Under the provisions of Clauses 40 and 41, Local Government (General) Regulation 2021, a local council must not approve of the installation of certain sewage management facilities unless they have been accredited by the NSW Ministry of Health. This is the only statutory role of NSW Health in on-site single domestic wastewater management.
The types of sewage management facilities to which accreditation applies include septic tanks, collection wells, aerated wastewater treatment systems, greywater treatment systems and composting toilets and which are available for purchase by retail. A full list is detailed in clause 40 of the above regulation and only includes sewage management facilities which treat sewage of a domestic nature from premises occupied by a maximum of 10 persons or where the average daily flow of sewage is less than 2000 litres.
Accreditation does not apply to the drains which are connected to the facility nor to any land application system. Similarly, accreditation does not apply to models under test or if the facility is specifically designed for a particular premises - see Advisory Note 1 for an explanation of exemption to accreditation.
Accreditation guidelines have been prepared for most sewage management facilities - see Advisory Note 2 for an overview.
