Defence has an honest and open approach about the noise experienced by residents living near airbases and training areas.
You may submit a military aircraft noise enquiry or complaint anytime:
When you submit a military aircraft noise enquiry or complaint, please provide:
You may wish to remain anonymous or not to be contacted. If this is the case, no response will be provided.
You are advised to read the Defence Privacy Statement. Inappropriate language will not be tolerated.
Aircraft noise enquires or complaints about non-military aircraft should be directed to Airservices Australia's Noise Complaints and Information Service.
Enquires and complaints that do not relate to aircraft noise will be closed without a response.
When submitting a military aircraft noise enquiry or complaint by phone, you may be asked where your closest base is. This map provides a list of military bases that may have aircraft based at them.
Military aircraft may also operate in areas where there is no local base. If this is the case or if you are unsure of which base is closest to you, you may wish to submit an online military aircraft noise enquiry or complaint. Please include your location and we will determine which base to direct your military aircraft noise enquiry or complaint to.
All military aircraft noise enquiries or complaints will be registered and if requested or required, an investigation will commence. The investigation will determine if the aircraft in question is military and if so, whether it was operating within the relevant procedures and guidelines. Opportunities for improvement are also explored and if practicable, are implemented.
Should the aircraft in question be non-military, you will be provided this information. You may then wish to direct your aircraft noise enquiry or complaint to Airservices Australia's Noise Complaints and Information Service.
Online military aircraft noise enquiries or complaints are directed to the local airbase for investigation.
The Defence National Switchboard at 1300 333 362 directs calls to your local airbase. You may be required to leave a voicemail message on an answering machine. Please ensure you leave accurate contact details in order to return your call.
If you wish to send your military aircraft noise enquiry or complaint by mail, you will receive an initial response within 2 working days once received by the Staff Officer Aircraft Noise Management. Please include a telephone number or email address for a faster response.
An investigation may take up to 28 working days to resolve. Should we be unable to resolve your investigation within 28 working days, you will be kept informed of the progress.
During the conduct of a military aircraft noise complaint investigation, a representative will contact you in order to clarify the details of your complaint. Please be aware that the representatives may call from a private number. This is likely to occur within 2 working days of receiving your military aircraft noise enquiry or complaint.
Most military aircraft noise enquiries will be answered within 10 working days of being received. In these instances, there may not be an initial contact.
All investigations are internally reviewed before being closed.
You only need to contact Defence once with your military aircraft noise enquiry or complaint. Multiple military aircraft noise enquires or complaints made by the same person, will be registered once and addressed in one investigation.
If you are submitting a military aircraft noise enquiry or complaint on behalf of a group, there is no need to submit these individually. Instead, the description of the event should include that you are representing a group. It is advised to list the members of the group and their individual contact details in the description of the event.
Should you have an enquiry based on the progress of your military aircraft noise enquiry or complaint, you should contact the base involved in the investigation by phone. If you are unsure of which base is involved in the investigation, you may wish to submit an online military aircraft noise enquiry. Please include your location, so we can determine which base to direct your enquiry or complaint to.
If you are unsatisfied with how your aircraft noise complaint was handled, you may seek an independent review by the Aircraft Noise Ombudsman.
The Aircraft Noise Ombudsman will only review aircraft noise complaints that have already been submitted to the Department of Defence.
