By ANNA USHER

Noise cameras could be trialled on North Sydney streets to catch the hoon drivers keeping locals awake at night.

North Sydney Mayor Zoë Baker put NSW Police, Transport for NSW and fed-up residents around one table at the council chambers on Thursday 16 July.

“For many residents, this is not an occasional disruption. It is something they are living with regularly,” Mayor Baker said.

“A small number of drivers are having a disproportionate impact on thousands of residents.”

Five actions came out of the meeting, including a noise camera pilot with the NSW Environment Protection Authority, targeted enforcement in known hotspots and a coordinated traffic plan with Transport for NSW.

The cameras cannot fine anyone

There is a catch.

The NSW Government has already run a noise camera trial, installing three cameras in the Bayside and Wollongong council areas in 2024. It has now concluded, and the EPA is still analysing the data.

Those cameras could not issue a single fine.

The EPA says the trial was only ever a test of whether the technology can accurately pick a noisy vehicle. If it works, the Government says the law may need to change before anyone can be penalised.

Watch – Modified cars cruising Milsons Point

Mosman Collective reported in September 2025 that Milsons Point, Kirribilli and Blues Point had become a nightly playground for modified cars, with drivers converging on carparks and foreshore streets after dark.

In August 2025, Northern Sydney Sector Highway Patrol and Transport for NSW inspectors set up an inspection station on Burton Street, Milsons Point.

Officers stopped 43 cars in one night and found 50 separate defects. Drivers were hit with 34 infringement notices, and four cars were issued yellow stickers, meaning they could only be driven home and had to be fixed before returning to the road.

North Sydney Council will now work with police, Transport for NSW and neighbouring councils on the priorities from the meeting.

Noisy vehicles can be reported on the EPA website.