Which water utilities accept flushable wipes?
Some do. Six of the 21 water utilities and councils that we checked say that you can flush wipes that meet AS/NZS 5328:2022. Twelve say to put all wipes in the bin, even wipes labelled “flushable”.
Follow the advice of your own water utility. If your utility says to bin all wipes, put them in the bin.
Checked: 1 November 2026. Each fact below has a source.
What each utility says
We read the public page of each utility on 18 October 2026. The words in quotation marks are the utility’s own words. The table shows a page date only when the page gives one.
| Utility | State | Position | What the page says | Page date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney Water | NSW | Accepts the standard | Flush only the 3Ps, “Plus any products that have met the Flushable Products Standard (AS/NZS 5328:2022).” | Not shown |
| Hunter Water | NSW | Only the 3Ps | “Everything else? Bag it and bin it to help keep the pipes flowing freely.” Its bin list starts with wet wipes. | September 2025 |
| Central Coast Council | NSW | Bin all wipes | “Items such as tissues, wet wipes, flushable wipes, paper towels, tampons, nappies and other sanitary products should be bagged and binned, not flushed.” | Not shown |
| Lismore City Council | NSW | Accepts the standard | “Products that have been proven to meet all of this standard’s requirements are safe to flush”. | Not shown |
| AlburyCity | NSW | Bin all wipes | “You should not flush ANY wipes down the toilet.” The text was written before the standard. | Not shown |
| Snowy Monaro Regional Council | NSW | Bin all wipes | All wet wipes should be “placed in household rubbish bins rather than flushed down toilets.” | 27 November 2024 |
| Bega Valley Shire Council | NSW | Bin all wipes | “The issue is wet wipes, whether labelled ‘flushable’ or not, don’t disintegrate like toilet paper”. Written before the standard. | 3 June 2016 |
| Melbourne Water | VIC | Bin all wipes | “Unfortunately, just because a product is labelled ‘flushable’ doesn’t actually mean that it is.” | 23 April 2026 |
| South East Water | VIC | Bin all wipes | Bin “all types of wipes”, and the page adds: “even the ones that say they’re ‘flushable’”. | Not shown |
| Yarra Valley Water | VIC | Accepts the standard | “Flushable wet wipe products must comply with the Flushable Products Standard (AS/NZS 5328:2022).” | Not shown |
| Barwon Water | VIC | Accepts the standard | Flush only the 3Ps, “Or wipes that comply with the Flushable Products Standard (AS/NZS 5328:2022)”. | Not shown |
| Coliban Water | VIC | Only the 3Ps | “Unlike toilet paper, wet wipes, tissues and tampons are designed to soak up water, not break down in it.” | 20 April 2026 |
| Central Highlands Water | VIC | Explains the logo, but says bin all wipes | “If a product displays the ‘flushable’ symbol, it has passed the testing criteria.” Also: “We strongly recommend you place all wipes, however labelled, in the bin.” | Not shown |
| Goulburn Valley Water | VIC | Bin all wipes | “Remember flushable wipes aren’t flushable despite the name”. | Not shown |
| Unitywater | QLD | Bin all wipes | “Definitely do not flush wet wipes as they are NOT flushable, even if the packaging says they are.” | Not shown |
| City of Gold Coast | QLD | Bin all wipes | Its list of items not to put down toilets starts with “‘Flushable’ wet wipes”. | Not shown |
| Logan City Council | QLD | Bin all wipes | Wet wipes “(including “flushable”)” go in the garbage bin. | Not shown |
| SA Water | SA | Accepts the standard | Safe to flush: “Products with proof they’ve passed the Australian and New Zealand Flushable Products Standard, AS/NZS 5328:2022.” | 2025 |
| Water Corporation | WA | Bin all wipes | “While some wipes may be labelled as ‘flushable’, they don’t break down as easily as toilet paper in our wastewater system, which leads to blockages.” | Not shown |
| Icon Water | ACT | Accepts the standard | “Any product bearing either the symbol below or the line ‘Complies with AS/NZS 5328:2022’ is safe to flush down your toilet.” | Not shown |
| Power and Water | NT | Bin all wipes | Its bin list includes “All types of wet wipes, including those labelled ‘flushable’”. | 10 March 2020 |
The count
- Accept wipes that meet AS/NZS 5328:2022 (6): Sydney Water, Lismore City Council, Yarra Valley Water, Barwon Water, SA Water and Icon Water.
- Say to bin all wipes (12): Central Coast Council, AlburyCity, Snowy Monaro, Bega Valley, Melbourne Water, South East Water, Goulburn Valley Water, Unitywater, City of Gold Coast, Logan, Water Corporation and Power and Water. Three of these pages were written before the standard (AlburyCity, Bega Valley and Power and Water).
- Give only the 3Ps rule (2): Hunter Water and Coliban Water. Both put wet wipes on their bin lists.
- Explain the logo but say to bin all wipes (1): Central Highlands Water.
What blockages cost
- Sydney Water says that it spends “as much as $27 million clearing up to 20,000 blockages” each year. It says that non-flushable wet wipes “contribute to 75% of wastewater blockages.”
- Logan City Council says that it “spends around $2.4 million every year clearing blocked pipes in the wastewater network.”
- Water Corporation says: “In 2022, we responded to more than 1,152 wastewater blockages across Perth.”
Why the advice is different
AS/NZS 5328:2022 is a voluntary standard, published in May 2022. Some utilities changed their advice after it was published. Others still say to bin all wipes.
Two utilities changed their message. In July 2022 Hunter Water told customers to look for the flushable symbol. Its current help page gives only the 3Ps rule. In May 2022 South East Water told customers to check for the symbol. Its current page says to bin all wipes. The table shows the current pages.
Barwon Water also warns that “some products may carry a similar looking symbol and not meet the standard.” Read the words on the pack, not only the picture.
Utilities that we could not read
The websites of Greater Western Water, Urban Utilities, TasWater and Gippsland Water did not open for our page reader, or show their advice only after a script runs. Read their websites directly. We will add them when we can read them.
The list shows every wipe we can find on sale in Australia that states it meets AS/NZS 5328:2022, with the source for each one. See the list.
Sources
- Sydney Water: wastewater blockages (read 18 October 2026)
- Hunter Water: stop sewer problems before they start (updated September 2025)
- Hunter Water: why we need to respect the throne (13 July 2022)
- Central Coast Council: dunny dos and dunny don’ts (read 18 October 2026)
- Lismore City Council: what you can flush (read 18 October 2026)
- AlburyCity: no wipes in Albury’s pipes (read 18 October 2026)
- Snowy Monaro Regional Council: wet wipe flushers (27 November 2024)
- Bega Valley Shire Council: don’t flush wet wipes (3 June 2016)
- Melbourne Water: can I flush it? (updated 23 April 2026)
- South East Water: blockages (read 18 October 2026)
- South East Water: fighting fatbergs with the new flushable standard (25 May 2022)
- Yarra Valley Water: what can go down the drain (read 18 October 2026)
- Barwon Water: don’t flush it (read 18 October 2026)
- Coliban Water: what can go down the drain (updated 20 April 2026)
- Central Highlands Water: flushable products standard (read 18 October 2026)
- Goulburn Valley Water: don’t flush it (read 18 October 2026)
- Unitywater: wet wipes (read 18 October 2026)
- City of Gold Coast: preventing a sewer blockage (read 18 October 2026)
- Logan City Council: don’t rush to flush (read 18 October 2026)
- SA Water: what not to flush (2025)
- Water Corporation: what not to flush (read 18 October 2026)
- Water Corporation: wastewater blockages in 2022 (20 July 2023)
- Icon Water: flushable products standard (read 18 October 2026)
- Power and Water: only flush the 3Ps (10 March 2020)