WaterMark
Through its Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas (PMG) program, ICC-ES is accredited by the Joint Accreditation Service of Australia and New Zealand (JASANZ) as a Certification Body (CB) to provide plumbing product certification for WaterMark under the Plumbing Code of Australia (Volume Three of the National Construction Code).
As part of its service ICC-ES conducts qualifying and surveillance inspections to authenticate certified products and their process of manufacture, and provides a listing service to enable designers and plumbing contractors to access the certificate for compliance purposes.
The WaterMark Certification Scheme is owned by the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments in Australia and is administered by the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB).
WaterMark Certification Scheme
Under the scope of its international accreditations, ICC-ES can conduct plumbing and drainage product evaluation to AS/NZS 3500, a joint standard developed by both Australia and New Zealand.
In Australia, WaterMark is a mandatory certification scheme for certain types of plumbing and drainage products, principally those that come into contact with the potable water supply. ICC-ES is accredited by the Joint Accreditation Service of Australia and New Zealand (JASANZ) to conduct certification to the WaterMark scheme.
In New Zealand, plumbing and drainage systems must be constructed using materials and products fit for their intended purpose to achieve the relevant requirement of the New Zealand Building Code (NZBC). WaterMark Certification can be accepted as proof of compliance with NZBC.
Lead-Free Plumbing Products
As part of the 2022 edition of National Construction Code Volume Three (Plumbing Code Australia), to be adopted on 1 May 2023, the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) has limited allowable lead content in plumbing products that contain copper alloys and are intended for use in contact with drinking water, to a weighted average lead content of no more than ≤ 0.25%. This requirement is to be accompanied by a transition period to enable industry time to have new and existing products certified to conform to NSF/ANSI/CAN 372. From 1 May 2026, these provisions will be in effect, and only products that conform to the new requirements will be authorised for installation in Australia.
CB Accreditation
Certification Bodies (CBs) are accredited by the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JASANZ) for the WaterMark Scheme, which operate in accordance with scheme rules the CBs are required to follow.
