AS/NZS 1547:2012 On-site domestic wastewater management
Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand
Supersedes: AS/NZS 1547:2000 On-site domestic wastewater management
Supersedes: INT 320-1951 Code of recommended practice for the disposal of domestic sullage
Draft Designation: DR 07920If on-site domestic wastewater systems are to be effective and sustainable, and to play their part in protecting public health and the environment, a system of management and control needs to be in place. While this will often fall to the regulatory authorities to administer, private management and control will
have a part to play. Nevertheless, formulation of a regulatory process is not part of this Standard, and the application of this Standard does not circumvent other approvals, licences, or permits needed from any regulatory authority.
The Committee has adopted an approach that focuses on sustainably managing the risk to public health and the environment. For example, it is stressed that a risk management approach entails looking more at the risk of a particular situation than the numerical values which are put forward in this document
as guidance. This Standard, covering as it does a range of climates, soils, and jurisdictions can only provide conservative advice. Local conditions and local experience should be used whenever possible, where they demonstrate that there are no significant risks to public health or to the environment and that
the proposed design is more cost-effective than when using this Standard prescriptively. Guidance on collating local knowledge and experience has accordingly been provided. New knowledge or techniques are to be encouraged where there is adequate demonstration that the risk of failure is small.
Readers of the previous Standard will notice that much of the methodology is unchanged, even though the document has been reworked to reflect a risk-management approach. This is deliberate. The previous Standard incorporated much that was already essentially the management of risk. What was felt necessary
was that features such as monitoring and feedback should be expressed more clearly. Accordingly, the Standard has been restructured to allow for the integration of the design, construction, installation, and maintenance of on-site domestic wastewater systems into a risk management framework. It follows that in any development, the option of installing full sewerage shall also be considered.
The main purpose of the Standard is to set out the performance objectives, requirements, and criteria, together with the means of not only complying with these criteria but of continually improving the techniques employed by all stakeholders.
To assist users familiar with the structure of AS/NZS 1547:2000, Appendix V provides information on where the equivalent clauses are now located in the 2012 version. For example, Appendix 4.2D of the 2000 version is now Appendix H.
Originated in Australia as part of Int 320:1951. Previous edition AS 1547:1994. Originated in New Zealand as part of NZS 4610:1982. AS 1547:1994 and part of NZS 4610:1982 jointly revised, amalgamated, and redesigned as AS/NZS 1547:2000. Revised and reissued as AS/NZS 1547:2012.
Contents:
1: General
2: Risk Management Process
3: Roles And Responsibilities
4: Performance Statements
5: Design Of On-Site Systems
6: Construction, Installation, Operation, And Maintenance
7: Administrative Guidance
Appendix A: Risk Management Process Guidelines (Informative)
Appendix B: Site-And-Soil Evaluation Procedures (Normative)
Appendix C: Site-And-Soil Evaluation For Planning, Rezoning, And Subdivision Of Land (Normative)
Appendix D: Site-And-Soil Evaluation For Individual Lots (Normative)
Appendix E: Site-And-Soil Properties (Normative)
Appendix F: Dispersive Soil And Sodicity (Informative)
Appendix G: Soil Permeability Measurement – Constant Head Test (Normative)
Appendix H: Typical Domestic Wastewater Flow Design Allowances (Informative)
Appendix J: Recommended Capacities For Septic Tanks (Informative)
Appendix K: Land Application Systems – Guidance On Selection (Informative)
Appendix L: Land Application Methods – Trenches, Beds, And Eta/Ets Systems (Normative)
Appendix M: Land Application Methods – Irrigation Systems (Normative)
Appendix N: Land Application Methods – Mounds (Normative)
Appendix P: Disinfection (Informative)
Appendix Q: Water Balance And Land Application Systems (Informative)
Appendix R: Recommended Setback Distances For Land Application Systems (Informative)
Appendix S: Nutrients (Informative)
Appendix T: Operation And Maintenance Guidelines (Informative)
Appendix U: Monitoring Records For On-Site Systems (Informative)
Appendix V: Comparison Of Sections Between As/Nzs 1547:2000 And As/Nzs 1547:2012 (Informative)
On-set Domestic Wastewater Management.
WS-013
Association of Accredited Certification Bodies (Australia); Association of Rotational Moulders (Australasia); Auckland Council; Australian and New Zealand Clinical Waste Management Industry Group; Australian Building Codes Board; Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Australian Industry Group; Australian Local Government Association; Australian Water Association; Business New Zealand; Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Association (CSIRO) Land and Water; Department of Conservation, New Zealand; Department of Health and Families, Northern Territory; Department of Health, South Australia; Department of Health, Western Australia; Department of Human Services, Victoria; Department of Justice, Tasmania; Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Canberra; Engineers Australia; Institute of Environmental Science and Research Ltd; Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ); Local Government New Zealand; Master Plumbers and Mechanical Services Association of Australia; Master Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers New Zealand Inc.; Master Plumbers, New South Wales; Ministry of Health, New Zealand; National On-site Regulators’ Forum; National Precast Concrete Association of Australia; New South Wales Ministry of Health; Queensland Department of Local Government and Planning; Queensland Health; Queensland University of Technology; The University of Auckland; Wastewater Practitioners’ Association Queensland; Water New Zealand, Small Wastewater and Natural Systems Special Interest Group.
