It is Australian Government policy that ANEF contours and the
associated land use compatibility advice be used as the land use
planning criteria around Australian airports. ANEF plans indicate the
anticipated noise contours for the most likely or preferred development
and forecasts for an airport.
The ANEF is a central component of the Australian Standard 2021 that
provides standards regarding land use planning in the vicinity of
airports. The ANEF system has been used in the development of the Cairns
Regional Council's Town Planning Scheme – The Cairns Plan.
Due to the legislative requirement for all regulated airports in
Australia to produce an ANEF and the fact that local planning agencies
(Cairns Regional Council) rely on ANEF contours to be used in planning
decisions, it is the most commonly used descriptor in Australia. ANEF
contours are produced using computer modelling techniques adapted for
Australian conditions from the US Federal Aviation Administration
Integrated Noise Model (INM). The ANEF was designed to be used as a land
use planning tool to assist town planning agencies to stop noise
sensitive land uses such as residential housing, schools and nursing
homes encroaching on airports.
ANEF is a computer generated forecast based on:
- The expected aircraft movement numbers;
- The types of aircraft;
- The daily distribution by time period of arrivals and departures; and
- The configuration of the runways.
Via a complex formula the INM plots a series of ANEF contours at 20,
25, 30, 35 and 40 ANEF units on a plan of the airport and its local
surrounds.
Further technical explanation of the ANEF is contained in the following publications:
Aircraft Noise Information
For information click on the link below to download a PDF document on the:
Aircraft Noise Fact Sheet 1 - Basic Overview