Find out if your business needs approval, pre-treatment equipment and ongoing maintenance to discharge commercial trade wastewater safely.
Business examples
These business activities are likely to produce commercial trade wastewater:
- automotive businesses
- commercial laundries
- food businesses
- medical facilities
- photographic services
- shopping centres.
Other sources include craft breweries, public swimming pools, data centres, cooling towers and boilers.
If your business produces only small amounts of wastewater, you may not need our approval. Find out about deemed processes.
What you need to do
Your business must have our consent to discharge trade wastewater. Apply to discharge trade waste at Sydney Water Tap in®. Your plumber or hydraulic consultant may apply on your behalf. Our team will contact you and explain what you need to do next.
Who can apply
The owner, manager or occupier who is conducting business on-site is the applicant. You must not apply on behalf of someone else without their permission Your application must be approved by either the property owner or their managing agent.
What to include in your application
We consider each application to discharge commercial trade wastewater carefully.
You'll need to provide:
- details of business activities
- details of pre‑treatment equipment
- on-site contact details
- relevant land use and operating approvals, such as a development approval or complying development certificate
Fees and charges will apply
Check our commercial trade wastewater fees.
Your ongoing responsibilities
Your permit explains:
- the pre‑treatment equipment you must install and maintain
- how you must operate and service that equipment
- what you can and cannot discharge.
Fees and charges apply to cover our costs to manage and treat your trade wastewater. You may pay higher waste quality charges if you don’t meet our requirements.
We may inspect your site to check you’re meeting the conditions of your permit. If you don't comply, we may disconnect your services.
Waste that must never go into our system includes:
- food scraps, fats and oils
- chemicals, motor oil and solvents
- solid medical waste.
If you have a grease trap, you must empty, clean and maintain it using a Wastesafe transporter.
Notify us when your business changes
If you change or renovate your business, update your agreement at Tap in so we can confirm your equipment meets our requirements.
If you sell or close your business, cancel your agreement at Tap in. We need at least 30 days notice to stop your charges.
To complete the cancellation, you must disconnect your trade wastewater connection and provide a Certificate of Compliance from your plumber. You may also need to clean or remove underground equipment and pipes, and carry out backfilling work.