By: David Nixon, NSW SQID Taskforce Chair, Sydney
Date: October 11, 2025
An automotive engineer can design the world’s most advanced engine, and a regulator can certify that it meets every performance standard. But if an untrained mechanic installs it incorrectly, the engine will fail. The design and the certification become worthless at the final, crucial step.
This is the exact situation we face in the stormwater industry today.
We invest millions in designing and verifying sophisticated Stormwater Quality Improvement Devices (SQIDs). Yet, the ultimate performance of this critical infrastructure often rests in the hands of an uncertified, inconsistent, and sometimes untrained workforce. This gap between design and delivery is one of the most significant and unacceptable risks to our industry’s success. 🎓
The Weakest Link in the Chain
A consultant’s design is a blueprint. The installer is the one who must translate that blueprint into a functioning asset on a messy, complex, and unpredictable construction site. A maintenance crew is responsible for keeping that asset performing as designed for decades. These are highly skilled roles, yet we treat them as if they are not.
- The “Lowest Bidder” Problem: In the absence of a formal accreditation system, contracts for installation and maintenance are frequently awarded to the lowest bidder. This creates a race to the bottom where quality is sacrificed for price, as there is no reliable way to mandate or verify the competency of the contractor.
- Maintenance is a Skill, Not Just a Task: Effective maintenance is far more than just “cleaning out a pit.” It requires a deep understanding of how a specific device functions, what signs of failure to look for, and how to service sensitive components without causing damage. An untrained crew can easily do more harm than good, turning a routine clean into a costly repair job.
- The Cost of Small Mistakes: A small error during installation—an incorrect pipe level, compacted filter media, a poorly sealed joint—can lead to total system failure. These are mistakes that a trained and accredited professional would know to avoid.
The High Price of No Standards
This lack of professional standards has severe, real-world consequences that ripple through the entire asset lifecycle:
- Immediate Asset Failure: Poor installation can cause a device to fail from day one, completely wasting the significant capital investment.
- Drastically Reduced Lifespan: Improper maintenance protocols can cripple an asset, slashing its effective operational life and forcing councils into expensive, premature replacements.
- Worthless Environmental Approvals: Ultimately, a poorly installed or maintained SQID does not remove pollutants effectively. This means the environmental outcomes that justified the project are never achieved, making the entire exercise a costly failure that does not protect our waterways.
The Path Forward: A Professional Standard for a Professional Industry
It is time to treat the installation and maintenance of stormwater assets with the professionalism they demand. The NSW SQID Taskforce Report strongly recommends the development of a formal, industry-wide training and accreditation program.
This would create a new professional standard, potentially through TAFE courses or recognised competency units, resulting in a formal certification. This would allow councils and developers to specify “Certified Installers” in their tenders, guaranteeing a baseline of quality and competence for every project. This isn’t about creating red tape; it’s about guaranteeing performance.
A key recommendation in the new NSW SQID Taskforce report is the development of formal training and accreditation. How should this be implemented? We encourage industry professionals, especially contractors and maintenance providers, to read the report and provide feedback on this vital initiative.
We have commenced a broad consultation process across industry, government, councils and industries. We are aiming to prepare a feedback supplement at the conclusion of the consultation period.
Review the consultation draft, Volume One, outlining recommendations, available on the Stormwater 2030 website.
Submit feedback via the Taskforce Feedback Form by Monday, December 1, 2025.
