Section 73 Compliance Certificates

Proof we can provide the services you need

If you’re developing or subdividing land, your council or certifier will tell you if you need to apply for a Section 73 Compliance Certificate from us. This is to ensure your development or subdivision has adequate water, wastewater and stormwater services.

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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.

Before we can issue your certificate

Major or minor works: it makes a difference

How to apply

Approval milestones

How long it will take

How much it will cost

When you're building granny flats

Before we can issue your certificate

We’ll assess the plans for your subdivision or development when we receive your application. Then we’ll send you a Notice of Requirements letter that outlines any requirements or works you’ll need to complete before we can issue your certificate. For example, you might need to:

  • install additional connections or pipes
  • pay developer fees
  • take steps to protect our existing assets, such as encasing pipes in concrete or relocating our sewer pipes on your property.

Generally, councils won’t provide occupancy certificates for new properties unless we’ve issued Section 73 Compliance Certificate.

Major or minor works: it makes a difference

We categorise construction works for developments as either major works or minor works depending on how complex they are and how they may impact our pipes and assets. Which category your development falls into determines how you need to apply for your Section 73 Compliance Certificate. You can find out more about this at Sydney Water Developer Direct™.

If you have a small to medium sized development and water and wastewater (sewer) services are available already, it’s likely you will only need minor water and wastewater works. Call us on 1300 082 746 if you’re unsure.

Minor works include:

  • installing a connection to the wastewater system (sewer) for each new lot in your development
  • extending our wastewater (sewer) main less than 25 metres to reach your property
  • installing new water service pipes from our water main to provide water to your development (a main-to-meter service)
  • installing a locked and tagged water service for your development
  • concrete encasing wastewater pipes if your building is too close to them
  • installing concrete piers.

If you have to extend our water main or move our assets, your development requires major works. Common examples of large or complex developments include:

  • unit blocks of more than 4 storeys
  • new land releases or newly rezoned areas
  • Torrens-titled subdivisions involving 5 lots or more
  • developments in pressure sewer or vacuum sewer areas
  • developments where our water or wastewater (sewer) pipes have to be moved.

How to apply

Minor works: apply through Sydney Water Developer Direct™

With Sydney Water Developer Direct™, you’re talking directly with Sydney Water. We can help with small to medium developments that only need simple construction or protection work to meet our requirements. Call 1300 082 746 to find out more.

More about Sydney Water Developer Direct™

Major works: engage a water servicing coordinator

Water servicing coordinators are accredited providers who can manage your application for you. They can also provide design services and project management, including constructing the works in your Notice of Requirements. They can help with all kinds of developments that need major and minor works, and with building plan conditions. For example, if your new building is near a wastewater (sewer) pipe, you may need to encase it in concrete before you can get building plan approval.

Find a water servicing coordinator

Approval milestones

1 Assessment

When you apply for a Section 73 Compliance Certificate, we’ll assess your development against our servicing requirements.

2 Notice of Requirements

If we find that you need to construct something to provide water or wastewater connections, or to protect our pipes and assets, we’ll send you a Notice of Requirements letter. It will be valid for 12 months, but after that you’ll need to reapply and pay your application fees again.

3 Construction

Do the works outlined in your Notice of Requirements. Companies that do work on our pipes and assets must be listed with us, so any works will need to be built and supervised by a listed constructor. You can use Sydney Water Developer Direct™ for minor works.

4 Certificate and approvals

We’ll issue the certificate and building plan approval for you to take to council when all the works from your Notice of Requirements have been constructed and inspected, and any fees have been paid. If the development is large or complex, or needs major works, there may be other requirements before we can issue your certificate.

How long it will take

Applications through Sydney Water Developer Direct™

You can expect a response within 14 days of us receiving your application if you meet our requirements – either your Section 73 Compliance Certificate or a Notice of Requirements letter.

Applications through a water servicing coordinator

You can expect a response within 30 days of us receiving your application if you meet our requirements. We’ll send your Notice of Requirements letter to your water servicing coordinator within 60 days. 

Track your application
If you applied through Sydney Water Developer Direct™, sign in to Sydney Water Tap in™. If you applied through a water servicing coordinator, go to developer application progress.

How much it will cost

Your application 

You can find our current pricing under prices for other services, and our development application fees are regulated by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal.

You may need to pay other costs before we can assess your application. These may include design services, project management and coordination costs, compliance inspections, negotiating entry to neighbouring properties, locating any assets or pipes on your property, administration costs.

  • Water servicing coordinators charge market rates for their services. We recommend you call more than one before you make a decision. 
  • An application through Sydney Water Developer Direct™ has a fixed cost.

Required construction 

Construction costs are charged at a market rate and aren’t included in your application fees. Costs that you’ll need to consider include building new pipes to connect into your property, equipment hire, clearing your site, road opening permits and inspection fees, and concrete encasement of pipes and concrete piering fees.

Other costs 

You may need to pay for other applications or services to complete your application, for example:

  • Pegouts (Service Protection Reports)
    You may need a pegout if your development is close to one of our assets. A pegout tells you exactly where our pipes and assets are, and what the soil conditions are on the site. We use this information to work out if you need to take extra protection steps, such as concrete-encasing a wastewater main or installing concrete piers.
  • Statement of available pressure and flow
    This is used to check if there’s enough water or pressure available in the nearest water main to serve your new development.

When you're building granny flats

If you’re building a secondary home or granny flat approved by council under the complying development provisions through the State Environmental Planning Policy (Affordable Rental Housing), the AHSEPP, you don’t need a Section 73 Compliance Certificate. You can find more detail in Our Section 73 requirements for secondary homes (33KB) fact sheet. However, you still need to apply for full building plan approval for building or excavation work on your property. 

Apply at Sydney Water Tap in™