Disturbance complaints

A disturbance complaint can be made when a neighbourhood is disturbed by:

  • The manner in which the business of a licensed premises is conducted; and/or
  • The behaviour of patrons after leaving a licensed premises (such as anti-social behaviour and alcohol related violence).

I have a disturbance complaint about a pub / club / bar. What do I do?

Step 1

Determine the nature of the disturbance. Is it:

  • a one-off disturbance or one that happens infrequently?
  • an ongoing disturbance with regular patterns and intervals?

Ring the premises and express your concern to the licensee or management at the time of the disturbance. There is an expectation that licensees or management will make every effort to address disturbance complaints immediately.

Listed below are the contact numbers for the major licensed premises in Waverley:

  • Beach Road Hotel: 9130 7247
  • Hotel Bondi: 9130 3271
  • Ravesi's Hotel: 9365 4422
  • Tea Gardens Hotel: 9389 3288
  • Cock 'N' Bull Hotel: 9389 3004
  • The Eastern Hotel: 9387 7828
  • Bondi Bowling Club: 9130 2383

It's best if you can also record exact details of the disturbance/s including times, dates and type of disturbance.

Step 2

If contact cannot be made at the time, send an email complaint to the licensed premises and 'cc' Waverley Council and local resident representatives.

The Bondi Beach, Bondi Junction and Charing Cross precinct committees all have alcohol sub-committees. Representatives of these sub-committees liaise with Council and Licensing Police. The following precinct representatives can be contacted:

Lenore Kulakauskas
Bondi Beach Precinct Committee
Email: lenorekulakauskas@gmail.com

Danielle Ecuyer
Bondi Junction Precinct Committee
Email: ecuyerd@hotmail.com

Julie McAlpin
Charing Cross Precinct Committee
Email: jmc75087@bigpond.net.au

The majority of 'one-off' disturbances will be successfully addressed at this step.

Step 3

If the issue still hasn't been resolved, contact the Licensing Police at the Eastern Suburbs Local Area Command. Licensing Police have specialised training in liquor industry matters and can help resolve disturbance issues with a licensee. You can contact:

It is important at this stage that all recorded information related to the disturbance and steps undertaken to resolve it are given to the Police. Police will then help resolve the matter. This might involve informal conferences, agreed/voluntary undertakings by a licensee, etc.

Step 4

If the disturbance still hasn't been resolved and is ongoing, you can lodge a formal disturbance complaint under Section 79 of the Liquor Act 2007 to the Director-General of Liquor & Gaming. Three or more residents are required to make a formal complaint. A statutory declaration is also required to support the complaint, and the process is evidence-based. The Director-General will then assess whether every effort has been made by the complainants to resolve the matter in the first instance and that further mediation would not be advantageous.

If the disturbance relates to high levels of noise, violence or is persistent, contact the Police:

  • Waverley Police: (02) 9369 9899
  • Bondi Beach Police: (02) 9365 9699

Important notes from Licensing Police

Here are some helpful tips from Licensing Police to help you when trying to resolve a disturbance complaint:

  • Maintain accurate records of the disturbance.
  • Provide the licensee with timely information relating to the disturbance. This allows concerns to be investigated, causes to be identified and resolution options to be developed.
  • The best way to resolve disturbance issues is to work collaboratively with the licensee.
  • Contact Licensing Police to report ongoing disturbance issues or unresolved complaints. If emailing, ‘cc’ to Council and the Precinct for record purposes. This ensures a log of complaints will be maintained and might assist in identifying trends relevant to specific premises.