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Short answer: WaterMark is Australia's mandatory certification scheme for plumbing and drainage products. If the exact product type you're importing appears on the WaterMark Schedule of Products, that model must hold a current WaterMark certificate before a licensed plumber can install it in Australia. In New Zealand, WaterMark-certified products are recognised through MBIE's Approved Products Certified Overseas notices. For an importer, the job is to verify the certificate names your exact model, variant and market route — not just the supplier's brand.
What WaterMark is — and what it is not
WaterMark is administered by the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB). The National Construction Code (NCC) requires any plumbing or drainage product listed on the WaterMark Schedule of Products to be WaterMark certified before installation by a licensed plumbing practitioner (ABCB, About WaterMark).
Three things trip up importers:
- It applies to scheduled product types, not every plumbing item. The ABCB also publishes a Schedule of Excluded Products, so the first check is whether your product type is actually on the schedule (WaterMark Schedule of Excluded Products).
- The schedule changes. The ABCB publishes dated editions (for example, the 2026-2 edition), so a certificate that was valid under an older scope must be checked against the current edition (WaterMark Schedule of Products 2026-2).
- A brand-level claim is not a model-level certificate. A certificate lists specific covered models or variants. One model holding WaterMark does not automatically cover the rest of the range.
Where toilets and smart toilets sit
Toilets (water closet pans and cisterns) are among the plumbing products covered by the scheme. New Zealand's recognition notice for WaterMark water closet pans (RN-10023) is one example of the category being treated as a plumbing fixture (MBIE, Building (Product Recognition WaterMark Water Closet Pans) Notice 2026).
A smart toilet is both a plumbing product and an electrical product:
- The water side (pan, cistern, flush valve, inlet connection) falls under WaterMark and, for water efficiency, WELS.
- The electrical side (heated seat, pump, controls, power supply) sits under the destination's electrical-safety requirements and must be confirmed for the exact voltage and variant.
That split is why a supplier saying "our toilets are certified" is not enough — you need to know which part is certified, for which exact variant, and for which market.
The WaterMark certification process in plain steps
- Determine the schedule position. Confirm whether the product type is on the current WaterMark Schedule of Products (and not on the excluded list).
- Engage an accredited conformity assessment body. WaterMark Conformity Assessment Bodies (WMCABs) are accredited by JAS-ANZ to evaluate products against the approved specification (NCC, Certifying a product).
- Testing and evaluation. The product is assessed against the applicable standard for fit-for-purpose and plumbing-code compliance.
- Certification and marking. The product is certified, registered in the WaterMark product database, and marked for installation.
- Ongoing obligations. Certificates have holders, scopes and validity periods — they can expire, be suspended, or change scope.
For an importer, steps 1 and 4 matter most: check the current schedule, then pull the certificate and read the covered-model list against the exact SKU you plan to order.
WELS: the water-efficiency step that follows WaterMark
Plumbing products must have valid WaterMark certification before they can be registered under the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme (Australian Government, Water Rating).
For toilets, WELS registration is what lets the product carry the water-efficiency star rating that Australian consumers and specifiers expect. Practical rule: ask for WaterMark first, then confirm the WELS registration and star rating for the same exact model.
How New Zealand handles it
New Zealand does not run the WaterMark scheme, but it recognises overseas-certified products through MBIE's Approved Products Certified Overseas (APCO) programme. From 1 October 2025, published recognition notices — including notices covering WaterMark-certified water closet pans — can be used in building consent applications (MBIE, Recognition notices).
Practical meaning: a WaterMark certificate that works for Australia needs a separate recognition step for a New Zealand consent application. Do not assume one certificate solves both markets.
The importer's verification checklist
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Product type is on the current WaterMark Schedule | Off-schedule products may not need WaterMark |
| Certificate holder and identifier are current | Expired or suspended certificates are not valid evidence |
| Covered-model list names your exact SKU/variant | Brand or series-level claims do not cover every model |
| WELS registration exists for the same model | WELS requires WaterMark first and carries the star rating |
| Electrical side confirmed for destination voltage | Smart toilets are electrical products too |
| NZ route confirmed separately | APCO recognition notice is a separate step |
How OTOL approaches an AU/NZ enquiry
OTOL supplies a broad sanitary-ware range including smart toilets, and we treat AU/NZ as a verification-first market rather than a blanket claim. On a specific enquiry we check the exact model, variant, voltage and destination, then confirm what current WaterMark/WELS and electrical documentation covers that selection before we quote. Where a route is not yet documented for a given model, we say so and evaluate scope, cost and timing with the buyer instead of promising coverage that isn't there.
If you're bringing toilets or smart toilets into Australia or New Zealand, send the target models and destination and we'll run the document check. Start with the smart toilet range, or see how voltage differs across markets. For the North American equivalent of this process, our cUPC + ETL guide walks through the same evidence-first logic.