Installing hard flooring in an apartment is one of the most regulated flooring decisions you can make in Australia. Most strata schemes have by-laws that mandate minimum acoustic performance for hard floors. Install without complying and your strata can require you to remove the floor at your own expense. Get the spec right before you start.
Why acoustic performance matters in apartments
Hard floors transmit impact noise — footsteps, dropped objects, chairs scraping — directly through the floor structure to the apartment below. Carpet absorbs this impact. Hard floors do not, unless a sound-absorbing layer is incorporated into the installation. In a well-built modern building with concrete slab construction, uninsulated hard flooring can make the apartment below effectively uninhabitable from a noise perspective.
What strata by-laws typically require
Most Australian strata by-laws require hard floor installations to achieve a minimum impact sound insulation performance. The standard varies by state and by individual by-law but the most common requirement is a minimum Ln,w (weighted normalised impact sound pressure level) of 60dB or better — meaning the combined floor and underlay system reduces impact noise to 60dB or below.
Some newer buildings and premium strata schemes require Ln,w 55dB or better, which is a significantly higher (more demanding) standard.
Before selecting any product, obtain a copy of your strata by-laws (from your owners corporation or strata manager) and confirm the specific acoustic requirement in writing. The by-law requirement is the legal standard you must meet — not the product's claimed rating.
How acoustic ratings work in practice
The acoustic performance of a hard floor installation comes primarily from the underlay, not the floor itself. The floor board transmits impact; the underlay absorbs it. A higher-density, thicker IXPE or acoustic foam underlay provides better impact sound insulation than a thin economy underlay.
Most hybrid SPC products sold in Australia come with an attached underlay — typically 1.0mm–1.5mm IXPE foam. This provides some acoustic benefit but is generally not sufficient to meet strata acoustic requirements on its own. An additional separate acoustic underlay (3–5mm) is typically required to achieve compliance.
The acoustic claim that matters is the system rating — the combined floor board plus underlay, tested together. A floor board rated at Ln,w 65dB with a separate underlay that brings the system to Ln,w 58dB is a compliant system. Request the system test certificate, not just the underlay rating.
Getting acoustic compliance documentation
For strata approval, you will typically need to provide written evidence of acoustic compliance before or after installation. Ask your flooring retailer for the CSIRO or NATA-accredited acoustic test certificate for the specific floor board and underlay combination you are installing. This document shows the tested system performance.
If your retailer cannot provide a system acoustic test certificate, you are taking on the compliance risk yourself. Choose a retailer who can produce this documentation.
Height and door clearance
Adding an acoustic underlay increases the finished floor height. In older apartments with standard-height doors, adding 8–12mm of flooring and underlay can reduce door clearance to an uncomfortable level. Check door clearance before specifying underlay thickness. In some cases, doors need to be cut — budget for this in your total cost.
Recommended specification for Australian apartments
Hybrid SPC with attached underlay, plus a separate acoustic underlay (3–5mm) to achieve system Ln,w 60dB or better. Confirm strata requirement in writing before purchase. Obtain system acoustic test certificate from retailer. Use our Floor Finder — it identifies apartment home types and adjusts its acoustic specification accordingly.