Applications and approvals

At a glance: when, why and what to do

You may need to make additional applications or get approvals if you are connecting to our pipes, building or extending a house, or want to move or remove our pipes. You may even need a hydraulic consultant to help you design your connection. See if we cover all the applications and approvals you'll need below, including for your building plan.

Sign up for Sydney Water Tap in®
Sydney Water Tap in gives you access to convenient online Sydney Water application forms for all sorts of building and development projects, and provides step-by-step instructions on what you need to support them.

Applications: what you need to know

Approvals: what you need to know

Applications: what you need to know

When to apply Why to apply What to do
When to apply:

You're developing, subdividing or adding an extra dwelling on a property.

 Why to apply:

We need to ensure:

  • there are water and wastewater pipes to connect to
  • pipes are the right size for the development.

 

 What to do:

Apply for a Section 73 Certificate through:

 
When to apply:

You need to know the pressure in our water main.

 Why to apply:

This can help you design or certify one of the water connections for the building on the property.

 What to do:

Apply for a 'Statement of available pressure and flow' at Sydney Water Tap in.
When to apply:

We don't have any pipes for you to connect to.

 Why to apply:

We need to work out if our systems can be extended to provide a point of connection for your property.

 What to do:

Call us on 13 20 92 8am–5:30pm Monday to Friday (except public holidays) and apply to extend our water or wastewater system.
When to apply:

You want to change the level of your land and know this will impact the height of one of our wastewater structures.

 Why to apply:

We need to ensure:

  • we can access the wastewater structure to maintain our pipes
  • our structure doesn't cause any safety issues.

 

 What to do:

Apply to 'Adjust Sydney Water asset (wastewater)' at Sydney Water Tap in.
When to apply:

You want to change the level of your land and one of our valves is in the way.

 Why to apply:

We need to ensure we can adjust the valves on our pipes to suit your needs.

 What to do:

Apply to 'Adjust Sydney Water asset (water)' at Sydney Water Tap in.

 

Approvals: what you need to know

When to get approval Why to get approval What to do
When to get approval:

You're excavating, demolishing or building on a property.

 Why to get approval:

We need to ensure:

  • your proposed excavation, demolition or building works won't damage our pipes
  • we can still get to our pipes if we need to repair them.
 What to do:

Apply for 'Building plan approval' at Sydney Water Tap in. If you're building close to or over our pipes, we'll refer you to a water servicing coordinator for a detailed assessment. You also need to apply for a Section 73 Certificate through a water servicing coordinator if you're building:

  • an additional dwelling on a property
  • a development, e.g. townhouses, villas, or commercial or industrial buildings.
When to get approval:

You want to connect to or disconnect from our pipes.

 Why to get approval:

We need to ensure the connection meets our requirements when you connect your property to our pipes. We need to ensure any disconnection of services meets our conditions.

 What to do:

Apply at Sydney Water Tap in. We approve most simple connections right away, but if you have a non-standard or large connection, we'll ask you to provide more information and apply for approval. If we approve your connection, we'll send an approval letter or additional services agreement to you and the property owner. If we approve your disconnection, we'll send you an approval letter with conditions for disconnection.
When to get approval:

You want to move or remove our pipes.

 Why to get approval:

We need to ensure there are no problems moving or removing the pipes as they may need to provide services to other customers.

 What to do:

Apply for an 'Adjustment/Deviation' through a water servicing coordinator. The coordinator will advise you of the process and submit an application to us.
When to get approval:

You've been offered the purchase of part of a public road.

 Why to get approval:

We need to check:

  • if there are any pipes on the land
  • if any works are required to protect the pipes and maintain our access to them.

 

 What to do:

Request approval for a road closure through any water servicing coordinator.
A shot of three children underwater, wearing goggles and holding hands while smiling at the camera.

BASIX compliance

You'll also need to comply with a BASIX water target if you're building a new home, doing a renovation that costs $50,000 or more, or installing a pool or spa of 40,000 litres or more.

Read more

Track your application
Log in to Sydney Water Tap in. If you've been referred to a water servicing coordinator, go to developer application progress.