WaterMark Certification Guide - Certified Drainage

WaterMark is Australia's mandatory certification scheme for plumbing and drainage products. It is not a voluntary quality badge - under the Plumbing Code of Australia and the National Construction Code (NCC), most products used in regulated plumbing and drainage work must carry WaterMark certification, and licensed plumbers are required to install certified products.

Who administers it

The scheme is governed through the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB). Certification is issued by WaterMark Conformity Assessment Bodies (WCABs) - accredited third parties that test and certify products. Certified products are listed in the public WaterMark Product Database (WMPD), where anyone can verify that a specific product, model and licence number are genuine and current.

What certification involves

• Testing to Australian Standards - products are tested against the relevant AS/NZS standards; for plumbing and drainage this is principally the AS/NZS 3500 series (water services, sanitary plumbing and drainage, and stormwater).
• Risk-based levels - WaterMark applies different certification rigour depending on product risk; higher-risk items that could affect health or safety face stricter assessment.
• Licence number and logo - a certified product displays the WaterMark logo with its licence/certificate number, tying the physical product back to its database listing.
• Ongoing surveillance - certification is maintained through factory surveillance and product monitoring, not a one-off test.

Related requirements on wet-area projects

• AS 3740 - waterproofing of domestic wet areas; it sets out how shower and bathroom floors are waterproofed and how floor wastes are installed, including requirements where a wet area sits above another habitable space.
• NCC 2022 - recent editions updated grading and floor-waste requirements for wet areas, including the fall expected toward the floor waste.

What this means when importing into Australia or New Zealand

If a product is to be used in regulated plumbing work, confirm before you buy that the exact model is listed in the WaterMark Product Database with a valid licence number - and check that listing yourself at the ABCB database. A supplier that cannot point you to a live listing for your model is telling you something important.

Common pitfalls for importers

• Scope is model-specific. A WaterMark licence covers the exact products and models listed - certification of one drain does not extend to a different size, grate or variant.
• Check holder and status. Confirm the listing is current (not lapsed or suspended) and that the licence holder matches who you are actually buying from.
• Match the application. A product may be listed for one use but not the one you have in mind; verify the listed scope covers your installation.
• Beware borrowed certificates. A certificate for an unrelated product, or a photo of someone else's licence, is a red flag - always tie the document back to a database listing you can open yourself.

How to verify a WaterMark listing

1. Get the exact model and the licence / certificate number from the supplier.
2. Search the WaterMark Product Database (published by the ABCB).
3. Confirm the product name, model, licence holder, scope and expiry all match what you are buying.
4. Keep a record of the listing for your compliance file and for the installing plumber.

Melody Drain provides written, per-model WaterMark status for the Australian and New Zealand markets - licence numbers and register links where they exist, or an honest statement of current status and testing options where they do not. See our certification status policy.