What does a lighting consultant do, and do you need one? If you have been asked for a lighting report, a light spill assessment or a lux test, you have probably also been told to get a lighting consultant. This guide explains, in plain terms, what a lighting consultant does, when you need one, and what to look for when you engage one.
What is a lighting consultant?
A lighting consultant is a specialist who works out how a space should be lit, and checks whether the lighting actually does its job. That might be a sports field that needs enough light for night matches, a car park that has to be safe to walk through at night, or an illuminated sign that must not dazzle passing drivers.
Light is measured in lux, which is the amount of light falling on a surface. Australian Standards set the lux levels different spaces need, along with limits on glare and on how much light can spill onto neighbouring properties. A lighting consultant knows which of these rules apply to a site, designs lighting to meet them, and measures existing lighting to confirm whether it complies.
A lighting consultant is not an electrician or an electrical engineer. The electrical engineer designs the power supply and controls, and the electrician installs them. The consultant decides what the lighting needs to achieve, and then checks that it has been achieved.
What does a lighting consultant do?
Most of the work falls into three parts: design, assessment and testing.
Design. Before anything is built, the professional lighting consultant chooses the type of lights, where they go and how they are aimed. Computer modelling shows how much light each area will receive and how much will spill beyond the site, so problems are solved on paper rather than after the poles are up.
Assessment. Many projects need a report for council. The most common is an obtrusive light assessment under AS/NZS 4282:2023, which checks that lighting will not spill excessively into nearby homes, cause glare for drivers and residents, or send unnecessary light into the night sky. Similar assessments cover illuminated and digital signage, lighting near wildlife habitat, and glare from reflective buildings and solar panels. Examples are on our lighting compliance projects page.
Testing. Once lighting is installed, the consultant measures it on site at night with calibrated meters. This is often called a lux test or a lighting audit. The results show whether the lighting meets the design, the standard and any permit conditions, and they are the evidence councils, sporting bodies and tribunals rely on. For offices and warehouses, see commercial lighting audits.
When do you need a lighting consultant?
In most cases, someone else tells you. A planning permit may include a condition requiring a lighting plan or a light spill report. Council may ask, in a request for further information, how the lighting will affect neighbours. A sporting body or grant program may need evidence that the floodlights deliver the right lux level for the competition.
Other common triggers are a neighbour complaining about light shining into their home, an illuminated sign that needs approval, a development near a creek or bushland, or new lighting that needs independent sign-off before handover. If you are unsure, the permit, the council letter or the sporting body’s guidelines will usually say what is required.
Which standards apply?
The main Australian Standards are AS/NZS 4282:2023 for light spill and glare, the AS 2560 series for sports lighting, the AS/NZS 1158 series for streets, paths and public spaces, and the AS/NZS 1680 series for interiors and workplaces. Lighting near wildlife habitat is also assessed against the National Light Pollution Guidelines for Wildlife. A single project often involves more than one of these, and permit conditions can add requirements of their own.
Why independence matters
Many lighting suppliers and contractors offer a free lighting design. It can be a reasonable starting point, but it is usually built around the supplier’s own products, and it is rarely tested against light spill limits or checked after installation. When the same business designs, supplies and signs off the lighting, councils, neighbours and tribunals can reasonably question the result.
An independent consultant has no product to sell and no stake in whether the lighting passes. That matters most when a permit, a dispute or public funding depends on the findings.
How to choose a lighting consultant
Look for experience with your type of project, membership of a professional body such as the Illuminating Engineering Society of Australia and New Zealand (IES ANZ), and independence from suppliers and installers. Ask whether testing is done with calibrated equipment, and ask to see a sample report. A good report states clearly whether each requirement is met, in a form you can hand straight to council. If the matter could go to VCAT, check that the consultant has given expert evidence before.
What does a lighting consultant cost?
Fees depend on the scope of work rather than a fixed rate. The main factors are the size of the site, whether the work is design, assessment, testing or a mix of these, how many standards and permit conditions apply, whether testing has to be done at night or after curfew, travel to regional sites, and the type of report needed.
The quickest way to an accurate quote is a short brief with the site address, the permit conditions, site plans and any council correspondence, along with any deadline you are working to.
Lighting consultants in Melbourne and Victoria
Spaces At Night is an independent lighting design and compliance consultancy based in Melbourne. It does not supply or install lighting. Its work covers sports lighting, obtrusive light assessments, lux testing and audits, illuminated signage, wildlife-sensitive lighting, glint and glare, and expert evidence across Melbourne and regional Victoria.
To discuss a project, contact Spaces At Night.
