While Australia has national drinking water guidelines prepared by a joint committee of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand (ARMCANZ), regulation of drinking water is a matter for each state and territory.
Under Australia’s constitutional arrangements, public health and natural resource management, including water, are largely state or territory responsibilities. Therefore, the government of the particular state or territory decides whether and how the latest Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality or some other guidelines are to be implemented.
Protection of public health is the most important factor for state and territory governments to consider but other factors, such as the views of consumers, are also very important. Indeed, community consultation is discussed in detail in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
Generally speaking, drinking water quality has not been subject to specific legislation in Australia. However, other means have been used to require the water supply to meet particular standards. These include operating licences, charters, memoranda of understanding and customer contracts.
The Australian water industry is expected to provide supplies that are safe for the community at large, including infants and the aged who are more at risk from waterborne infection than most.
Some people have special needs that may make them particularly vulnerable to infection, including waterborne infection, for example immunocompromised persons. In these circumstances medical advice should be sought as to any possible risk associated with consuming tap water.
Some medical and industrial processes have water quality requirements that are more stringent than those for drinking water. For example, some require water to be sterile, that is free of all microorganisms, or require the complete absence of dissolved salts. Mains water usually contains microorganisms from the biofilm that develop on the inside surface of the water main. It always contains some level of naturally occurring dissolved matter.
Consumer's Guide to Drinking Water - May 2006