligations on people at workplaces to ensure workplace health and safety. Workplace health an d safety is ensured when people are free from death, injury or illness or risk of death, injury or illness caused or created by any workplace, work activities, relevant workplace areas or plant or substances for use at a workplace. Ensuring workplace health and safety involves identifying and managing exposure to risks at your wo rkplace.

Obligation holders

In regards to noise the following persons may have obligations under the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995:

Persons may owe obligations in more than one capacity, for example an employer may also be a person in control of a workplace and/or a person who conducts a business or undertaking.

Obligations of a person who conducts a business or undertaking (a 'relevant person')

The Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 places obligations on a person who conducts a business or undertaking. The Act refers to a person who conducts a business or undertaking as a ‘relevant person’. The obligations apply whether or not –

Relevant persons have an obligation to ensure –

The term 'relevant person' is also used in the Workplace Health and Safety Regulation 1997 (PDF, 1.4 MB).

Where this code of practice provides advice to employers and self-employed persons on managing exposure to risks, other persons who conduct a business or undertaking may also find this advice applicable depending on their circumstances.

How can I meet my obligations?

Under the Act, there are three types of instruments to help you meet workplace health and safety obligation s – regulations, ministerial notices and codes of practice.

If there is a regulation or ministerial notice about a risk, you MUST do what the regulation or notice says.

If there is a code of practice about a risk, you MUST either –

  1. do what the code says; or
  2. do all of the following–
    • adopt and follow another way that gives the same level of protection against the risk
    • take reasonable precautions; and
    • exercise proper diligence.
If there is no regulation, ministerial notice or code of practice about a risk, you must choose an appropriate way to manage exposure to the risk and take reasonable precautions and exercise proper diligence to ensure that your obligations are met.

Last updated 3 July 2008