Wyndham City - Residential Odour Complaints

Residential Odour Complaints

Find information about reporting, investigating, and resolving residential odour complaints, including causes, health impacts, and council's response process.

Last updated on: 14 August 2025

In this article

Smoke from woodfire heaters
Odour complaint procedure
Anonymous requests
Raise a request

Wyndham City, Public and Environmental Health unit investigates environmental air pollutants that impact your health, including odour, smoke and fumes from residential areas.

You'll need to know the source of the odour/pollution for a complaint to be filed since the odour can only be stopped at the source. If you have noticed concerns with odour coming from your neighbour's property, Wyndham City would like you to speak to them directly in the first instance.

Odours can be subjective

Different weather conditions can change when and how strong the smell is.
This information can be helpful in investigations. However, it also means odour matters can be challenging to resolve as there are limitations to the actions available to Council (as odours can be subjective).
It relies upon subjective assessment of offensiveness, what is reasonable, and proximity to some activities.
This is particularly problematic when dealing with odours arising from a necessary process such as cooking or emissions for short intermittent periods in some commercial activities.

Smoke from woodfire heaters

Smoke from wood heaters and fireplaces can pollute the air, which can be harmful to our health.
It is important to purchase the right wood heater, use it correctly, and maintain it well to reduce wood smoke pollution.
Wood heater owners are responsible for minimising smoke from wood heating and should also consider their neighbour's health when using a wood heater.
On calm days with minimal wind, exploring alternative ways of heating a house is essential, as smoke from wood heaters can build up and linger in these conditions.

What if our woodfire heater is our only source of heating?

If your woodfire heater is the only source of heating, remember the following tips:

Ensure it meets Australian Standards AS 4012 and AS 4013 (If your current woodfire heater does not comply, you should upgrade it to a cleaner and more efficient form of heating).
Always use dry, seasoned wood.
A moisture meter is used to test the moisture content of the wood and ensure it contains no more than 20% moisture.
Never burn painted or treated wood.
Don't allow the wood heater to smoke or smoulder.
Allow air to flow through, and never overload the wood heater.
Regularly clean the woodfire heater and remove ash.
Clean your flue before winter, professionally, if needed.
Ensure the tip of the flue is above your neighbour's roof line.
Check your chimney occasionally for smoke emissions.

Odour complaint procedure

The standard procedure is designed to be fair and just.

How to submit residential odour complaint

Request lodged online is received by Wyndham's Public and Environmental Unit.
Odour logs are sent to the complainant to complete for a period of 2 weeks and submitted to Council. At the same time, a notification letter is sent to the source of odour to request they eliminate the alleged odour.
Once the Council receives the complaints odour logs, the matter is referred to an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) for assessment.
EHO contacts the source of the odour to discuss the allegations.
In most cases, this will resolve the matter. If not, the complainant needs to maintain and submit additional odour log sheets and notify the EHO.
Based on their assessment, an EHO may arrange a site visit to experience the odour from the complainant's property.
If there is evidence that the odour is an ongoing health issue, a written warning may be issued to the source of the odour. If the written warning doesn't resolve the matter, an EHO may issue a formal notice.

What happens once I report an odour complaint?

The Public & Environmental Health unit will assess most requests to investigate residential neighbourhood odour complaints. However, depending on the nature and source of the complaint, it may be referred to other Wyndham City departments or authorities, such as the EPA Victoria or the Owner's Corporation.
When dealing with residential complaints, the Public & Environmental Health unit will evaluate the situation to determine which actions can be taken according to the available legislation. If necessary, a formal notice will be issued to the source of the odour, and they will need to address it to the satisfaction of the investigating authority.
If it is determined that the matter is best resolved privately, the investigation officer may recommend mediation through the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria. This free dispute resolution service routinely helps resolve common neighbourhood disputes involving noise, fences, trees, animals, and drainage.

Please note:

Odour investigation may take some time, and there is no set time frame for resolving the matter.
Environmental Health Officers must first conduct an investigation and collect sufficient evidence. This may involve a site visit and investigation of the alleged odour.
If the matter proceeds to court, you will be required to provide a formal statement regarding the impact of the odour.

Anonymous requests

Contact details are highly recommended when lodging this issue to ensure a proper investigation can be completed. It also allows Wyndham City to clarify information to ensure officers have a safe working environment.

If you do not provide contact details, any action taken by Wyndham City regarding this concern may be limited.
Personal information is not disclosed to any person without consent.

Raise a request

To report a residential odour issue, please submit the request below. An officer will action your request within five (5) working days. This includes contacting you to clarify the nature of the complaint, checking on any possible safety risks for Council staff and explaining the complaint process.

Odour pollution

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