Melbourne’s city council has acknowledged an increase in religious street preachers using “excessive amplification” through the use of microphones and loudspeakers in recent years in apparent contravention of council rules banning “excessive noise”.

In a letter to the Rationalist Society of Australia (RSA), a City of Melbourne spokesperson also revealed that council was aware of some of these preachers “being derogatory to women in particular”.

In June, the RSA raised concerns with Lord Mayor Nick Reece and council Chief Executive Officer Alison Leighton about religious preachers using microphones and loudspeakers, especially in front of Flinders Street Station and Southern Cross Station, to sermonise to passersby.

In the letter, RSA Executive Director Si Gladman said such amplified sermonising was a “nuisance and an unpleasant disturbance of the peace for many visitors to the city”.

The RSA has discovered several videos, posted online by street preachers themselves, of heated exchanges between street preachers using microphones and annoyed members of the public outside Flinders Street Station. The RSA is not suggesting that the preachers featured in these videos had been derogatory towards women. 

Mr Gladman asked the council to confirm what permits were required, and what regulations applied, for street preachers.

While the City of Melbourne’s busking permits allow street performers to use amplifiers, the council’s website states that permits “may be eligible” for non-busking activities that include “touting or spruiking including religious spruiking or street preaching”. However, the webpage about ‘spruiking’ adds that permitholders need to ensure that “noise is not intrusive and no sound generating devices are used”.

The council’s Activities Local Law 2024 prohibits activities in public places that “cause or commit any nuisance”, “adversely affect the amenity”, or “interfere with the use or enjoyment” or the “personal comfort of another person”.

The council also has provisions against “causing excessive noise”, including the “use or operation of an amplifier or noise-making or enhancing device” in a public place if it is “capable of interfering with the reasonable comfort of any person who may be in the vicinity in that public place”.

In response, Dean Robertson, the City of Melbourne’s Director of City Safety, Security and Amenity, said no permit was currently required for street preachers.

He acknowledged that there had been an increase in street preachers using amplification.

“People using amplification to preach including handing out religious materials has increased over the last few years,” he said.

“We are aware, and our Local Laws officers often attend to tasks, where some people preaching are using excessive amplification and/or being derogatory to women in particular.

“There is currently no permit required but this is under review and an update to the Activities Local Law may be made later in 2026. Any recommended changes would be consulted with the public.”

Si Gladman is Executive Director of the Rationalist Society of Australia. He also hosts ‘The Secular Agenda’ podcast.

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Photo by Johannes Molzahn on Unsplash.