2022 NCC Seminars: WaterMark

0:00

[Music]

0:10

Hi, my name is Anne-Maree Campbell at the ABCB I have responsibility for  the WaterMark Certification Scheme or WaterMark  

0:18

for short, today I'll explain what WaterMark  is and what it means and I will let you know  

0:24

about our awareness raising initiatives,  including how you can help us with this.

0:30

So what is WaterMark? WaterMark is a mandatory  certification scheme that ensures a product is  

0:36

fit for purpose and appropriately authorized  for use in a plumbing or drainage installation.

0:41

WaterMark is owned and administered by the ABCB on behalf of the state and territory governments. 

0:48

WaterMark certified products must be tested by  an accredited testing laboratory, comply with  

0:54

applicable specification, be manufactured to an  approved quality management system and state  

1:00

its intended scope of use. On behalf of the ABCB  independently accredited WaterMark conformity  

1:06

assessment bodies, or WaterMark CABs, inspect  and evaluate plumbing products and their test  

1:13

reports to listed product specifications. They visit all manufacturing sites and  

1:19

assess the manufacturer's QA systems they issue  certificates of conformity and grant licenses to  

1:25

manufacturers to use the WaterMark certification  trademark, the W, on conforming products then they  

1:32

upload the license detail to the WaterMark product  database and finally they undertake annual product  

1:37

conformity surveillance to ensure compliant  products continue to be manufactured as certified. 

1:44

Certification is issued as part of the  manufacturing process it cannot be issued to a  

1:49

supplied product that is about to be installed. As  a plumbing practitioner it's your responsibility  

1:55

to install WaterMark certified products in  accordance with their scope of use and the PCA.

2:03

The evidence of suitability provisions  at A5G4 state that a product is deemed  

2:09

fit for its intended purpose  if it has a WaterMark license.

2:13

This is a licensing requirement for plumbing  installers and the state and territory plumbing  

2:18

regulators enforce WaterMark at the point of  installation. That is to ensure practitioners  

2:23

provide PCA compliant plumbing and drainage  installations using WaterMark certified product  

2:29

and to clarify just because a product has a  WaterMark it doesn't mean it can be installed  

2:35

any which way. WaterMark products must be  installed in accordance with the plumbing code.

2:41

What this means is that whilst the installation  may use a performance or Deemed-to-Satisfy pathway

2:47

most products must meet the DtS requirement for  WaterMark certification, a performance pathway is  

2:53

not available. Participants across the whole supply  chain, clients, designers, suppliers, construction  

3:01

managers, builders, etc need to know about WaterMark  as they can all impact an installer's ability  

3:08

to meet their licensing requirements. This is  because these parties may be the ones to select,  

3:15

specify, purchase and supply plumbing products  to site for you to install. The flow-on effects  

3:21

of resolving non-compliance can include time  delays, costs and other penalties. So to avoid  

3:28

this it's important to tell your clients home  and building owners or the building contractors  

3:33

and developers you work for about the need to  choose and supply WaterMark certified products.

3:39

Your hydraulic designers, suppliers and staff  or contractors should also be told about this.

3:47

So how do you know if a product is WaterMark  certified? Certified products are marked  

3:53

with the WaterMark trademark, license  number and applicable specification.

3:58

You can check the WaterMark product database which  is located on the WaterMark website and search by  

4:04

license number, product model number or ID, name  or brand name, product type and specification  

4:12

and if you can't find the product  it's probably not certified.

4:18

Now I'll quickly tell you about how the ABCB is raising awareness of WaterMark and how we  

4:24

can help you to do the same. The ABCB is raising  awareness of WaterMark across the supply chain in  

4:31

partnership with key stakeholders including  the regulators, industry representatives and  

4:36

yourselves to improve PCA compliance. We have  developed a five-year awareness strategy which  

4:43

includes the LOOK for The WaterMark campaign and  have commenced implementing the first two years.

4:49

The strategy will target consumers and building  owners, retailers and other suppliers including  

4:55

online platforms and design building and plumbing  practitioners. The key messages are what WaterMark is  

5:03

and what it means how to check for WaterMark and  that plumbers must install compliant products.

5:09

The strategy includes engagement initiatives, assets and resources for use by stakeholders

5:16

and supporting advertising social  media, video clips and web content.

5:21

To help you promote WaterMark to your clients, contractors and suppliers the ABCB has developed a  

5:28

communications toolkit featuring The LOOK campaign  that can be downloaded from the WaterMark website. 

5:34

The toolkit includes a range of resources you  can use through your preferred media and channels  

5:40

including key messages and FAQs, fact sheets and  articles, digital banners and videos, social media  

5:48

tiles and copy I encourage you to check it out and  to use what best suits your needs. We also welcome  

5:55

feedback so please tell us what's working, what  else you need and how we can improve the campaign.

6:02

For further information about WaterMark, go to  the WaterMark website watermark.abcb.gov.au.

6:10

That's it for WaterMark, thanks for listening.