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Guides · Tile 03

Lead-free tapware: the limit and the dates

From 1 May 2028, a copper alloy tap that is required to be lead free will need the Lead Free WaterMark before a plumber may install it, which means a weighted average lead content of not more than 0.25%. Until 30 April 2028, plumbers may keep installing existing WaterMark certified stock, and states and territories may vary these dates.

General information, not medical or plumbing advice. For questions about lead and health, the NHMRC’s questions and answers on lead in plumbing products explain, among other things, when a doctor should arrange a blood lead test. The NHMRC page still gives 1 May 2026 for installations; the ABCB extended that to 1 May 2028 in December 2025.

What “lead free” means here

The Plumbing Code of Australia 2022 defines “lead free” as “where a plumbing product or material in contact with drinking water has a weighted average lead content of not more than 0.25%”. The requirement sits at clause A5G4 and applies to plumbing products that contain copper alloys and are meant for use in contact with drinking water.

Lead has always been permitted in small proportions in the raw materials of some plumbing products. The ABCB says those levels ensured compliance with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, and that lead free products will contribute to improved public safety. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) adds why the lead was there: it was added to the copper alloy to improve the product’s malleability and machinability.

The timeline

  1. The ABCB decided that plumbing products touching drinking water may contain no more than 0.25% lead.
  2. A transition period began. Products could be supplied with the Lead Free WaterMark, but using the lead free versions in installations was not yet mandatory.
  3. The ABCB agreed to extend the transition period for installation, to help keep enough plumbing products available for housing.
  4. Manufacturers may only produce Lead Free WaterMark certified plumbing products, where the code requires them. Suppliers can keep selling down existing stock.
  5. The last day plumbing practitioners may install existing WaterMark products, provided the products have a current WaterMark licence.
  6. Only products carrying the Lead Free WaterMark will be authorised for use in plumbing installations that carry drinking water.

Every one of the installation dates carries the same footnote: state and territory legislation governs how the code is applied to plumbing installations, so each jurisdiction may vary the transition arrangements, dates included. The ABCB’s lead free page lists transition information for Victoria and Western Australia, and says it will add more as it becomes available.

Is the kitchen tap included?

Generally, yes. On the WaterMark Schedule of Products the lead free requirements apply to tapware, with listed exceptions: bidet tapware, shower mixers, shower bath diverter mixers, floor standing bath fillers, unrestricted-flow bath outlets and commercial pre-rinse spray tapware, though that last exception does not extend to included pot fillers. The ABCB’s questions and answers explain that some copper alloy products with a low likelihood of being used to convey drinking water, such as shower heads, shower mixer taps, washing machines and dishwashers, are exempt.

Do you need to replace the tap you have?

No. The lead free requirements do not apply to plumbing products already installed, so you do not have to change existing plumbing in your home. From 1 May 2028, repairs and new installations of plumbing products in contact with drinking water must comply where the code requires it.

Spare parts follow the product. A tap installed before 1 May 2028 without Lead Free WaterMark certification may be maintained with spare parts that are not lead free certified; a tap that is Lead Free WaterMark certified must be maintained with Lead Free WaterMark certified spare parts where the part contains copper alloy and touches drinking water.

How to recognise a lead free tap

A lead free product will carry WaterMark certification as a lead free product, bear the Lead Free WaterMark, and appear on the WaterMark product database. The mark comes in more than one format, depending on the material, size and shape of the product. It may also appear on the packaging. The ABCB asks installers to look for the Lead Free WaterMark on copper alloy products “regardless of any international markings and other claims on products and packaging”.

The water guideline moved too

For lead in drinking water, the NHMRC lowered its health-based guideline value from the 0.01 mg/L endorsed in 1996 to 0.005 mg/L. Its guideline values relate to water at the point of use, and the example it gives is a kitchen or bathroom tap. The same page says public supplies are monitored routinely as far as the point of supply, usually the water meter, and seldom carry lead above the guideline value; lead can get into treated water from plumbing products that contain it.

At your own tap, in the meantime

The Environmental Health Standing Committee (enHealth) says some brass plumbing fittings can release lead into drinking water, most of all when water has stood in them for a long time, and that hot water systems may add more dissolved metals. Its good practice for householders comes down to the cold tap and a little patience:

ColdUse water from cold taps only for drinking and cooking.
10 sLet the cold tap you drink and cook from run for 10 seconds or more at the start of each day, so fresh water comes through.
2 minAfter more than 48 hours of non-use, such as coming home from holidays, run it for at least 2 minutes. That water can be collected and used for washing up.

enHealth also says testing water for lead is generally unnecessary, outside particular cases such as commissioning new commercial or public buildings, and that elevated blood lead levels in Australia are rarely found to be related to drinking water.

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