The World Toilet Organisation estimates there are 3.6 billion people in the world living with poor quality toilets that ruin their health and pollute their environment.
Safe toilet products safeguard good sanitation
The QBCC supports the aims of World Toilet Day and would like to take this opportunity to promote greater understanding of the role that non-conforming building product laws play in keeping sanitation in Queensland compliant and safe.
Non-conforming building product laws are designed to ensure building products, including toilets and bidets, are of acceptable quality, meet Australian standards and are fit for their intended purpose.
A building product is considered a non-conforming building product (NCBP) if it is any of the following:
- the product is not, or will not be, safe
- not compliant with the relevant regulatory requirements (e.g. plumbing products must be WaterMark certified to be compliant)
- it doesn't perform to the standard it is represented to perform to.
*In Australia, plumbing products including those purchased via online stores like eBay and Amazon must be:
- WaterMark certified
- marked with the WaterMark trademark, WaterMark licence number and the applicable product specification
- listed on the WaterMark product database, and
- provided with a Scope of Use statement specifying its intended use.
*From Australian Building Codes Board
Any associated product packaging and promotional material must also be marked with the WaterMark trademark and licence number.
Buying WaterMark Certified products may help you to ensure the product is fit for purpose, authorised for installation and safe. It is your responsibility to ensure products are not a non-conforming building product, even if they are supplied by the client of other person.
The QBCC recommends referring to the Manual for the WaterMark Certification Scheme to ensure a product complies.
To learn more about NCBPs and your responsibilities visit the QBCC’s dedicated NCBP pages.
For more information about WaterMark Certification visit the ABCB website.