report of the technical...

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Report of the Technical Regulator

This is the annual report of the Technical Regulator under the Water Industry Act 2012. It describes the

operations of the Technical Regulator for the 2015/16 financial year as required by section 13 of the Water

Industry Act 2012. This section requires the Minister to cause a copy of the report to be laid before both

Houses of Parliament within 12 sitting days after receipt of the report.

The Technical Regulator is a statutory office established by section 8 of the Act. Mr Robert Faunt was

appointed as the Technical Regulator under the section 8 of the Water Industry Act 2012 in 2012.

Technical Regulator: Robert Faunt

Address: Level 8, ANZ Building

11 Waymouth Street

Adelaide 5000

Postal Address: GPO Box 320

Adelaide SA 5001

Telephone: (08) 8226 5500

Facsimile: (08) 8226 5529

Office Hours: 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday

(except public holidays)

Website: www.sa.gov.au/otr

Email: [email protected]

ISSN: 1832-8687

Front Cover Photos: Top: Bolivar WWTP foul air pipelines

Middle: New fire hydrant set up

Bottom: The Mannum to Adelaide water pipeline

Note: All photographs in this report have been used with the permission of the relevant provider.

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Preface

This report covers the Technical Regulator’s operations under the Water Industry Act 2012 (the Act) for the

financial year ending 30 June 2016.

Water Industry Act 2012

Section 3 of the Act states that:

“The objects of this Act are—

(a) to promote planning associated with the availability of water within the State to respond to demand within the community; and

(b) to promote efficiency, competition and innovation in the water industry; and

(c) to provide mechanisms for the transparent setting of prices within the water industry and to facilitate pricing structures that reflect the true value of services provided by participants in that industry; and

(d) to provide for and enforce proper standards of reliability and quality in connection with the water industry, including in relation to technical standards for water and sewerage infrastructure and installations and plumbing; and

(e) to protect the interests of consumers of water and sewerage services; and

(f) to promote measures to ensure that water is managed wisely.

The Technical Regulator is established by section 8 of the Act.

Section 9 of the Act provides:

The Technical Regulator has the following functions:

(a) to develop technical standards in connection with the water industry;

(b) to monitor and regulate technical standards with respect to—

(i) water and sewerage installations and associated equipment, products and materials (including on the customer’s side of any connection point ); and

(ii) plumbing;

(c) to provide advice in relation to safety or technical standards—

(i) in the water industry to the Commission at the Commission’s request; and

(ii) in the plumbing industry;

(d) any other function assigned to the Technical Regulator under this or any other Act or conferred by regulation under this Act.

The activities undertaken by the Technical Regulator in the performance of these functions are detailed in this report.

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Content

Report of the Technical Regulator i

Preface ii

Content iii

Technical Regulator’s Commentary 1

The Office of the Technical Regulator 3

Section 1: Plumbing Regulation 4

1.1. Plumbing and Equipment 4

1.2. Standard 4

1.3. Safety and Technical Objectives 5

1.4. Scheme for plumbing Certificates of Compliance (COC) 5

Section 2: Regulatory Reform 6

2.1. National Construction Code (NCC) Series 6

2.2. ABCB and Plumbing Code Committee (PCC) 6

2.3. WaterMark Certification Scheme (Scheme) 7

2.4. Standards Australia 7

2.5. Building Industry Technical Advisory Committees 8

Section 3: Plumbing Compliance 9

3.1. Plumbing Audits Booking System 10

3.2. Auditing Policy 11

3.3. Policy for Acting on Non-Compliance 12

3.4. Inter-Agency Referrals to Consumer and Business Services 12

3.5. Fees for Re-inspection 12

3.6. Expiations 12

3.7. Plumbing COC 13

3.8. Electronic Certificate of Compliance (eCoC) System 14

Section 4: Plumbing Audits 15

4.1. Plumbing Bookings and Audits 15

4.2. Building Plans 15

4.3. Metropolitan Areas 16

4.4. Regional Areas 17

Section 5: Non-Drinking Water 18

Section 6: Fire Fighting Water Services 21

6.1. Compliance of Fire Hydrant Water Services 21

6.2. Example of a Variation to a Fire Hydrant Booster 21

6.3. Fire Service Audits and Inspections 22

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Section 7: Cross-connection Control and Backflow Prevention 23

7.1. Use of Non-drinking Water for Irrigation Purposes 23

7.2. Non-Drinking Water Guidelines 23

7.3. Non-compliant Backflow Installation 24

Section 8: Property Interest Reporting and Data Management 25

8.1. Property Interest Reporting 25

8.2. Encumbrances 25

8.3. Self-management of testable backflow prevention devices 26

Section 9: Water and Sewerage Infrastructure Regulation 27

9.1. Introduction 27

9.2. Water Industry Entities 27

Section 10: Regulation of Water Industry Entities 29

10.1. Introduction 29

10.2. Technical Standards 29

10.3. Technical review of licence applications 31

10.4. Safety, reliability, maintenance and technical management plans 31

10.5. Water industry entity audits 33

Section 11: Water and Sewerage Infrastructure Incidents 34

11.1. Water and Sewerage Infrastructure Incident Classification and Notification Protocol 34

11.2. Other Incident Classification and Notification Protocol 34

Section 12: Education, Communication and Consultation 35

12.1. Education 35

12.2. Communication and Consultation 39

OTR Background 45 Appendix 1:

Plumbing Standard 46 Appendix 2:

Scheme for Plumbing Certificates of Compliance 47 Appendix 3:

Example of Plumbing Certificate of Compliance Form 49 Appendix 4:

Example of Internal Drain as Constructed Drawing 50 Appendix 5:

Water Industry Entities and licences reviewed 51 Appendix 6:

Checklist for SRMTMPs and audits 53 Appendix 7:

Operating Statement 55 Appendix 8:

Glossary and Abbreviations 56 Appendix 9:

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Technical Regulator’s Commentary

The Technical Regulator’s role includes the regulation of the State’s water and sewerage infrastructure and

on-site plumbing. His role is also to develop, monitor and regulate technical Standards in connection with

the water industry.

The Technical Regulator conducts investigations, audits and other industry monitoring activities to ensure

that the South Australian public continues to enjoy the safety and health benefits associated with a robust,

well regulated water industry.

For the period July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, the Technical Regulator’s operations and administration were

as detailed below.

Water and sewerage infrastructure regulation

The Technical Regulator regulates water and sewerage infrastructure through engagement and

consultation with the water industry and other relevant government agencies. In this period, the Technical

Regulator has focussed on the request, review and approval of safety, reliability, maintenance and

technical management plans (SRMTMPs) from all water industry entities.

The Technical Regulator continues to seek streamlined regulatory processes for the water industry,

reflecting the Department of State Development’s commitment to providing effective regulatory frameworks

and developing programs that improve the performance of businesses and key sectors.

Non-Drinking Water Guidelines

The Technical Regulator developed a consultation draft of the non-drinking water guidelines for the water

and plumbing industries for all non-drinking water installations in South Australia. The guidelines outline the

requirements and responsibilities for installing, operating and maintaining non-drinking water systems in

accordance with the Act, the Water Industry Regulations 2012 (the Regulations), and appropriate technical

Standards. The guidelines will assist the plumbing and water industry, water industry entities and property

owners with a non-drinking water supply.

Plumbing and equipment regulation

The Technical Regulator monitors and regulates on-site plumbing installations for compliance with the

Plumbing Standard published under section 66 of the Act. All plumbing and equipment installations are

required to meet the safety and technical requirements of this Standard. During the period from 1 July,

2015 to 30 June, 2016, the Technical Regulator audited 7,079 plumbing and equipment installations to

ascertain compliance.

Protection of drinking water networks

The Technical Regulator’s responsibilities include management of cross connection control and backflow

prevention devices installed on on-site water services connected to water industry entity network

infrastructure.

The Technical Regulator through regular monitoring and auditing of on-site water services enforces

compliance with the Act and instructs property owners to engage licensed plumbing contractors to install

and maintain backflow prevention devices on on-site plumbing systems, where required.

Product certification

The Technical Regulator provides advice to the State’s plumbing industry on plumbing product certification.

All plumbing products in plumbing or drainage installations must, where required under section G of the

National Construction Code (NCC) Volume 3 (the Plumbing Code of Australia (PCA)), have WaterMark

Certification. The Technical Regulator contributes at a national level to the on-going administration of the

WaterMark Certification scheme.

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Australian Standards and regulatory committees

The Technical Regulator provided expert technical input to assist with the development of the PCA, the

development of the Australian Standards, including the AS/NZS 3500 Plumbing and Drainage series and

the development of International Standards.

The Technical Regulator chairs a Water Industry Technical Advisory Committee (WITAC) as required

under section 15 of the Act. The advisory committee includes representatives from State and local

governments, water industry entities, contractor and employee associations involved in the water industry,

consumer business services and plumbing industry training organisations.

Industry communication and consultation

Communication activities, including plumbing technical roadshows and infrastructure presentations, were

conducted at metropolitan and regional locations. The roadshows provided the plumbing industry with

updates of amendments to the PCA and the AS/NZS 3500 Plumbing and Drainage Standard. The

roadshows and presentations included information relating to issues associated with the regulation of

infrastructure and on-site plumbing installations.

Discharge of legislative responsibilities

The Technical Regulator continued to perform its functions well during the 2015/16 financial year. All

legislative functions assigned to the Technical Regulator have been performed throughout the year within

the resources allocated for this purpose.

Rob Faunt, Technical Regulator

September 2016

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The Office of the Technical Regulator

The Technical Regulator is supported by the Office of the Technical Regulator (OTR) which administers the

Act for the Technical Regulator. The OTR is independent from the plumbing industry and the water industry

entities. The OTR is a section comprising 47.2 full time equivalent employees within the Energy Markets

and Programs Division of the Department of State Development (DSD). There are 16.4 full-time equivalent

positions assigned to the Plumbing Section and Water and Sewerage Infrastructure Section of the OTR

with the administration, safety promotion and legal support functions shared with the electrical and gas

branches of the OTR.

The Technical Regulator ensures the safety of the community by promoting and enforcing safety measures

and Standards that apply to on-site plumbing installations, and water and sewerage infrastructure. These

safety and technical measures aim to minimise the risk from plumbing and water infrastructure related

activities to as low a level as is reasonably practicable. To fulfil this responsibility, the Technical Regulator

carries out an extensive range of activities. These responsibilities and activities are discussed in detail in

this report.

The Technical Regulator plays an important role in the development and monitoring of applicable State and

national safety and technical Standards and codes. The Technical Regulator also provides technical

support and advice on issues relevant to the water industry and the Minister for Water and the River

Murray, and facilitates discussion with industry participants to achieve the best possible outcome for South

Australia.

The regulation of on-site plumbing installations is important to ensure that they are designed, installed,

maintained and operated in a satisfactory manner. The Technical Regulator regulates on-site plumbing

installations both in Adelaide and regional centres as it is imperative that South Australians are provided

with nationally consistent plumbing installations which meet the performance requirements of the PCA.

The regulation of water and sewerage ensures technically safe and reliable services are provided to the

South Australian public and businesses. This is achieved through the regulation of technical Standards,

installations and performance of water and sewerage infrastructure owned, operated and maintained by

water industry entities.

The flow chart in Appendix 1 summarises the activities through which the Technical Regulator fulfils his

functions under the Act and the Regulations.

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Section 1: Plumbing Regulation

The Act and the Regulations provide the legislative framework for the regulation of the water and plumbing

industry in South Australia.

1.1. Plumbing and Equipment The Technical Regulator monitors and regulates plumbing and associated equipment under section 9 of

the Act. On-site plumbing installations are audited for compliance with the performance requirements of the

PCA.

1.2. Standard The Technical Regulator has published a Plumbing Standard under section 66 of the Act that provides the

basis for calling up the relevant sections of the NCC Volume 3 – PCA (see Appendix 2).

Figure 1-1: Plumbing categories that are monitored and regulated through on-site audits by the Technical Regulator

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1.3. Safety and Technical Objectives The Technical Regulator ensures the plumbing industry is kept informed of current practices and that

plumbing installations are safe and technically compliant through:

Undertaking audits of a full spectrum of plumbing installation categories;

Delivering regular information presentations to the plumbing and water industries;

Participating in the ongoing development of the PCA and Australian Standards relevant to

plumbing;

Meeting with vocational training organisations and providing advice on technical matters including

changes to plumbing Standards;

Meeting regularly with members of the building industry through representation on building

technical committees;

The Technical Regulator chairing the WITAC which meets several times a year to discuss current

issues within the water industry.

1.4. Scheme for plumbing Certificates of Compliance (COC) The Scheme for plumbing COC has been established by the Technical Regulator under section 69(2) of

the Act (see Appendix 3). COC are used by property owners to verify that the plumbing and equipment

installed complies with the Act.

Figure 1-2: Technical Regulator audit of the New Royal Adelaide Hospital (NRAH)

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Section 2: Regulatory Reform

Plumbing Code and Technical Standards

The Technical Regulator is represented on the Australian Building Codes Committees and on relevant

Australian Standards and joint Australian and New Zealand Standards Committees that deal with the

design, installation and commissioning of on-site plumbing. The Technical Regulator plays an important

role in developing and maintaining these Standards.

The Technical Regulator is represented on the following committees and forums.

2.1. National Construction Code (NCC) Series The NCC is an initiative of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) developed to incorporate all on-

site construction requirements into a single code.

The NCC is a model regulation developed by the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) and takes effect

through legislation of the states and territories which administer and enforce building and plumbing

regulation.

Building regulation is covered in Volumes 1 and 2 – the Building Code of Australia (BCA). Volume 3 covers

plumbing regulation – the PCA.

2.2. ABCB and Plumbing Code Committee (PCC) The PCC is the ABCB’s peak plumbing technical advisory body. The PCC is a valuable national forum

through which regulatory authorities and industry consider technical matters relevant to plumbing regulatory

reform and plays an active role in assisting the Board in meeting its obligations under the COAG Guidelines

and the Inter-Government Agreement.

The PCC operates in alignment with the ABCB’s Building Codes Committee (BCC) to ensure a coordinated

approach to building and plumbing regulatory reform. The Technical Regulator regularly provides agenda

items for discussion at PCC meetings. Issues including sanitary drainage, non-drinking water, fire service

installations and water services have been presented to the committee with recommendations for

amendments to the Plumbing Standards.

The NCC Series is drafted in a performance format allowing a choice of “deemed-to-satisfy solutions” or

the flexibility to develop performance solutions (refer to Figure 2-1).

One of the essential elements for introducing a performance mind-set is to inform the plumbing industry on

the methods of achieving compliance by analysing the performance requirements against the standard

“deemed-to-satisfy solutions” and the performance requirements in the PCA.

The ABCB is undertaking a project to quantify plumbing and drainage performance. The information

gathered from this project will allow the ABCB to develop existing performance requirements set out in the

PCA into simpler, more measurable expression. The resulting performance requirements will be included in

the next PCA edition due to be published in 2019.

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Figure 2-1: NCC Compliance Structure

2.3. WaterMark Certification Scheme (Scheme) The Scheme is a mandatory certification scheme for plumbing and drainage products to ensure that

plumbing and drainage materials and products are fit for purpose and appropriately authorised for use in

plumbing installations. The Scheme is administered by the ABCB while the PCC, as the primary plumbing

technical advisory committee, is regularly engaged to comment on changes to the Scheme.

The ABCB released a new improved Scheme on 1 July 2016. The new Scheme Product Database will be

launched later in 2016. This database will be based on a single material and product certification level

(where currently there are 2 levels of certification).

The review aims to streamline requirements, processes and enforcement creating a reliable, consistent and

level playing field for the Scheme participants and mitigating risks to the ABCB. This enables the Scheme

to deliver plumbing and drainage products that are safe and fit for their intended use in and around

buildings in an environment that is increasingly challenged by reduced resources for enforcement,

increased product non-conformity and an ever expanding global market.

2.4. Standards Australia Standards Australia is an independent organisation which prepares most of the technical and business

Standards used in Australia. Its primary role is to prepare Australian Standards through an open process of

consultation and consensus in which all interested parties from a variety of industries and regulatory bodies

are invited to participate. The Commonwealth Government recognises Standards Australia as the peak

non-government Standards development body through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Standards Australia published the Plumbing and Drainage Standard AS/NZS 3500, a series made up of

five parts. The following parts have recently been updated:

o Part 1 Water services (version published 30th June 2015)

o Part 2 Sanitary plumbing and drainage (version published 30th June 2015)

o Part 4 Heated water services (version published 14th December 2015)

o Part 5 Housing installations (updated version yet to be published)

The AS/NZS 3500 Plumbing and Drainage Standard Series is prepared by Standards Australia to provide

plumbing contractors with “deemed-to-satisfy solutions” and the performance requirements of the PCA.

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The WS-014 Committee assists Standards Australia in the administration of the AS/NZS 3500 Series. This

committee includes representatives from industry and State and Territory plumbing regulatory

administrations.

The Technical Regulator is represented on all WS-014 sub-committees apart from Part 3 Storm Water

Services which is regulated by Planning SA.

2.5. Building Industry Technical Advisory Committees The Technical Regulator has involvement with the Master Builders Association (MBA) and the Housing

Industry Association (HIA) technical committees. The Technical Regulator is represented on these

technical committees for the purpose of keeping them informed of changes to plumbing regulation in South

Australia.

Figure 2-2: Plumbing Code within the Regulatory framework

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Section 3: Plumbing Compliance

The Technical Regulator is responsible for monitoring and regulating technical Standards in respect to

on-site plumbing. Licensed plumbing contractors must give due notice to the Technical Regulator where

plumbing and equipment is installed on-site. Non-compliant plumbing installations identified through routine

sample audits of plumbing installations or from feedback provided by industry and the general public are

rectified to ensure technical compliance with the Plumbing Standard (Appendix 2) issued by the Technical

Regulator under section 66 of the Act.

Figure 3-1: Details of plumbing obligations under the Act

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3.1. Plumbing Audits Booking System The Technical Regulator manages plumbing inspection bookings through a system called the Electronic

Management of Plumbing Inspections and Audits (EMPIA). The system records the audit requests of

plumbing contractors and the results of all on-site audits of plumbing installations carried out by the OTR

plumbing section.

Tables 3-1 and 3-2 detail EMPIA statistics from on-site audits and meetings performed between July 1,

2015 and June 30, 2016 (including audits of on-site plumbing in regional areas).

Table 3-1: Commercial and Industrial plumbing inspections for the 2015/16 financial year

Job Category - Commercial /Industrial Jobs Inspected

Above-Ground Sanitary 316

Backflow Audits 37

Drainage 449

Encumbrance Investigations 14

Final Inspections 103

Fire Services 187

Hot & Cold Installation 31

Hot Water 18

Rainwater Inspection 1

Non-Drinking Water In-Ground 46

Non-Drinking Water In-Wall 52

Non-Drinking Water – Investigations 47

Sewer Investigations 2

Site Meetings/Inspections 154

Team Meetings 19

Trade Waste Plumbing 338

Underfloor Plumbing 380

Water Inspections/Investigations 2

Total Inspections 2,196

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Table 3-2: Residential plumbing inspections for the 2015/16 financial year

Job Category - Residential Jobs Inspected

Above ground sanitary 520

Building plans 1

Drainage 1,266

Final inspections 41

Fire services 9

Hot & Cold water 318

Recycled water in-wall 350

Hot & Cold Installation 74

Hot Water 173

Rainwater Inspection 1

Non-Drinking Water In-Ground 147

Non-Drinking Water In-Wall 336

Non-Drinking Water – Investigations 17

Sewer Investigations 3

Site Meetings/Inspections 86

Trade Waste Plumbing 4

Underfloor Plumbing 1,533

Water Inspections/Investigations 4

Total Inspections 4,883

3.2. Auditing Policy The Technical Regulator selects sites for auditing by:

Scheduling a random selection of sites by relying on the integrity of the EMPIA system to identify

all plumbing work being performed through the booking process;

Focussing on a particular section of the community or category of plumbing, based on the risk

involved (e.g. maintaining a regular presence in the south-east region, where there are currently no

local auditors, by scheduling periodic visits from head office and maintaining a strong focus on non-

drinking water installations and backflow protection);

Responding to complaints from either the public or plumbing industry;

Responding promptly to emergency situations.

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3.3. Policy for Acting on Non-Compliance In each case of non-compliance, the seriousness of the offense is assessed by:

Comparing the quality of the plumbing work presented with the plumbing installation performance

requirements set out under the PCA;

Determining the technical and safety aspects of the non-compliant plumbing work for both the

customer concerned and the general public;

Identifying what actions are required to address the cause and correct the condition.

Once the seriousness of the breach is determined, the Technical Regulator acts on the non-compliance

according to the severity of the breach by taking escalating measures such as:

Education;

Warning;

Notice to rectify in the form of enforcement notices;

Encumbrance raised against the affected property;

Expiation of the Plumbing Contractor;

Prosecution for the most serious offences.

3.4. Inter-Agency Referrals to Consumer and Business Services The Technical Regulator provides Consumer and Business Services (CBS) with information of serious

breaches of the Act related to on-site plumbing work undertaken by specific plumbing contractors.

The Technical Regulator additionally advises CBS where a plumbing contractor is operating outside of the

scope of their trade license.

3.5. Fees for Re-inspection The Technical Regulator introduced a reinspection fee to be charged to plumbing contractors who have to

rectify and resubmit plumbing installations for further auditing.

Commensurate with the reasonable costs associated with on-site reinspections of non-compliant plumbing,

a $98.00 service fee can be charged in accordance with Regulation 35(1)(a):

If-

(a) a person’s acts or omissions require the Technical Regulator (or a person acting on behalf of the

Technical Regulator) to undertake a reinspection of any work, or to re-attend at any place for any

other reason, in connection with the operation or requirements of a standard under Part 7 of the

Act,

the person is liable to pay a fee of an amount equal to the reasonable costs of the reinspection or

re-attendance (as the case may be).

3.6. Expiations Regulation 41 provides for the expiation fees for breaches of the Act, allowing the Technical Regulator to

enforce compliance of plumbing work.

While the decision to expiate is not taken lightly, it is used on occasions where the technical and safety

aspects of an on-site plumbing and equipment installation place the customer or the integrity of the

property at risk.

While every effort is made to work with the plumbing industry to assist plumbing contractors in complying

with the Plumbing Standard, it is ultimately up to the certifying plumbing contractors to ensure that their

work is compliant.

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Between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016:

7,079 plumbing audits were conducted of which 827 (12%) failed and were required to be

rebooked by plumbing contractors;

26 requests for investigation were received;

17 interviews were conducted to discuss non-compliant plumbing installations;

2 enforcement notices were issued for breaches of the Act;

7 expiation notices were issued for non-compliant plumbing installations including 6 expiation

notices specifically for non-compliant non-drinking water installations.

Failed jobs are monitored through a fortnightly review allowing the Technical Regulator to ensure all

outstanding non-compliant installations are accordingly rectified.

3.7. Plumbing COC Section 69(2) of the Act enables customers to request COC from plumbing contractors for installations of

plumbing and equipment.

For the period July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, the Technical Regulator sold 607 plumbing COC books to

plumbing contractors totalling 30,350 individual certificates (50 certificates per book).

Figure 3-2: Plumbing Certificate of Compliance books statistics

The Technical Regulator currently sells plumbing COC books through Service SA Contact Centres located

throughout the State and the Master Plumbers Association (MPA) of South Australia Incorporated for a fee

of $24.20 per book.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Plumbing Certificate of Compliance Books Sold 2015/16

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3.8. Electronic Certificate of Compliance (eCoC) System The Technical Regulator has taken the opportunity to improve efficiency across both government and

industry business operations by developing an electronic system for COC, namely the eCoC System. The

eCoC System will replace the current paper-based system and will be phased out by July 2018.

The Technical Regulator is working closely with industry stakeholders to create an online portal for the

creation and lodgement of all COC. This streamlined administrative process will result in greater business

efficiency and a higher volume of COC’s being submitted to the Technical Regulator. The eCoC System

will allow the Technical Regulator to conduct audits with greater efficiency than the paper-based system.

COCs will be available for the Technical Regulator to view as soon as they have been lodged. The

Technical Regulator will benefit from a broader range of reporting and auditing functions associated with

the eCoC System.

A period of user acceptance testing was completed by the Technical Regulator in July 2016. This has

enabled further enhancement of the System with respect to making it more industry/user friendly.

The eCoC System will be free of charge for users in opposition to the previous paper based system. Both

the monetary and time saving benefits of using the eCoC System will greatly assist the plumbing industry

and the regulation of the industry.

The Technical Regulator took the opportunity to discuss the eCoC System with industry during the early

2016 Roadshows. The positive reaction received to an online system shows that the plumbing industry is

ready, willing and eager to get started. The Technical Regulator will be conducting information and

demonstration sessions with industry closer to the launch date.

The eCoC System is scheduled to open for initial registration of contractor details in early August 2016, in

preparation for an early 2017 launch date.

Figure 3-3: Example of the eCoC System

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Section 4: Plumbing Audits

The Technical Regulator audits plumbing installations in South Australia for compliance with the Plumbing

Standard published pursuant to section 66 of the Act. This Standard has adopted relevant sections of the

PCA. All plumbing installations must meet the performance requirements of the PCA through the “deemed-

to-satisfy solutions” of AS/NZS 3500 Plumbing and Drainage Standard or by a performance solution.

4.1. Plumbing Bookings and Audits The Technical Regulator conducted a total of 7,079 audits in the 2015/16 financial year which included 146

final inspections. The plumbing installations audited can range from the addition of a toilet en-suite, a

residential home, to more complex commercial installations within shopping centres or multi-storey high-

rise apartments. Final audits are undertaken in order to monitor more complex multi-storey installations or

in situations where ongoing non-compliance has been identified. Figure 4-1 below provides an overview of

the various plumbing categories which have been audited by the Technical Regulator.

Figure 4-1: Plumbing audits conducted in the 2015/16 financial year

4.2. Building Plans In addition to plumbing audits, building plans of sanitary plumbing and drainage installations are required

by the Technical Regulator for commercial and more complex residential plumbing installations. Building

plans are required by the Technical Regulator when auditing on-site plumbing installations and for desktop

referencing of hydraulic plumbing designs should information or advice be required by industry.

839

89

2,192

75 146

219

396

653

378

2,110

181

0

250

500

750

1,000

1,250

1,500

1,750

2,000

2,250

Inspections Conducted

Above ground sanitary

Backflow Audits

Drainage

Encumbrance Investigation

Final Inspections

Fire Services

Hot & Cold WaterInstallation

Non-Drinking Water

Trade Waste

Underfloor Plumbing

Other Site Inspections

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The Technical Regulator requires plumbing contractors to submit building plans for the following types of

developments:

Commercial and industrial developments, including extensions;

Multi-storey developments of three or more floor levels;

Building developments within the Adelaide CBD;

Housing developments of three or more dwellings;

Any building that includes an alternative performance based plumbing design;

Non-drinking water irrigation installations for recreational and commercial/industrial sites, and

residential sites.

The lodgement of building plans and the subsequent booking of inspections by the plumbing contractor is

an important part of monitoring and regulating on-site plumbing. The building plan regulatory process

encourages compliant and safe plumbing work particularly in major developments across the State. Smart

hydraulic design, in accordance with the NCC Volume 3, ensures durability, ongoing quality and economic

value for commercial developments within the Adelaide CBD and across South Australia. Building plans

can additionally identify the use of compliant products and materials on the customer’s side of an

installation.

Figure 4-2: Examples of plumbing drainage systems for residential developments

4.3. Metropolitan Areas Plumbing bookings this year included over 4,000 on-site sanitary underfloor and drainage inspections (refer

to Figure 4-1). Sanitary underfloor and drainage inspections are mainly related to residential developments

and conducted before the plumbing installation is buried under soil or is covered beneath concrete

foundations.

Figure 4-3: Installations auditor at the University of South Australia

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4.4. Regional Areas The Technical Regulator has maintained the OTR’s regulatory presence in regional areas through

programmed audits of on-site plumbing. In the 2015/16 financial year, a total of 2,338 inspections were

conducted in regional areas of South Australia (refer to Figure 4-4). The Technical Regulator has one full

time regional plumbing installations auditor based in Port Pirie. This auditor conducts audits of plumbing

installations north of Adelaide including the Mid North and Eyre Peninsula regions.

Regional areas, including the Barossa, Murray Lands and the South Eastern areas of the State, are

monitored by Adelaide based plumbing installations auditors. Servicing regional areas required targeted

visits to Kangaroo Island, Mount Gambier, Port Lincoln and the Yorke Peninsula. These visits highlighted a

number of compliance issues particularly in areas such as backflow prevention. The Technical Regulator is

dedicated to ensuring the integrity of the State’s drinking water supply and continues to highlight

non-compliance issues and provide standard updates to the Department for Health and Ageing (DHA) and

the Councils responsible for auditing on-site wastewater systems where the plumbing and equipment are

not connected to SA Water’s sewerage/water infrastructure.

Figure 4-4: Regional site inspections for the 2015/16 financial year

308

582

818

431

199

Regional Site Inspections 2015/16

Barossa & Murray

Fleurieu & Adelaide Hills

Northern SA

South East SA

Port Lincoln

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Section 5: Non-Drinking Water

Non-drinking water can be defined as any water that is not intended for human consumption or for

purposes connected with human consumption, such as washing, preparation or cooking of food.

Non-drinking water is however of key importance to water saving initiatives.

Ensuring a safe drinking water network is paramount to the health of the community. Therefore, non-

drinking water systems require appropriate management systems to be in place to prevent

cross-connection of the drinking and non-drinking water supplies.

Water industry entities, consultants, landscapers, irrigators, plumbing contractors and property owners

involved with non-drinking water systems are to comply with requirements as set out in the Act and

associated legislation.

Figure 5-1: Areas of metropolitan Adelaide with non-drinking water

Non-drinking water systems are continually evolving and consequently present specific regulatory

challenges for the Technical Regulator. The Technical Regulator has conducted numerous training and

education sessions with the industry to raise awareness of their responsibility to ensure non-drinking water

system installations are compliant.

Systems can vary in complexity and it is imperative that the industry is made aware of their obligation to

ensure the integrity of both the water infrastructure and on-site plumbing systems.

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The requirement to upskill plumbing contractors in this particular area has become evident through the number of non-compliant non-drinking water installations audited by the Technical Regulator.

The Technical Regulator has conducted a training session at Tonsley TAFE attracting 125 attendees. The Technical Regulator has reviewed the Registered Training Organisation’s training packages and workshops to ensure staff is kept up-to-date with current requirements and students trained accordingly.

Figure 5-2: Typical irrigation installation with Registered Break Tanks installed on both the drinking and non-drinking water systems

The Technical Regulator also requires a detailed plan be submitted for all sites that have multiple water supplies. These plans must include information showing appropriate backflow prevention devices and accurate hydraulic designs showing there are no cross-connections between the drinking and non-drinking water services.

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Figure 5-3: Park site with drinking and non-drinking water pipework

Figure 5-4: Drinking and non-drinking water meters

The figure above shows a typical drinking water/non-drinking water installation on a community title

development. The work undertaken by the plumbing contractor was executed in an excellent manner,

installing both the drinking and non-drinking water systems with appropriate signage and physical

separation of services.

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Section 6: Fire Fighting Water Services

6.1. Compliance of Fire Hydrant Water Services The Technical Regulator regulates fire water service installations. Fire hydrant water services must comply

with the PCA and referenced Standards AS/NZS 3500.1:2015 - Water Services and AS 2419.1: 2005 - Fire

hydrant installations - System design, installation and commissioning.

The current Standard requirements mandate that a booster assembly is constructed with WaterMarked

products (e.g. isolating and backflow prevention valves). There is also a requirement that all materials

upstream (inlet side) of the backflow prevention valve be suitable for contact with drinking water. This

requirement is covered by AS/NZS 4020: 2005-Testing of products for use in contact with drinking water.

Where existing fire services are replaced or upgraded

they must meet current regulatory requirements.

The Technical Regulator has audited many sites where

major additions and alterations have required fire

hydrant water service extensions and in-turn an

upgrade to the inlet/booster connections. These audits

along with advice from the Technical Regulator have

resulted in a higher level of compliance in this area.

The upgrade of fire service connections has also been

substantial at the Metropolitan Fire Services (MFS) Head

Office located in Wakefield Street Adelaide where the fire

service components (Figure 6-2) have been replaced by

current compliant assemblies (Figure 6-3). New booster connections have now been installed and

compliant backflow prevention (Figure 6-1) provided at the second fire service connection located in Angas

Street Adelaide.

The above are examples of fire service connections where either extensions or performance requirement

upgrades have led to older per-existing connections being replaced to meet present-day levels of

compliance.

6.2. Example of a Variation to a Fire Hydrant Booster Fire hydrant booster assemblies can vary depending on the requirements for a particular site. The

Technical Regulator conduct audits of these installations to ensure they comply with the appropriate

Standards. An example of a combined fire and sprinkler service connected within the booster assembly

installed with compliant valves is shown in Figure 6-4.

Figure 6-1: New backflow prevention device at the MFS

Figure 6-2: Old hydrant booster assemblies at MFS Head Office

Figure 6-3: New hydrant booster assemblies at MFS Head Office

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Figure 6-4: Variation to a standard fire hydrant booster service

There are several aspects of this combined fire booster which have been designed to comply with the

performance requirements of the NCC. The installation includes a WaterMarked testable backflow

prevention device on the inlet or upstream side of the connection to the water industry entities supply. The

feed hydrant riser is constructed of copper which is compliant with AS/NZS 4020 the Standard for

“Materials in contact with drinking water”.

All valves in the combined booster assembly are required to be WaterMarked, including the backflow

prevention full flow, non-return and isolating valves.

6.3. Fire Service Audits and Inspections During the 2015/16 financial year, plumbing contractors booked a total of 349 fire service inspections

requests and 196 audits were conducted by the Technical Regulator.

Figure 6-5: Fire service audits and inspections for the 2015/16 financial year

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Fire service audits and inspections for 2015/16

Booked Site Audits

Scheduled

Inspected

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Section 7: Cross-connection Control and Backflow Prevention

The Technical Regulator ensures drinking water and non-drinking water service installations meet the

performance requirements of the NCC Volume 3. The Technical Regulator’s cross-connection backflow

prevention program is the primary method of ensuring that testable backflow prevention devices are

installed to protect the integrity of the drinking water supply.

The NCC Volume 3 specifies the performance requirements for drinking and non-drinking water systems.

AS/NZS 3500.1 provides “deemed-to-satisfy provisions” for ensuring the performance requirements are

achieved.

AS/NZS 3500.1 defines a cross-connection as any connection or

arrangement, physical or otherwise, between any drinking water

supply either directly or indirectly connected to a water main, and

any fixture, storage tank, receptacle, equipment or device

through which it may be possible for any non-drinking water

used, unclean, polluted or contaminated water, or any other

substance, to enter any part of a drinking water supply.

For example, a cross-connection in a residential house can be

described as a connection between a household drinking water

supply and a contaminated source such as an unprotected

irrigation system where pesticides or fertilizers can enter the

drinking water system or the installation of douche toilet seats

without appropriate backflow prevention devices being installed.

7.1. Use of Non-drinking Water for Irrigation Purposes The use of non-drinking water for irrigation of municipal parks and gardens, sports fields and school ovals

has significantly increased over the last few years. The primary reason for the increased uptake of non-

drinking water for such usage is sustainability and the efficient use of an alternative, cost-effective product.

The availability and uptake of non-drinking water for irrigation has led to an increased regulatory

involvement of the Technical Regulator to ensure the ongoing safety in both plumbing and broad-scale

irrigation systems.

The Technical Regulator has established technical procedures to ensure that inter-connections between

drinking and non-drinking water supplies are installed with appropriate backflow prevention devices. This

requirement has been articulated through a number of communication sessions with industry (see Section

12). Ongoing communication has focused on engaging directly with industry stakeholders to ensure

compliance measures are adhered to.

7.2. Non-Drinking Water Guidelines The Technical Regulator has developed Non-Drinking Water Guidelines for use as a direct reference

source by the plumbing and water industries. The content of the guidelines include full details of the

legislative and practical requirements to be followed to ensure the ongoing safety of the drinking water

supply (more information in Section 12). Prior to publication, a consultation draft will be made available to

industry stakeholders for comment.

Figure 7-1: Douche seat installation with compliant backflow prevention

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7.3. Non-compliant Backflow Installation

Example of a potential backflow occurrence

The Technical Regulator was advised of a major backflow incident that occurred at a large industrial site

in the southern suburbs. The property was serviced by two drinking water supplies which, upon

investigation by the Technical Regulator, was found to have no containment backflow prevention

devices installed on either supply. The water industry entity reported a negative reading of 243 KL since

the last meter reading.

The investigation also identified pipe-work downstream of the water meters had been cross connected

into the other drinking water supply pipework without the appropriate backflow prevention installed. The

cross connection is shown in Figure 7-3. The Technical Regulator consulted with the site business

operator which resulted in the prompt installation of appropriate backflow prevention valves at both of

the drinking water meters.

Further consultation resulted in a comprehensive on-site backflow audit conducted by an Adelaide

plumbing company with recommendations to provide the necessary methodology to ensure compliance.

In summary, the backflow incident was initiated by a civil contractor damaging a drinking water supply

network pipe while engaged in extensive local roadworks. As the two services to this site were delivered

from two separate network supply lines, when one was damaged and mains pressure lost, a hydraulic

imbalance was created. As a result, with the lack of backflow prevention valves, a backflow from the

higher pressure supply to the lower pressure supply occurred. There were no reported personal injuries

associated with this event.

Figure 7-2: Meters showing no containment protection

Figure: 7-3 Example of a cross connection

Figure 7-4: Compliant backflow protection

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Section 8: Property Interest Reporting and Data Management

8.1. Property Interest Reporting The Technical Regulator is required to disclose required information on the sale or change of ownership of

a property under section 12(2) of the Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Act 1994 and

Regulation 16 of the Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Regulations 2010. The Technical

Regulator provides interested persons with information relating to encumbrances registered against a

particular property. These encumbrances are comprised mostly of backflow prevention devices (which

require annual maintenance) and general non-compliant plumbing work. The Technical Regulator receives

daily correspondence from the Land Services Group (LSG) relating to the sale, potential sale or change of

ownership of a property. The Technical Regulator is required to respond to the interested party within

seven days.

8.2. Encumbrances The Technical Regulator places an encumbrance on a property where audit results confirm a serious

technical or safety issue associated with the on-site plumbing or where a backflow prevention device has

been installed in connection with a drinking water service. Approximately two thirds of encumbrances held

by the Technical Regulator relate to backflow prevention devices. The remaining encumbrances relate to

non-compliant plumbing and drains crossing boundaries. These encumbrances are registered on the South

Australian Integrated Land Information System (SAILIS) which is operated by the Department of Planning,

Transport and Infrastructure. An encumbrance will remain on a property until the plumbing work is made

compliant or the backflow prevention device is no longer required.

The Technical Regulator processed a total of 1,070 Property Interest Reporting (PIR) requests and 1,644

Change of Ownership updates for the 2015/16 financial year, an increase of 16.5% on the number received

the previous year. Figure 8-1 provides the monthly breakdown of LSG requests the 2015/16 financial year.

Figure 8-1: PIR monthly statistics for the 2015/16 financial year

0

50

100

150

200

250

LSG Requests 2015/16

PIR's

Change of Ownership

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8.3. Self-management of testable backflow prevention devices The Technical Regulator has implemented a policy for the management of testable backflow prevention

devices located on State and local government properties. The policy allows State and local government to

manage the testing and maintenance of their own backflow prevention devices. This change accords with

the State Governments Red Tape Reduction Initiative.

Following consultation with several Councils, the Technical Regulator saw an opportunity for customers to

reduce administrative costs and produce a maintenance schedule suitable to their specific needs. Most

Government departments already maintain appropriate databases which made resubmitting details to the

Technical Regulator repetitive and time consuming. The objective of the policy is to simplify administrative

requirements for Government departments and the Technical Regulator through a reduction of reporting

requirements associated with testable backflow prevention devices maintenance.

The Technical Regulator has approached relevant customers individually and worked collaboratively with

them to promote self-management of their backflow prevention device test records. Instead of sending all

test records to the Technical Regulator at the time of testing, Government departments will manage their

own backflow devices. The Technical Regulator will conduct desktop and site audits at pre-determined

intervals throughout the year to ensure compliance.

The response from customers has been overwhelmingly positive. One Council wrote to the Technical

Regulator stating that the ‘benefits for Council are quite significant’ and was appreciative of the Technical

Regulator in recognising them as a suitable candidate for the introduction of the self-management project.

One of the key requirements of implementing the self-management system is that the Government

department has no backflow devices that are delinquent or overdue for retest. The strong desire to self-

manage is encouraging customers to keep all devices appropriately maintained.

There are currently two Councils and the NRAH on the self-management system. The Technical Regulator

is also assisting three additional Councils with their transition to self-management and is exploring the

possibility of self-management to be applied with all public school properties. This is currently being

negotiated with the Office of the Minister for Education and Child Development.

Figure 8-2: Example of a section of a backflow management template

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Section 9: Water and Sewerage Infrastructure Regulation

9.1. Introduction Water and sewerage infrastructure is defined as the structures, systems and facilities that provide water

and sewerage services to the community. It is also defined as the “off-site” infrastructure onto which the

plumbing contractors connect their on-site plumbing (including drinking water, non-drinking water (recycled

water)) and drainage installations.

Water and sewerage infrastructure includes, but is not limited to:

Drinking water distribution systems;

Drinking water treatment and storage facilities;

Sewage collection systems;

Sewage treatment and storage facilities;

Community wastewater management systems;

Wastewater treatment and storage facilities;

Non-drinking (recycled) water distribution systems;

Non-drinking (recycled) water treatment and storage facilities;

Non-drinking stormwater harvesting and reuse systems.

Water and sewerage infrastructure that is used to provide a service is the responsibility of a water industry

entity, such as SA Water, Council or private company. By comparison, on-site plumbing and drainage and

associated equipment is the responsibility of the property owner.

9.2. Water Industry Entities The water industry has continued to expand in South Australia over the last few years with many water

industry entities entering the market after the enactment of the Act.

A water industry entity is defined in the Act and designates any entity providing water and/or sewerage

retail services in South Australia. Under the Act, water industry entities are subject to licensing

requirements which are overseen by the Essential Service Commission of South Australia (ESCOSA). All

licensing requirements can be found on the ESCOSA website, http://www.escosa.sa.gov.au/. Under this

licensing regime, licences are divided in three categories based on their connections numbers: major;

intermediate; and minor (refer to Table 9-1 and a full list of water industry entities can be found in Appendix

6.1).

Table 9-1: Licences classifications

Classification Number of connections Number of Licensees in SA

Minor Less or equal to 500 27

Intermediate Between 500 and 50,000 39

Major More than 50,000 1

Total for South Australia 67

There are currently 67 licensees in South Australia held by 64 water industry entities (three water industry

entities have two separate licences). There is a single major water industry entity in South Australia being

SA Water. SA Water provides drinking water and sewerage services to approximately 1.6 million people in

SA. The remaining water industry entities are classified as intermediate and minor as per the above table

and provide services across the whole of South Australia servicing metropolitan, outer metropolitan and

regional townships, as presented in Table 9-2.

http://www.escosa.sa.gov.au/

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Table 9-2: Repartition of water industry entities in South Australia

Region Number of

water industry entities

Metropolitan 25

Northern Areas 17

Eyre Peninsula 11

South East 6

Riverland 5

Total for South Australia 64

The repartition between the services provided by the water industry entities is presented in Figure 9-1.

Figure 9-1: Repartition of services amongst water industry entities in South Australia

Of the current 64 water industry entities in South Australia, a majority is involved in providing sewerage

services (78% of all water industry entities) which is not surprising given that SA Water is the main provider

of drinking water to the State. There are currently no water industry entities providing non-drinking water

supply only, or drinking water and non-drinking water supplies (but no sewerage service).

Most water industry entities provide sewerage services via community wastewater management scheme

(CWMS). These were formerly known as septic tank effluent disposal Schemes (STEDS). In most cases,

CWMS comprise a network of small diameter gravity drains connecting to individual septic tanks, which

convey all of the septic tank effluent or sewerage to a treatment system and disposal facility that is owned,

operated and managed by the local Council. In addition to drinking and sewerage services, water industry

entities provide non-drinking water services which include the reticulated distribution of non-drinking water

for irrigation and non-potable use.

8 5 4

24 23

0

5

10

15

20

25

drinking water,non-drinking

water & sewerage

drinking water drinking water &sewerage

non-drinkingwater & sewerage

sewerage

Number of services provider in SA

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Section 10: Regulation of Water Industry Entities

10.1. Introduction During the 2015/16 financial year, the Technical Regulator has actively regulated technical Standards,

installations and the performance of water and sewerage infrastructure owned, operated and maintained by

licensed water industry entities.

In accordance with the Act, a water industry entity must provide a safe and reliable service by taking

reasonable steps to ensure that its infrastructure, equipment, product and/or materials are compliant with

the technical Standards. Whereas, the Technical Regulator is responsible for monitoring the compliance of

water and sewerage infrastructure with relevant technical Standards and other requirements to ensure

continuity of supply and service. The Technical Regulator may, at any time, require a water industry entity

to prepare and periodically revise a safety, reliability, maintenance and technical management plan

(SRMTMP) under section 68 (2) (a) of the Act. SRMTMPs must include all matters prescribed by regulation

in accordance with any requirements specified by the Technical Regulator and must be approved by the

Technical Regulator.

Further to the Act, the Regulations identifies that the following matters are to be dealt with by the SRMTMP:

Safe design, installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance and decommissioning for water

and/or sewerage infrastructure owned or operated by the water industry entity;

Maintenance of water and/or sewerage services of the quality required to be maintained by or

under the Act, the Regulations, Licence or other conditions;

Monitoring compliance with safety and technical requirements imposed by or under the Act, the

Regulations, Licence or the conditions of any exemption;

Monitoring water and/or sewerage infrastructure owned or operated by the water industry entity

that is considered unsafe or at risk of failing or malfunction;

Establishment of indicators and the collection and recording of information to measure the water

industry entity’s performance.

The Technical Regulator fulfils the obligation of monitoring the compliance of water and sewerage

infrastructure through:

Development and adoption of technical Standards;

Technical review of ESCOSA licence applications;

Review and approval of SRMTMPs;

Auditing of water industry entity SRMTMP.

10.2. Technical Standards

The Technical Regulator has the power to publish Standards relating to infrastructure or equipment that is

used, or is capable of being used, in the water industry under sections 66 and 67 of the Act. To date, the

Technical Regulator has not published a technical Standard which is applicable to water and sewerage

infrastructure.

The Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) has developed National Codes (WSAA Codes) for the

urban water industry detailing performance requirements for design, installation, inspection, alteration,

repair, maintenance, removal, disconnection or decommissioning of water and sewerage infrastructure.

The WSAA Codes have been widely adopted by a number of water utilities across Australia, as well as the

water industry as a whole. The WSAA Codes allow for water industry entities to make appropriate

modifications (where necessary) to accommodate their needs and preference as well as local construction

practices and products.

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Figure 11-1: Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) National Codes

The Local Government Association, DHA and Environment Protection Authority (EPA) also have technical

Standards, codes and guidelines for the water industry, in particular, related to the design and installation

of CWMS.

The Technical Regulator has identified the WSAA Codes, and any technical Standard, code or guideline

stated in legislation as suitable Standards for the South Australian water industry. These codes, Standards

and guidelines are referenced during the review and approval of water industry entities’ SRMTMPs, and

used for the provision of advice in relation to safety or technical matters to the water industry.

If an alternative Standard for water or sewerage infrastructure is proposed, it is necessary for the water

industry entity to identify all potential risks, and develop associated mitigation measures and approaches to

reduce or eliminate the relevant risks. Following the receipt of this information, the Technical Regulator will

then determine whether the alternative approach adequately meets the required performance outcome.

In addition, there are a number Australian Standards relevant that provide supplementary requirements for

water and sewerage infrastructure and/or products. The Technical Regulator is represented on the: sludge

recovery, recycling, treatment and disposal committee (WS-039); and services activities – water supply and

wastewater systems committee (WS-041).

Figure 11-2: Major National and International Organisations developing Standards

The Standards Australia committee (WS-039) was established in 2013 and is contributing to an

International Standard – ISO/TC 275 Sludge recovery, recycling, treatment and disposal. The scope of the

International Standard is to provide standardisation of the methods for characterising, categorising,

preparing, treating, recycling and managing sludge and products from urban wastewater collection

systems, night soil, stormwater handling, water supply treatment plants and wastewater treatment plants

for urban and similar industrial waters. The Standard also includes all sludge that may have similar

environmental and/or health impacts. The Standard involves 18 participating and 11 observing countries

throughout the world. The International Standard will address key areas such as terminology,

characterisation, digestion, land application, thermal processes, thickening and dewatering, and inorganics

and nutrient recovery.

The Standards Australia Committee (WS-041) was established this year and is contributing to an

International Standard – ISO/TC 224 Service activities relating to drinking water supply systems and

wastewater systems - Quality criteria of the service and performance indicators. The scope of the

International Standard is to provide standardisation of a framework for the definition and measurement of

service activities relating to drinking water supply systems and wastewater systems.

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The Standard involves 36 participating and 23 observing countries throughout the world. The International

Standard will address key areas such as terminology, asset management, crisis management, onsite

domestic wastewater management using low technology, decision support systems, flushable products,

stormwater management, water efficiency management, and water loss reduction.

10.3. Technical review of licence applications Water industry entities apply for a licence or licence exemption to operate a retail service from ESCOSA.

The licence application includes information pertaining to organisational, commercial and technical

information. The technical information is required to be reviewed by the Technical Regulator and a formal

response provided to ESCOSA.

During the 2015/16 financial year, four technical reviews of licence applications and exemptions were

undertaken (see Appendix 6.2). ESCOSA relies on the Technical Regulator to complete a thorough and

comprehensive review of the technical information provided with any licence application as it does not have

technical staff or resources to fulfil this function.

It is anticipated that the number of licence application reviews will increase in the next financial year

following the commencement of the water industry third party access regime on July 1, 2016. The third

party access regime was established under section 9A of the Act which sets out the process for access

seekers to gain access to applicable water and/or sewerage infrastructure. ESCOSA has been appointed

as the independent regulator to oversee access requirements that are sought under the access regime.

10.4. Safety, reliability, maintenance and technical management plans

General 10.4.1.

The contents of SRMTMPs are specified by the Regulations. SRMTMPs describe how water industry

entities will comply with the requirements of the legislation as well as Standards and codes relevant to the

water industry. SRMTMPs are intended to demonstrate and provide evidence that the water industry

entity’s infrastructure is designed, installed, commissioned, operated, maintained, monitored and where

required, decommissioned, in a safe and reliable manner by suitably qualified persons.

As a minimum, SRMTMPs should address:

the lifecycle of all water and/or sewerage infrastructure and equipment, including:

o planning

o design

o acquisition (construction, testing and commissioning)

o description (including location)

o operation

o maintenance

o repair and modification

o decommissioning and disposal

organisational structure and defined responsibilities;

competencies of persons appropriate to their responsibilities;

auditing of activities (key performance indicators);

records and traceability;

special or support notes.

In addition, SRMTMPs should also include a:

policy for the protection of personnel;

policy for the protection of property;

policy for the protection of the public;

technical Standards compliance policy.

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A SRMTMP is a working document that is unique and functional to each water industry entity. It will include

information pertaining to organisational makeup, descriptions of their assets, operations, safety elements

and assessment processes, supporting management systems and compliance monitoring. A SRMTMP will

encompass Work Health and Safety (WHS) issues but has a greater focus on the plant and operational

reliability and sustainability. Thus the SRMTMP relates to the technical Standards, operation, maintenance

and emergency procedures and management practices of the water industry entity. The SRMTMP also

provides a comparison of safety and reliability expectations with actual performance. A SRMTMP is a

confidential document and not available to the public unless made available by the water industry entity of

its own accord.

The Technical Regulator will review SRMTMPs which have been prepared by water industry entities, and if

considered acceptable, the Technical Regulator will approve the plan.

From June 2015, the Technical Regulator began requesting SRMTMPs from all licenced water industry

entities. All water industry entities currently licensed by ESCOSA have been directed by the Technical

Regulator to prepare a SRMTMP.

Table 10-1 presents the number of SRMTMPs that have been received, reviewed and approved by the


Table 10-1: Number of SRMTMPs received, reviewed and approved for the 2015/16 financial year

SRMTMP received (2015/16)

SRMTMP reviewed (2015/16)

SRMTMP approved (2015/16)

48 41 15

As this is the first time that any water industry entities have been asked to prepare a SRMTMP, the

Technical Regulator prepared a Guidance Document and supporting informative documentation and

provided assistance through visits to the water industry entity’s office and phone advice.

SRMTMP Assistance 10.4.2.

The Guidance Document provides advice and assistance to water industry entities for the development of

their SRMTMP that is acceptable to the Technical Regulator and deemed to comply with the Act and

Regulations. In the absence of equivalent Standards pertaining to the water industry, the Guidance

Document is structured in a manner that is consistent with Australian Standards for similar documents in

the gas industry. The focus is placed on safe and reliable operation for people and plant to ensure a safe

and reliable service to customers. In many cases, the water industry entity already has existing

documentation which meets the minimum information requirement. Such documentation is discussed

throughout the Guidance Document and where such documentation exists, the water industry entity should

provide references and a description and/or summary to demonstrate its relevance.

In addition to the Guidance Document, the Technical Regulator has developed a number of supporting

documents for water industry entities to better understand their obligations and technical requirements

including advisory notes about SRMTMPs and the associated approval and review process, and checklists.

An example of the internal audit checklist is shown in Appendix 7. This checklist provides assistance to

water industry entities to undertake an internal audit of their SRMTMP.

SRMTMPs are ‘live’ documents and any changes and/or revisions are required to be approved by the

Technical Regulator on an annual basis. It is anticipated that the Technical Regulator will receive all initial

SRMTMPs by the end of 2016.

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10.5. Water industry entity audits Auditing of water industry entities will confirm that the water industry entity is fulfilling its obligation to take

reasonable steps to ensure that the infrastructure, equipment, products or materials comply with, and are

used in accordance with, technical and safety requirements specified by required Standards and specified

by the Technical Regulator under Part 7 of the Act.

Following the submission and subsequent approval of a SRMTMP, the water industry entity must complete

annual internal audits which will provide findings of its compliance with its SRMTMP. These results will be

reported to the Technical Regulator for review and acceptance. Once the Technical Regulator is satisfied

that the water industry entity has addressed all identified issues and complied with its SRMTMP, the water

industry entity then updates the plan to include required changes identified in the audit and any

recommendations from the Technical Regulator.

In addition to relying on the annual internal audits completed by the water industry entities, the Technical

Regulator will complete independent safety and technical audits to verify the accuracy of the information

provided and compliance with the water industry entity’s SRMTMP. The independent audits ensure that

safety and technical Standards are maintained in the water industry by confirming that:

appropriate systems and processes have been developed;

compliance with these systems and processes is maintained;

the systems and processes comply with the water industry entity’s current approved SRMTMP.

The Technical Regulator will conduct both field and desktop audits to confirm that the water industry

entity’s policies and procedures are adopted by staff to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the

infrastructure. In addition, audits can include follow up on items/elements from previous audits and

approvals where a particular failure was identified. The independent audits completed by the Technical

Regulator also allow for the monitoring of technical safety and reliability trends within the water industry.

The Technical Regulator conducted one independent audit for the 2015/16 financial year which focussed

on: Employee Competency Training; and Incident Notification Process and Emergency Response

Management. These two audit topics will be maintained for future audits to provide benchmarking of the

South Australian water industry, which will be compared to other water industries both within Australia and

overseas.

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Section 11: Water and Sewerage Infrastructure Incidents

11.1. Water and Sewerage Infrastructure Incident Classification and

Notification Protocol The OTR water and sewerage infrastructure section maintains the Water and Sewerage Infrastructure

Incident Notification and Communication Protocol, which provides the water industry entities a clear

understanding of their notification and reporting requirements to the Technical Regulator.

The Water and Sewerage Infrastructure Incident Notification and Communication Protocol is an

overarching document and is applicable to all water and sewerage infrastructure, including but not limited

to:

Drinking water distribution systems;

Drinking water treatment and storage facilities;

Sewage collection systems;

Sewage treatment and storage facilities;

Community wastewater management collection systems;

Wastewater treatment and storage facilities;

Non-drinking (recycled) water distribution systems;

Non-drinking (recycled) water treatment and storage facilities;

Non-drinking stormwater harvesting and reuse systems.

The Water and Sewerage Infrastructure Incident Notification and Communication Protocol provides for the

classification of incidents and notifications requirements that are particular to the Technical Regulator and

does not absolve the water industry entities from responsibilities to any other agencies such as those that

are included in the ‘Department for Health and Ageing (DHA) / Environment Protection Authority (EPA)

Water/Wastewater Incident Notification and Communication Protocol’ (Protocol) or other similar

documents.

The Technical Regulator proposes to periodically update the Water and Sewerage Infrastructure Incident

Notification and Communication Protocol to ensure that the information is correct and accurately reflects all

water and sewerage infrastructure incidents and regulatory requirements.

11.2. Other Incident Classification and Notification Protocol The Technical Regulator has liaised with DHA and EPA regarding their Protocol. The Protocol between SA

Water, EPA and DHA was first established in 1999 and also includes notification to other relevant bodies

such as Natural Resource Management Boards and local Councils. The Protocol meets the Safe Drinking

Water Act 2011 requirements for an approved incident identification and notification protocol.

The Protocol was developed to improve communications between Government departments and to ensure

a coordinated response to potentially serious water and wastewater incidents, and is focused around health

and environmental incidents.

Since its inception, the Protocol has undergone an annual review process to ensure that the structure and

content of the document remains relevant and accurately captures the range and complexity of potential

water and wastewater incidents. The most recent update of the Protocol is due to be released in late 2016

and will include the requirements and appropriate contact information of the Technical Regulator.

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Section 12: Education, Communication and Consultation

12.1. Education The Technical Regulator developed and utilised a variety of educational resources for water industry

entities and the water industry as a whole to better understand the technical regulatory requirements and

obligations under the Act.

The resources can be accessed from the OTR’s website and include:

Guidance Document for the preparation of SRMTMPs;

Supporting checklists;

Plumbing advisory notes;

Regulation Roundup.

Plumbing advisory notes 12.1.1.

The Technical Regulator produces advisory notes to help people working in the plumbing industry interpret

the requirements for on-site plumbing installations. Advisory notes are available on the website and refer to

specific issues such as building plan applications, bath waste connections and legionella risk management.

Non-Drinking Water Guidelines 12.1.2.

The Technical Regulator has developed draft Non-Drinking Water Guidelines (Guidelines) for the water and

plumbing industries for all non-drinking water installations in South Australia.

The Guidelines outline requirements and responsibilities for installing, operating and maintaining non-

drinking water systems in accordance with the Act, the Regulations, and appropriate technical Standards,

and will be used by the plumbing and water industries, water industry entities and property owners with a

non-drinking water supply.

To date, the Technical Regulator has undertaken considerable industry stakeholder consultation during the

development of the Guidelines, and plans to release a consultation draft for industry comment in

August 2016. This consultation has enhanced the Technical Regulator’s working relationship with key

stakeholders from within Government agencies, the plumbing and water industries and community.

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Development of the Non-drinking Water Guidelines in South Australia

Non-drinking water can be defined as any water that is not intended for human consumption or for

purposes connected with human consumption, such as washing, preparation or cooking of food. The

WSAA Codes define non-drinking water as “any water other than drinking water including wastewater.

Stormwater, bore water, ground water, lake or river water, which has been treated to meet a Standard

(as defined by the Regulator), and which is satisfactory for its intended use(s)”.

The use of non-drinking water schemes in new developments is increasing in Australia as jurisdictions

and communities deal with water conservation and water efficiency initiatives. By using recycled and

alternative water supplies the public is reducing the stress on the traditional drinking water sources

including the River Murray and local reservoirs. In South Australia, non-drinking water is typically

provided by a water industry entity through a reticulated water network system to dedicated properties

for use. Most properties supplied with non-drinking water have a dual supply consisting of a drinking

water supply for personal hygiene use and a non-drinking water supply for gardens and non-personal

hygiene use.

In South Australia, the number of non-drinking water sources has increased with many residential

developments (e.g. subdivision) adopting dual water reticulation services to properties. Consequently,

this increase has dramatically raised the risk to the technical and safety integrity of on-site plumbing and

non-drinking water infrastructure systems.

The Technical Regulator has a key role in ensuring the

protection of South Australia’s drinking water. The Technical

Regulator is vigilant in regulating this area through current

methods of audits of on-site plumbing, and approval of

SRMTMPs. However, the Technical Regulator is reliant on the

plumbing and water industry to be aware of their

responsibilities in this area and it was proposed that the

development of guidelines for non-drinking water installations

was necessary to ensure regulatory obligations were being

met and provide clarity to key stakeholders on associated

requirements and responsibilities.

The Non-Drinking Water Guidelines are provided to improve

awareness, understanding and installation requirements of

non-drinking water systems and associated regulatory

responsibilities within the plumbing and water industries.

These guidelines are structured in a manner that is consistent

with similar documents in the plumbing and water industries in

the absence of equivalent Standards. The focus is placed on

safe and reliable installations and ongoing operation for people and plant to ensure a safe and reliable

service to customers.

Update to the OTR’s website 12.1.3.

The OTR’s website contains content relating to water and sewerage infrastructure regulation as well as

plumbing regulation to provide the general public with an easily accessible source of information. The

content uploaded to the website is regularly reviewed and updated to ensure its currency.

Some of the content that can be found on the website includes:

Water and Sewerage Infrastructure Regulation:

o Acts, Regulations and Standards;

o Licensing information and links;

o SRMTMP requirements and information;

Figure 12-1: Cover of the Non-Drinking Water Guidelines

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o Water and sewerage incident reporting requirements;

o Compliance and enforcement requirements.

Plumbing Regulation:

o Book a plumbing and drainage inspection;

o Plumbing installations;

o Licensing and training;

o Plumbing Acts, Regulations, Standards and scheme;

o Residential water heater requirements.

In 2015/16, there were approximately 163,370 user sessions the OTR’s website content, of which more

than 70% were new visitors. The number of page views reached 314,102. On average, users of the OTR’s

website content looked at 1.92 pages per session and spent just under two minutes engaging with the

content. Of the visitors to the site, 74% were from Australia and, of those, 36% were from Adelaide.

139,691 unique visitors to the OTR web content on sa.gov.au (21% increase from 2014/15).

Figure 12-2: Google statistics for the OTR’s website for the 2015/16 financial year

Table 12-1: Legend for the Google statistics

Name Definition

Sessions total number of visits to your site

Users (Unique Visitors) total number of first time visitors to your site

Pageviews total number of pages viewed on your site

Pages / Session average number of pages viewed per visit

Avg. Session Duration average visit length of all visitors

Bounce Rate percent of single-page visits

% New Sessions percent of total visitors who visited your site for the first time

The top three pages visited on the OTR’s website for the 2015/16 financial year were:

Building safely near powerlines (16,952 unique page views);

Contact the Office of the Technical Regulator (13,317 unique page views);

Portable gas cooker safety (12,400 unique page views).

The top three pages on the Plumbing Regulation Section visited for the 2015/16 financial year were:

Water heater installation requirements (4,620 unique views);

Plumbing certificates of compliance (2,276 unique views);

Backflow prevention requirements (1,597 unique views).

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The top three pages on the Water and Sewerage Infrastructure Regulation Section visited for the 2015/16

financial year were:

Water and sewerage infrastructure (781 unique views);

Acts, regulations and Standards (544 views);

Information sessions for water industry entities (204 unique views).

Regulation Roundup 12.1.4.

To keep the water industry informed, the Technical Regulator publishes biennially a joint

electrical/gas/plumbing industry newsletter – Regulation Roundup. Copies are sent to plumbing

contractors, licensed contractors and water industry entities in the State. Copies are also sent to interstate

regulators and other interested parties in a reciprocal arrangement. The newsletter provides a good conduit

for providing information to the contracting trade and allows industry-specific topics of a technical nature to

be discussed. Colour printing allows clear photographs of faulty installations and appliances to be included

and it continues to be very popular with the trades

The plumbing section utilised Regulation Roundup to promote best practice associated with backflow

prevention devices and advise the industry about legislative requirements. The water and sewerage

infrastructure section utilised Regulation Roundup, as a platform to advise the plumbing and water industry

of the development of Non-Drinking Water Guidelines.

Figure 12-3: Extract from Regulation Roundup

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12.2. Communication and Consultation

OTR plumbing regulation 12.2.1.

External training sessions for industry

Regular training, consultation and information sessions have been conducted with the plumbing industry.

Figure 12-4: Training session conducted by the OTR plumbing section at Tonsley TAFE.

The Technical Regulator uses these training sessions as an opportunity to discuss and clarify changes to

regulatory Standards and practices. Examples of training session topics include:

Updating the 2016 NCC Volume 3 – PCA;

Updates to the AS/NZS 3500 Plumbing and drainage Standard series which include water

services, sanitary plumbing & drainage, and heated water services;

Technical issues such as sanitary drainage, non-drinking water installations, Legionella control, fire

service installations, backflow prevention for irrigation systems and WaterMark compliance.

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The Technical Regulator has developed strong relationships with the following groups and is regularly

engaged to conduct or attend information sessions:

The Plumbing Industry Reference group

(TAFE)

Master Builders Association Technical

Committee

WITAC

MPA

Peer Training Reference Group

Training Prospects Reference Group

Backflow Prevention Association of Australia

Fire Industry Association (FIA)

MFS

Country Fire Service (CFS)

Building Consultants Forum

Australian Hydraulic Association South

Australia Chapter (AHSCA)

DHA

ESCOSA

Planning SA

ABCA

Waste Water Special Industry Group

(Environmental Health Officers)

The OTR plumbing section regularly attends training organisations to meet with lecturers and

apprentices. The OTR attended a session with

apprentices from PEER VEET, the objective of the

session was for the apprentices to set up internal

drains in PEER VEET’s plumbing installation sand

pit and go through the process of booking an

inspection with the OTR. Staff of the OTR

plumbing section came to the session and ran

through the process of an OTR inspection and

addressed the key points of the plumbing

inspection process. In addition, the OTR provided

general background information for the

apprentices to take on in their future career.

Master Plumbers Association of South Australia Inc. (MPA)

The Technical Regulator consults with the MPA on a regular basis and has utilised their forum to improve

plumbing regulation including conducting presentations at their regional and local Roadshows.

The Technical Regulator has also collaborated with the MPA to actively address regulatory issues,

licensing matters, the new eCoC project and continuing professional development.

The Technical Regulator also provides regular articles for the MPA’s Plumbing SA newsletter and is

represented on the MPA selection panel for the Plumbing Gold Medal Award which is presented annually

to the Apprentice of the Year.

World Skills Regional Plumbing Competition

The OTR plumbing section was represented on the Judging panel for the World Skills Regional Plumbing

Competition, held at TAFE Tonsley in September 2015. Plumbing apprentices across the State competed

against each other to showcase world class plumbing skills.

Figure 12-5: Apprentices training on internal drains set up

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Figure 12-6: Plumbing apprentices competing in the World Skills Regional Plumbing Competition

Association of Hydraulic Services Consultants Australia (South Australia) (AHSCA)

The Technical Regulator actively engages with members of the AHSCA and seeks their input into proposed

amendments to the PCA and associated Standards. Attendance at meetings provides the Technical

Regulator with the opportunity to clarify issues as they are presented. The Technical Regulator has

conducted presentations on non-drinking water and fire service installations.

Waste Water Special Industry Group (Environmental Health Officer)

The Waste Water Special Industry Group is comprised predominately of Environmental Health Officers and

SA Health Officers who monitor on-site waste water treatment systems. The Technical Regulator provides

updates on the NCC Volume 3 and associated Standards. Presentations have been made on the eCoC

project and the as-constructed drainage plan project. The Technical Regulator engages with Environmental

Health Officers in regional areas and provides training on regulatory and on-site plumbing requirements.

Training has been provided for Environmental Health Officers in the South East region, York Peninsula and

Kangaroo Island.

The Plumbing Industry Reference Group (PIRAG)

PIRAG is an industry reference group formulated within TAFE SA. PIRAG members represent various

sectors of the plumbing industry including the Technical Regulator, MPA, plumbing contractors, the

Construction Industry Training Board, manufactures and apprentice providers.

The committee meets quarterly to discuss matters that affect training of apprentices which includes

discussion on the following topics:

E-Learning

Licensing matters

Training and information sessions conducted

to staff and students by the Technical

Regulator

Continual professional development

Reporting on the training package

Quality and Industry Validation

Training Gaps

Business Development

OHS&W

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OTR water and sewerage infrastructure section 12.2.2.

The OTR water and sewerage infrastructure section has undertaken extensive communication and

consultation through a number of different platforms:

Liaison with key stakeholders;

Representation at meetings and conferences/events;

Assistance meetings.

Liaison with Key Stakeholders

The Technical Regulator liaises with a number of key stakeholders from both government and industry.

The Technical Regulator has developed a number of operational agreements and MOUs with key intra-

government water regulatory agencies. These agreements and MOUs are intended to promote a

streamlined regulatory process for the water industry by working with other government agencies to

optimise each agency’s regulatory input. Furthermore, the Technical Regulator has been fundamental in

the development of an intra-government water regulatory consortium, where agencies are able to share

key information about their current operations and any impacts of the water industry and/or other agencies.

The water agencies involved in this consortium are:

OTR;

Department of Environment, Water, and Natural Resources;

ESCOSA;

DHA;

EPA.

The consortium also agreed to an initiative to establish a working group to explore the possibility of

combined annual reporting for water industry entities. This initiative is a clear demonstration of the State

Government’s commitment to reducing red tape.

Liaison with the water industry has been centred on the regulatory requirements of the Act and the

Regulations, in particular from water industry entities regarding their obligations under the Act to the

Technical Regulator and the requirements SRMTMPs.

Representation Meetings and Conferences/Events

The Technical Regulator was represented at a number of industry events and meetings throughout the

year, including:

Local Government Association (LGA) CWMS Management Committee meetings;

National Recycled Water Regulators meeting;

Standards Australia Committee meetings;

Australian Water Association (AWA) Branch Committee meetings;

AWA Asset Management Specialist Network Committee meetings;

AWA Water Management, Law and Policy Specialist Network Committee meetings;

AWA OzWater ’16 Conference;

Water Industry Alliance SA Water Innovation Launchpad;

Water Industry Alliance Awards;

MAR Hub and WaRDA workshop;

Non-drinking water forum;

IPOS opening.

Representation of the Technical Regulator at these events is intended to increase awareness and

acknowledgement of the role of the Technical Regulator within the water industry.

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It is proposed that the Technical Regulator will continue to provide assistance and input to the broader

water industry through presentation, attendance and facilitation of meetings and events.

Assistance meetings

Along with the supporting documentation made available to the industry to prepare a SRMTMP, the

Technical Regulator offered a one-day assistance meeting to any water industry entity upon request. The

aim of the assistance meeting was to run through the different requirements of a SRMTMP with the water

industry entity and provide answers to any particular query on this matter. Overall those meetings were of

assistance to the water industry entity, giving a much better understanding of the information sought by the


For 2015/16, the Technical Regulator attended a total of 21 assistance meetings.

Table 12-2: Assistance meetings for 2015/16

Assistance Meetings Location Number of Meetings for 2015/16

Metropolitan 11

Northern 4

South Eastern 6

TOTAL 21

Water Industry Technical Advisory Committee (WITAC) 12.2.3.

The Water Industry Technical Advisory Committee (WITAC) formerly known as the Plumbing Technical

Advisory Committee (PTAC) includes representatives from:

Water industry entities;

Contractor and employee associations involved in the water industry;

Local Government;

DHA;

Consumer and Business Services;

AHSCA;

Registered Training Organisations;

MPA.

The charter for the committee includes providing feedback on matters that relate to the function of the

Technical Regulator. The committee also provides the Technical Regulator with the opportunity to keep

members advised on matters pertaining to the regulation of plumbing and infrastructure.

Consumer survey 12.2.4.

For 2015/16, newfocus was contracted to conduct the annual telephone survey of the Technical Regulator

to gauge domestic water consumers’ experience with water safety. This survey was conducted as a

computer assisted telephone interview. A total of 400 households were interviewed. Amongst these 400

households, 300 were located in the Adelaide metropolitan area and the remaining 100 in SA regional

areas. Also, 384 were connected to the water distribution network while 344 were connected to a sewer

network and 28 were connected to a non-drinking water supply network.

Key outcomes from the 2015/16 Consumer Survey

The 2015/16 Consumer Survey key outcomes were:

Amongst those who indicated they had plumbing work done in their property in the last 2 years

(22%), virtually all (96%) were aware that the person undertaking the job should be licenced and

qualified, then 52% knew that the person who did the job was licenced and qualified, 56% said that

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they were aware they should receive a COC when a plumbing work is done and 38% said they

received one when they had a job done. About 30% were aware that they should receive a ‘as-

constructed drawing’ and 30% received one after the job was done.

Only a small proportion of the public is buying appliances online (12%) (mainly concerns electrical

appliances).

Compared with last year’s results, the awareness of the public that plumbing contractors need to hold

appropriate licensing is still satisfying while awareness of the need to be provided with COC and ‘as

constructed drawing’ has increased.

The Technical Regulator is encouraged by those findings which continue to reinforce the advertising

campaigns including the OTR’s website and other useful tools which inform the public about the key safety

information with regard to safe on-site plumbing installations and water infrastructure.

The results of the consumer survey emphasise a need to remind the public about the requirement to be

provided with a COC from a licenced plumbing contractor upon the completion of any plumbing installation

or maintenance work, as well as to be provided with an “internal sanitary drain as-constructed drawing”.

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OTR Background Appendix 1:

Minister for Water and the River Murray

Technical Regulator

Gas Act 1997 Electricity Act 1996 Energy Products

(Safety and Efficiency) Act 2000 Water Industry Act

2012

WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

and PLUMBING (Water Industry Act

2012)

ELECTRICAL Electricity Act 1996,

Energy Products (Safety and

Efficiency) Act 2000

GAS Gas Act 1997,

Energy Products (Safety and

Efficiency) Act 2000

Water Infrastructure Safety and Reliability

On-site Plumbing,

Installations, Backflow

Prevention, Recycled

Water and Fire Services

Liaison with ESCOSA, DHA, EPA, DEWNR, EWOSA

The OTR is represented on the Australian Building Codes Board Committees,

AS/NZS 3500 WS-014 Committee, AS 2845 WS-

023 Committee

The Technical Regulator has established a Water

Industry Technical Advisory Committee

Plumbing Encumbrance and associated

land division referrals to Land Services group

Minister for Energy

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Plumbing Standard Appendix 2:

WATER INDUSTRY ACT 2012

Plumbing Standard

Technical Regulator

This Standard is published by the Technical Regulator pursuant to sections 66 and 67 of the Water Industry Act 2012 (the Act). This Standard comes into effect on the date on which it is gazetted. This Standard replaces the Plumbing Standard published in the Gazette on 20 December 2012. For the purposes of section 67(3)(a) of the Act , the work to which section 67(1) of the Act applies is the work referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) hereof. For the purposes of section 67(3)(b) of the Act, the persons to whom section 67(2) of the Act applies are: (1) if a licensed plumbing contractor (under the Plumbers, Gas Fitters and Electricians Act 1995) or licensed building work contractor (under the Building Work Contractors Act 1995) has employed or engaged a registered plumbing worker to personally carry out plumbing-to the licensed plumbing contractor or licensed building work contractor; or

(2) if a registered plumbing worker who personally carries out plumbing has not been employed or engaged to do so by a licensed plumbing contractor or licensed building work contractor- to the registered plumbing worker. A person who designs, installs, inspects, alters, repairs, maintains, removes, disconnects or decommissions equipment and plumbing within the meaning of the Water Industry Act 2012, including plumbing or equipment on the customer’s side of any connection point, must comply with: (a) Relevant components of the National Construction Code Volume 3 (Plumbing Code of Australia) (including any standards referred to therein) as amended from time to time, as follows: (i) Section A General Provisions, Parts AO, A1, A2 and A3;

(ii) Section B Water Services, Parts B1, B2, B3 and B4;

(iii) Section C Sanitary Plumbing and Drainage Systems, Parts C1 and C2;

(iv) Section F On-Site Wastewater Systems Parts F1 and F2;

(v) Section G Materials and Products Certification and Authorisation Part G1;

(vi) Appendix South Australia- Sections A-F. (b) The requirements outlined in the document South Australian Water Heater Installation Requirements

prepared by the Technical Regulator, as amended from time to time, which may be viewed at http://sa.gov.au/otrplumbing The Technical Regulator may grant an exemption from this Standard, or specified provisions of this Standard (with or without conditions) as the Technical Regulator considers appropriate. Dated 6 January 2014 R. FAUNT TECHNICAL REGULATOR

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Scheme for Plumbing Certificates of Compliance Appendix 3:

WATER INDUSTRY ACT 2012

TECHNICAL REGULATOR

Scheme under section 69(2)

Plumbing Certificate of Compliance

1. Title

This Scheme is established by the Technical Regulator under section 69(2) of the Water Industry Act 2012 (the Act) and may be cited as the Plumbing Certificate of Compliance Scheme (hereinafter also referred to as the “Scheme”).

2. Commencement This Scheme will come into operation on 1 January 2013.

3. Interpretation In this Scheme:

(a) Certificate of Compliance means the Plumbing Certificate of Compliance approved by the

Technical Regulator; (b) contractor means a plumbing contractor licensed under the Plumbers, Gas Fitters and

Electricians Act 1995 (PGE Act); (c) equipment means has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Act. (d) Former Certificate of Compliance means the Certificate of Compliance approved by SA Water

as in operation immediately prior to 1 January 2013; (e) plumbing has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Act. (f) SA Water means the South Australian Water Corporation; (g) worker means a plumbing worker registered under the PGE Act.

4. Application

(1) The Certificate of Compliance must be used by contractors and workers. (2) The Certificate of Compliance must be used to verify that equipment and plumbing (including

water services, sanitary plumbing and drainage systems) complies with the Water Industry Act 2012 and/or the Public and Environmental Health Act 1987 including regulations and standards thereunder as applicable, and the work falls within the terms of the contractor’s licence and the worker’s registration.

5. Use of Certificates of Compliance

(1) The Former Certificate of Compliance may be used until and including 30 June 2013, but the copy that was to be provided to SA Water must, instead, be provided to the Office of the Technical Regulator.

(2) The Certificate of Compliance may be used as soon as it has been published, and must be used

on and after 1 July 2013.

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6. Filling in the Certificate of Compliance

The worker and the contractor must both sign the Certificate of Compliance where indicated, in accordance with the directions contained in it. All relevant information on the forms must be provided. The contractor must ensure that instructions (including “Internal sanitary drain as constructed” drawings and additional information as required) outlined in the book of official forms published under the authority of the Technical Regulator are complied with.

7. Copies of Certificate of Compliance

Copies of the Certificate of Compliance must be provided to the Technical Regulator and the customer within 7 days and the relevant Council within 28 days. One copy must be retained by the contractor for not less than 5 years.

8. Official forms

Subject to clause 5(1) hereof, a Certificate of Compliance must be completed using only an official form published or produced under the authority of the Technical Regulator.

9. Variation or revocation of Scheme

This Scheme may be varied or revoked by the Technical Regulator. Dated this 21 day of December 2012 R. FAUNT TECHNICAL REGULATOR

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Example of Plumbing Certificate of Compliance Appendix 4:

Form

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Example of Internal Drain as Constructed Appendix 5:

Drawing

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Water Industry Entities and licences reviewed Appendix 6:

A6.1. List of Water Industry Entities

Licensee Licence category

Service Provided

Drinking water

Non-drinking water

Sewerage

Adelaide Hills Council Intermediate No No Yes

Alano Utilities Pty Ltd Minor No No Yes

Alexandrina Council Intermediate Yes Yes Yes

Barossa Council Intermediate No Yes Yes

Barunga West (District Council of) Intermediate No No Yes

Berri Barmera Council Intermediate No No Yes

BHP Billiton Olympic Dam Corporation Pty Ltd Minor Yes no no

Cape Jaffa Anchorage Essential Services Minor Yes No Yes

Ceduna (District Council of) Intermediate Yes Yes Yes

Charles Sturt (The City of ) Minor No Yes No

Clare and Gilbert Valley Council Intermediate No Yes Yes

Cleve (Arno Bay) (District Council of) Minor No No Yes

Cleve (Cleve) (District Council of) Minor No No Yes

Coober Pedy (District Council of) Minor Yes Yes Yes

Coorong District Council Intermediate No Yes Yes

Copper Coast (District Council of) Intermediate No No Yes

Elliston (District Council of ) Minor Yes Yes Yes

ERA Water Minor No Yes No

F.B Pipeline Pty Ltd Minor Yes No No

Fairmont Utilities Pty Ltd Intermediate Yes Yes Yes

Flinders Ranges Council Minor No No Yes

Franklin Harbour (District Council of) Minor Yes No No

Goyder (Burra) (Regional Council) Minor No No Yes

Goyder (Eudunda) (Regional Council of ) Minor No No Yes

Grant (District Council of) Intermediate No No Yes

Hillrise Investments Pty Ltd Minor Yes No No

Kangaroo Island Council Intermediate No No Yes

Karoonda East Murray (District Council of ) Minor No No Yes

Kimba (District Council of) Minor No Yes Yes

Kingston District Council Intermediate No No Yes

Light Regional Council Intermediate No Yes Yes

Lower Eyre Peninsula (District Council of) Intermediate No No Yes

Loxton Waikerie (District Council of) Intermediate No No Yes

Mallala (District Council of) Minor No No Yes

Marion (Corporation of the City of) Minor No Yes No

Michell Infrastructure Pty Ltd Minor No Yes No

Mid Murray Council Intermediate No Yes Yes

Mount Barker (District Council of) Intermediate No Yes Yes

Mount Remarkable (District Council of) Intermediate Yes No Yes

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Service Provided

Drinking water

Non-drinking water

Sewerage

Murray Bridge (Rural City of ) Minor Yes No Yes

Naracoorte Lucindale Council Minor No No Yes

Northern Areas Council Intermediate No Yes Yes

Onkaparinga (1) (Sewerage) Intermediate No No Yes

Onkaparinga (2) (Water) Minor No Yes No

Orroroo Carrieton (District Council of) Minor No Yes No

Outback Communities Authority Minor Yes no no

Playford (City of) Minor No Yes No

Port Adelaide Enfield (City of ) Minor No Yes Yes

Port Augusta City Council Intermediate No Yes Yes

Port Lincoln (City of) Minor No Yes No

Port Pirie Regional Council Intermediate No No Yes

Renmark Paringa Council Intermediate No No Yes

Robe (District Council of) Intermediate No No Yes

Robusto Investments Pty Ltd (transferred from Hillrise Investments Pty Ltd)

Minor No Yes No

Roxby Downs (Municipal Council of) Intermediate Yes Yes Yes

SA Water Major Yes Yes Yes

Salisbury (City of ) Minor No Yes No

Southern Mallee Regional Council Intermediate No Yes Yes

Streaky Bay (District Council of) Intermediate No No Yes

Tatiara District Council Intermediate No Yes Yes

Tea Tree Gully (City of) Intermediate No Yes Yes

Tumby Bay (District Council of) Intermediate No Yes Yes

Wakefield Regional Council Intermediate No No Yes

Water Utilities Australia Pty Ltd Minor No Yes No

Wattle Range Council Intermediate No No Yes

Wudinna District Council Minor No Yes Yes

Yankalilla (District Council of) Intermediate Yes Yes Yes

Yorke Peninsula (District Council of) Intermediate Yes No Yes

A6.2. List of ESCOSA Licences Reviewed


Service Provided

Drinking water

Non-drinking water

Sewerage

Franklin Harbour (District Council of) Variation

(Intermediate) No Yes Yes

Greenhill Water Supply Company Exemption No Yes No

Mallala (District Council of) Variation (Minor)

No Yes Yes

Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation

Exemption No No Yes

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Checklist for SRMTMPs and audits Appendix 7:

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Operating Statement Appendix 8:

Operating Statement for the year ending 30 June 2016

In the 2015/16 financial year, pursuant to Section 20 of the Water industry Act 2012, licence fees received

for plumbing amounted to $2,512 million. Total recurrent costs for the year amounted to $2,148 million.

After allowing for other income there was an operating net surplus of $376,636. This surplus was applied to

the development of new essential computerised business management systems.

Operating Revenues $

Licence Fees 2,512,000

Expiation Fees 0

Appliance Approval Fees 0

Other Revenue 12,915

TOTAL OPERATING REVENUES 2,524,915

Operating Expenses

Salaries and Wages 1,639,682

Goods and Services 508,597

TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES 2,148,279

TRANSFER TO EQUITY 376,636

Staffing Numbers

The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) plumbing and water and sewerage infrastructure staff for the OTR

is 16.4.

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Glossary and Abbreviations Appendix 9:

ABCB Australian Building Codes Board

AHSCA Association of Hydraulic Services Consultants Australia (South Australia)

AS Australian Standard

AS/NZS Joint Australian/New Zealand Standards

AWA Australian Water Association

BCA Building Code of Australia

BCC Building Codes Committee

CBD Central Business District

CFS Country Fire Service

COAG Council of Australian Governments

COC Certificate of Compliance

CWMS Community Wastewater Management Scheme

Deemed-to-Satisfy

provisions

The Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions are an optional means of achieving

compliance with the mandatory Performance Requirements

DHA Department for Health and Ageing

DSD Department of State Development

eCoC Electronic Certificate of Compliance

EMPIA Electronic Management of Plumbing Inspections and Audits

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EPA Environment Protection Authority

Equipment Includes- (a) pipes, fittings and apparatus; and

(b) any component of any equipment

ESCOSA Essential Services Commission of South Australia

FIA Fire Industry Association

HIA House Industry Association

IPOS Irrigated Public Open Spaces

KL Kilo Litre

LGA Local Government Association

LSG Land Services Group

MAR Managed Aquifer Recharge

MBA Master Builders Association

MFS Metropolitan Fire Service

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

MPA Master Plumbers Association

NCC National Construction Code

NRAH New Royal Adelaide Hospital

OTR Office of the Technical Regulator

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PCA Plumbing Code of Australia

PCC Plumbing Code Committee

PIR Property interest reports

PIRAG Plumbing Industry Reference Group

Plumbing (a) water plumbing work, sanitary plumbing work or draining work on the Customer’s side of any connection point

(b) any other work brought within the ambit of this definition by the

regulations

PTAC Plumbing Technical advisory committee

RBT Registered Break Tank

RPZ device Reduced Pressure Zone Device

SAILIS South Australian Integrated Land Information System

SA Water South Australian Water Corporation

STEDS Septic Tank Effluent Disposal Scheme

SRMTMP Safety, Reliability, Maintenance and Technical Management Plan

WaRDA Wastewater for Regional and Decentralised Application

WHS Work Health and Safety

WITAC Water Industry Technical advisory Committee

WSAA Water Services Association of Australia

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report of the technical...

Documents