Standards Australia has published a new edition of the AS/NZS 3500.5 Plumbing and Drainage Part 5: Housing Installations, which will be adopted as part of the plumbing code.

“This is a critically important document, and designed to allow easy access to important information in an accessible way,” said Adrian O’Connell, General Manager of Operations, Standards Australia.

“The purpose of this standard is to provide a ready reference for practitioners working on domestic properties in the one volume. Our technical committee has spent a great deal of time and effort getting this standard right,” Mr O’Connell said.

The standard is aligned with, and incorporates extracts from, the four main parts of the AS/NZS 3500 series and will be referenced in the Plumbing Code of Australia and Building Code of Australia from 1 May 2013.

The standard specifies requirements for the design and installation of:

  • Cold water services;
  • Heated water services;
  • Rainwater systems;
  • Water supply systems that are combined with home fire sprinkler systems;
  • Greywater systems;
  • Sanitary plumbing and drainage systems; and
  • Stormwater drainage systems 


This revision has been published to bring the document into alignment with the requirements of AS/NZS 3500, Parts 1 to 4.

All sections, apart from Section 5, Stormwater drainage, have been revised extensively, both in content and layout.