Since 28 August, NSW landholders can be fined when someone else’s dirt bike makes offensive noise on their land — and the test for “offensive” still has no decibel limit.

From 28 August 2026, NSW landholders can be fined for noise made by dirt bikes and 4WDs ridden on their own private property — even when it’s a mate or family member on the throttle, not them.

The change comes via a new Protection of the Environment Operations (Noise Control) Regulation, which replaced the 2017 version on 28 August following a public consultation EPA NSW ran between February and March 2026.

Before this change, the offence could already land on the bike’s owner or its rider — the 2017 regulation made both liable, and EPA NSW’s 2021 guidance told anyone who received a notice they’d need to say “who was the driver in control of the vehicle at the time.” Section 6 of the new regulation adds a third: “if the motor vehicle is used in a place that is private property—the owner or occupier of the private property.” Only one of them can be fined for a given incident — the regulation explicitly rules out imposing a second penalty on another liable party once one has already worn it. A bike owner who wasn’t riding can still escape the fine by naming who was; the regulation gives a landholder no equivalent defence.

The on-the-spot fine is $270 for an individual and $540 for a corporation. If a matter goes to court instead, the maximum penalty is higher — 50 penalty units for an individual (currently $5,500) or 100 for a corporation ($11,000). “Offensive noise” itself isn’t defined in this regulation; it carries the existing definition from the Protection of the Environment Operations Act: noise that, by its level, nature, character, quality or the time it’s made, is harmful to, or unreasonably interferes with the comfort of, a person outside the premises.

Agricultural vehicle use is exempt.

On paper it’s a modest change, but it’s another step in a steady tightening that makes it harder to enjoy our sport — now even on our own land. It may push more riders toward quieter electric dirt bikes, but as motorcycle fans more broadly, none of us wants to see that right restricted any further.

Sources: legislation.nsw.gov.au (Noise Control Regulation 2026), epa.nsw.gov.au — checked 29 September 2026.