Here are answers to the most common questions we're asked about our Noise Amelioration Plan and Program. Got a question that we haven't answered below? Get in touch with us. | ||||||||||
The federal government’s approval of the third runway project in September 2024 includes requirement to develop a Noise Amelioration Plan. The Plan will be submitted to the Federal Government for approval in 2026 and, following approval, will then be delivered through a Noise Amelioration Program until and after the new runway opens in 2031.
Amelioration has a similar meaning to “mitigation” or “treatment”.
Relating to aircraft noise, it refers to measures taken to reduce community impacts through building improvements.
Building improvements will generally be types of “attenuation”, which are physical ways to reduce the effects of significant noise, like:
Sound-proof door and window seals
Solid-core doors and enclosed eaves
Roof insulation
Double-glazed windows
Mechanical ventilation systems
Melbourne Airport operates 24 hours, 7 days a week and is growing. Introduction of the third runway at Melbourne Airport will increase community exposure to aircraft noise. The effects of this will be most significant close to the airport, where the volume and frequency of low altitude overflights could impact amenity and health.
The remote site at Tullamarine was selected in the 1950s and the airport was opened in 1970. Despite consistent State planning policy supporting the airport’s 24-hour operation, the city has grown towards the airport.
Various planning overlays have existed since 1992 that were designed to avoid developing residential communities and sensitive facilities in areas where significant aircraft noise impacts exist and are expected.
Where buildings have been subject to these controls, AS2021:2015 (Acoustics – Aircraft Noise Intrusion – Building siting and construction) construction standards are applied with the objective of ensuring homes subject to aircraft noise are appropriately developed.
This project is required to be delivered to specific areas where significant noise is projected by Melbourne Airport’s Australian Noise Exposure Forecast (ANEF). Melbourne Airport is working on an updated ANEF that includes the latest development and growth forecasts – it will be ready in mid-2026.
We know that the updated ANEF contours for this project will be limited to the parts of Hume and Brimbank council areas that are closest to the airport, particularly Keilor and Bulla.
The Airports Act 1996 requires that each airport Master Plan include an Australian Noise Exposure Forecast (ANEF) to determine likely noise exposure around the airport. An ANEF is a map overlaid with “contours” that show where aircraft noise of different intensities will occur in the future. The model includes data about:
How Melbourne Airport plans to use its runways
How and when flight paths are expected to be used for arrivals and departures
What aircraft airlines will operate (and their noise performance)
Expected airline demand for flights to/from Melbourne
ANEF models are produced regularly by all major Australian airports. They are reviewed and endorsed for accuracy by Airservices Australia.
This project's eligibility requirements are defined by the Australian regulatory system. This includes calculation of the Australian Noise Exposure Forecast (ANEF) in accordance with National Airports Safeguarding Framework (NASF) Guideline A: "Measures for Managing Impacts of Aircraft Noise" and its Attachment: "Supplementary Aircraft Noise Metrics". We are expecting to have the next ANEF endorsed in mid-2026.
ANEF models are comprised of complex data sets that are not published for several reasons, including (but not limited to) the sheer volume of data and its commercial sensitivity.
Though noise attenuation measures can significantly reduce aircraft noise, they cannot eliminate it. There is an Australian Standard (AS2021:2015: Acoustics—Aircraft noise intrusion— Building siting and construction) that sets noise level objectives for new-build construction in areas significantly affected by aircraft noise. This Standard also defines this project’s objectives for treating indoor spaces.
Eligibility will be determined by the boundary of the updated ANEF 25+ contours that will be available in 2026. We can’t advise eligibility any earlier because we need to update the ANEF model to incorporate all the latest developments and forecasts.
Priority will be given to structures where sleep, learning, communication and annoyance outcomes can be significantly improved. This means we’ll be focusing on homes, schools, childcare centres and medical centres.
There are some qualifications for project eligibility, including a building must:
Be located within the ANEF 25+ noise contour
Be built under a planning approval issued before 14 November 2022
Not be restricted by a State planning law (e.g. heritage overlay)
Not already be compliant with AS2021:2015
Once the Noise Amelioration Plan has been approved in 2026 and the updated ANEF is available, Melbourne Airport will publish a map of the eligible areas. We will also directly contact each eligible property to start the process of amelioration.
Melbourne Airport cannot compel anyone to participate in this project. At the right time we will make sure that all eligible property owners are aware of their eligibility and offer to get them involved. Owners are entitled to refuse but we’ll keep their offer open until the project is closed.
Sale of an eligible property while the project is open will not affect its eligibility. A new owner can access the program if the property hasn’t already been treated.
Melbourne Airport will assemble a suitable group of accredited contractors that will assess properties and recommend suitable treatment options. Once works are agreed, Melbourne Airport will pay the builders directly for the work.
Melbourne Airport will only cover works undertaken by this project.
Melbourne Airport is not required to acquire any property for noise amelioration, or any other part of the third runway project. The property on which Melbourne Airport is located is large enough to ensure that there are no homes close enough to be in extreme noise forecast areas.
A 2020 assessment of property values found no significant long-term impact for residences under Melbourne’s flight paths. Investment performance and sale rates were very similar, regardless of exposure to aircraft noise.
Amelioration modifications will be designed to preserve aesthetics and may even improve property amenity due to increased comfort and energy efficiency.
The noise amelioration project’s objective is to treat the impacts of aircraft noise where sleep, learning, communication and annoyance outcomes can be significantly improved. This is a significant investment to support property improvements. Melbourne Airport will not be providing other types of compensation to residents, organisations or businesses.
Once approved, Melbourne Airport will offer its Noise Amelioration Program to eligible properties. The program will be available until 2038, but we’ll encourage participants to register early so that work can be done ASAP and before the new runway opens in 2031.
The Minister's condition includes requirement that a '"threshold amount" be declared, and that this amount is an upper-limit on amelioration cost per property. The Minister has reserved discretion to review Melbourne Airport's proposal for threshold amount, within the Noise Amelioration Plan submission, and may require that it be changed.
Melbourne Airport is working towards defining a set of threshold amounts that strike a practicable balance for achieving AS2021:2015 compliance for different types of homes within reasonable cost.
The project's overall budget will be determined by a range of considerations, including Threshold Amount. These considerations are being researched and developed now, so the total project cost is not yet known.
The total cost of the project isn’t known yet. We’re researching how best to serve the project’s objectives first and will have a better idea once the Noise Amelioration Plan has been approved.
Melbourne Airport’s projects are funded privately through commercial partnerships with airlines.
Government-funded noise amelioration projects acquired and insulated properties in high noise areas near Sydney and Adelaide airports. A similar program has also been announced for Western Sydney International Airport in readiness for its opening in 2026.
The government funded the costs of works to a maximum limit of $60,000 per household in Sydney and $70,000 per household in Adelaide. Costs were recovered through a levy charged to airlines using those airports.
The Minister's requirement for amelioration around Melbourne Airport is the ANEF 25.
The amelioration project being offered for Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) is based on a noise forecast (developed through a similar process to Melbourne's ANEF) for 15 million passengers using that airport in 2040. This contour has been nominated to reflect that WSI is "greenfield" and thus introducing noise to its surrounds for the first time. In contrast, Melbourne Airport is "brownfield", i.e. changes are occurring in an existing noise environment and with the context of long-standing urban planning controls designed to avoid urban development in the areas most affected by aircraft noise.
Both of these projects reach further than precedent schemes in Sydney (Kingsford Smith) and Adelaide - which addressed homes in ANEF 30+ and noise-sensitive facilities in ANEF 25+.
You can contact us via the Contact button in the top right-hand side of this webpage. Alternatively:
Email: NAPP@melair.com.au
Mail: Head of Noise Amelioration
Melbourne Airport Management Locked Bag 16, Tullamarine, VIC, 3043
This website contains information about several major projects being undertaken at Melbourne Airport, including information about the third runway such as fact sheets and videos.