The Australian plumbing industry is potentially facing a host of warranty issues due to the flood of imported pipes and fittings being used locally which are non‐ compliant under Australian standards. 


“The concerns with the non‐compliant pipes and fittings being used in the Australian market are not limited to warranty issues, but also these products may not meet the minimum Australian Standard strength requirements, particularly with regards to tensile and impact strength, which can result in failures,” said Nigel Jones, Business Development Manager, Think Pipes Think PVC.

“The imported pipes and fittings in question are most likely to be used in residential or commercial buildings and are most likely to be either DWV or stormwater products. Thus consequential damage through failure of these products could be significant,” warned Nigel Jones.

“If any non‐compliant fittings fail after use, a messy situation could arise between the home or property owner, plumber, builder or supplier with warranty claims and repayments,” he said.


PVC fittings have been imported into Australia for many years and these products typically will be stamped as complying with Australian standards and quote WaterMark licence numbers; however independent testing by PIPA has found a number of products that are not compliant with the relevant standard as claimed.


The most common reason for non‐compliance will be failure to comply with the composition requirements of AS/NZS1254 (Stormwater) and AS/NZS1260 (DWV), which state that compounds based on Lead, Cadmium and Mercury shall not be used.

Lead based stabilisers are often used overseas in the production of pipe and fittings. Think Pipes Think PVC says that while it is important to note that there are no negative health effects for the end user of Lead stabilised pipe and fittings, there are concerns with using Lead in the manufacture of the stabiliser and the pipe or fitting.


Some imported DWV and Stormwater pipes and fittings are also unlikely to comply with the Green Building Council’s Best Environmental Practice (BEP) PVC guidelines. 

“It's virtually impossible to tell if a fitting is compliant without doing some sort of analytical or physical testing. The best ways to ensure your pipes or fittings are Australian standard compliant is to contact PIPA or Think Pipes. Think PVC,” advised Nigel Jones.