"I think that was actually a good result," the deputy chief of the air force, Air Vice-Marshall Geoff Brown told the Examiner in an interview this week.

Port Stephens councillors went against advice from planning staff, voting at its March 2 meeting to support the development of a home in Boyd Boulevard, Medowie, without the need for sound proofing.

This was despite the site for the home being classified as noise affected by the Department of Defence's noise exposure forecasts for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft, scheduled to arrive at Williamtown in 2017.

But Air Vice-Marshall Brown admitted the noise exposure contours designed for the JSF were based on an "imperfect system" and the council should determine development applications (DAs) on noise-affected land based on their individual merits.

"The lines are lines, but the real effect on the ground will not be that great...it was the best we could do with the current system," he said.

"We are tied to a standard for producing noise exposure forecasts.

"We measured the real noise affects the best we could…I'm hard-pressed to see what else we could do."

A draft public environment report into the introduction of the JSF says noise insulation is not warranted, would be of minimal benefit and its cost is not justified.

But advice from the council's lawyers states that it would be legally exposed if it did not apply relevant Australian standards.

Air Vice-Marshall Brown said the prospect of future legal action was something the council would have to weigh up when it determined DAs on a merit basis.

He also said the Salt Ash Weapons Range would remain open but the JSF's use of it would be about a third of current aircraft.

Many see this as a reason to reduce exposure contours covering nearby areas such as Medowie.

But Air Vice-Marshall Brown reiterated the fact that Defence was tied to a standard for producing noise forecasts and that the current contours were the outcome of applying that standard accurately.