Australian Guidelines

Following are the Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling. Please note that each state and territory usually has their own specific guidelines which should also be referred to (see menu to the left).

Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling   

The Environment Protection and Heritage Council, the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council developed guidelines for the safe use of recycled water.  The guidelines included:

• Document 21a: A guide to the National guidelines for water recycling - National Water Quality Management Strategy: Overview of the Australian guidelines for water recycling: Managing health and environmental risks - 2008 

• Document 21: Australian guidelines for water recycling: Managing health and environmental risks (Phase 1) - 2006

• Document 22: Australian guidelines for water recycling: Managing health and environmental risks (Phase 2) - Augmentation of drinking water supplies - 2008

• Document 23: Australian guidelines for water recycling: Managing health and environmental risks - Stormwater harvesting and reuse - 2009

• Document 24: Australian guidelines for water recycling: Managing health and environmental risks - Managed aquifer recharge - 2009

These guidelines are now stored at www.environment.gov.au/water/publications/#agriculture

Managing Health and Environmental Risks (Phase 1) of the guidelines focuses on:

• large-scale treated sewage and grey-water to be used for:
• residential garden watering, car washing, toilet flushing and clothes washing;
• irrigation for urban recreational and open space, and agriculture and horticulture;
• fire protection and fire fighting systems;
• industrial uses, including cooling water; and
• grey-water treated on-site (including in high rise apartments and office blocks) for use for garden  watering, car washing, toilet flushing and clothes washing.

Managing Health and Environmental Risks (Phase 2) of the guidelines focuses on:

• Stormwater reuse
• Managed aquifer recharge
• Recycled water for drinking

National Chemical Reference Guide  

Produced by the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage. This online guide is the  first resource of its kind for Australia. It brings together information from around the world, on a range of  environmental standards and guidelines. The comprehensive, searchable database contains over 600 chemicals,  encompassing various environmental standards for air, water, soil, sediment and biota (including plants)

Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality (revised 2000)   

• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: A Framework for Applying the Guidelines
• Chapter 3: Aquatic Ecosystems
• Chapter 4: Primary Industries
• Chapter 5: Guidelines for Recreational Water Quality and Aesthetic
• Chapter 6: Drinking Water
• Chapter 7: Monitoring and Assessment
• Appendix 1: Acronyms and Glossary of Terms
• References

Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality: Volume 3 - Primary Industries -  Rationale and Background Information

• Contents
• Section 9.1 - Introduction
• Section 9.2 - Water quality for irrigation and general use
• Section 9.3 - Livestock drinking water guidelines
• Section 9.4 - Aquaculture and human consumers of aquatic foods
• References
• Appendices