Central Coast Council is responsible for town water and sewerage relating to new development. This includes any subdivision, commercial/residential/industrial developments including alterations/additions to existing structures and the change of use of land or of any building situated on the land.

Central Coast Council is responsible for:

• Determining if the site can be adequately serviced with water and sewer.
• Ensuring the new development doesn’t affect existing water and sewer lines.
• Levying Developer Charges in accordance with Section 64 of the Local Government Act 1993 and Sections 305, 306, 307 of the Water Management Act 2000.

Water & sewer approval process

Application should be made under Section 305 Water Management Act 2000 for Section 307 Certificate of Compliance. Approval requirements are outlined on a Section 306 requirements letter. Once all conditions have been met a Section 307 certificate of compliance is issued.

Upon receiving the application, water and sewer staff will investigate the impact of the proposed development on its system. Council will:

• issue a Section 306 requirements letter outlining the charges and/or works that the developer must pay and/or construct for the development, if required.
• Issue a Section 307 Certificate of Compliance when all charges/fees are paid and the works are completed and passed by council.

Typically, there is a 25-30 business day turn around between receiving an application and issuing a Section 306 requirements letter.

This approval process is separate and additional to the development application approval process. Where works are privately certified, it is the private certifier’s responsibility to obtain the water utilities conditions and/or approval prior to certifying a development as being suitable for construction.

Developer charges

A water and sewer developer charges are the fee levied upon a development by Central Coast Council under the Local Government/Water Management Act. These charges are a contribution that new development pays towards the capacity consumed within existing and future assets (dams, pumping stations, treatment plants etc). These charges follow an Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) methodology and allow council to recover part of the cost of providing the water and sewer infrastructure necessary to service new development.

Developer charges are levied on an Equivalent Tenement (ET) basis, where a proposed development is compared to an equivalent number of residential properties for the purpose of determining charges payable. Charges payable will be shown on the Section 306 requirements letter.

Council does not provide formal quotations for water supply and sewerage developer charges prior to the lodgement of a Section 305 application. Potential applicants can self-assess the requirements following review of Section 8.2 of the relevant Development Servicing Plan and the relevant appendix within those documents.

Current developer charges

The developer charges applicable for applications submitted from 1 April, 2025 are as follows:

These rates will be indexed on 1 July 2025.

Council indexes and adjusts developer charges annually, in accordance with the provisions contained within the Development Servicing Plans (set by IPART). This typically occurs on 1 July each year

Current (indexed) charges for Section 306 requirements issued prior to 1 July 2024 can be confirmed by contacting Council via ask@centralcoast.nsw.gov.au quoting the reference numbers shown on the Section 306 certificate.

Note: Water and sewerage developer charges are unrelated to Developer Contributions levied under Section 7.11/7.12 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (1979). Annual water supply and sewerage charges are separate fees (also IPART regulated) that cover the ongoing operation, maintenance and renewal of the water supply and sewerage systems.

Development Servicing Plans (DSP)

From 1 April 2025 there are two new DSPs that cover the Central Coast Local Government Area (LGA). The Northern Region Development Servicing Plan covers the former Wyong Local Government Area, with the Southern Region Development Servicing Plan covering the former Gosford Local Government Area.

Both DSPs have been completed in accordance with IPART in its Determination on maximum prices for connecting, or upgrading a connection, to a water supply, sewerage or drainage system – Sydney Water, Hunter Water and Central Coast Council (October 2018) and the Determination on Central Coast Council maximum prices for water, sewerage, stormwater drainage and other services from 1 July 2022.

Full details and documents relating to the DSPs including calculation parameters, the area of the plans and related planning investigations can be found below under related documents.

Water and sewer works

If you are thinking of building or renovating, it's important to first be aware of regulations and recommendations about water and sewer mains in your area.

It is not permitted to build over or near asbestos cement or vitrified clay sewer mains without additional protection measures applied. Mains must be replaced or relined and new protection, such as piers and beams, provided. It is also not permitted to build over large sewer mains. Details of structural elements will be required to be submitted to Council’s Water Assessment team for review and approval prior to commencement of any construction over existing Council assets. View the Building In Proximity to Water and Sewer Pipelines Policy and Procedures on the Council Policies page for more details.

Council no longer provides site survey and peg out services of existing assets. Any existing services location is the responsibility of the developer.

If you require an existing long section including sewer mains diagram on a property, please apply using the Certificate Application Portal.

It is also the responsibility of the development to confirm the assigned water meter for the policy is large enough to suit the development size. For a water pressure statement, please complete a Water Pressure Statement Application.

For water and sewerage works design and construction for developments, Council has adopted a Sydney Water Edition of Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) Codes. The Council Water and Sewer Development Supplement provides supplements to the WSAA codes addressing Council's requirements. Refer to Essential Documents for updated Council Water and Sewer Development standards, including the following: