SCG delivers complete Legionella management: risk assessment, water risk management planning, regulatory liaison, mandatory notification, on-site sampling, decontamination and clearance certificates. Our senior consultants combine practical Legionella experience with regulatory backgrounds, which is what allows a complex legislative framework to be turned into advice a facility manager can actually act on.
What the law requires in Queensland
What the law requires in Queensland
The Public Health (Water Risk Management) Amendment Act 2016 places specific duties on prescribed health care facilities:
- Develop a water risk management plan.
- Ensure the water risk management plan is complied with.
- Notify the chief executive of the Department of Health within one business day when Legionella is confirmed in water used by a prescribed facility.
- Submit periodic reports summarising the results of Legionella testing for the facility.
What we do
What we do
Water risk management plans
Development, review and revision of plans for hospitals, aged care and commercial buildings, written so the people running the system can follow them.
Risk assessment and system review
Assessment of warm and hot water services, cooling towers and other aerosol-generating systems against the control measures that actually reduce risk.
Sampling and field testing
On-site sampling and field testing carried out under our NATA-accredited inspection scope, with defensible chain of custody.
Detection response
Leading the response to a confirmed detection: containment, decontamination, re-sampling and clearance.
Regulatory liaison and notification
Preparing and lodging mandatory notifications, and dealing with Queensland Health on your behalf.
Clearance certification
Independent verification that a system has been returned to a safe condition, and the documentation to evidence it.
Smale Consulting Group is accredited by NATA for compliance with ISO/IEC 17020 as a Type C inspection body. Our detailed scope of accreditation is available here. Accreditation No. 20913. More about our accreditations.
FAQ
Common questions
Which facilities must have a water risk management plan?
Prescribed facilities under the Public Health (Water Risk Management) Amendment Act 2016 — principally Queensland hospitals and residential aged care. Many other building owners develop one voluntarily, because it is the practical way to discharge a general duty of care over an aerosol-generating water system.
How quickly do we have to notify a detection?
Within one business day of confirmation, to the chief executive of the Department of Health. We can prepare and lodge that notification with you.
Is your sampling accredited?
Sampling and field testing sit within our NATA ISO/IEC 17020 inspection scope. Laboratory analysis is performed by an accredited laboratory, and we manage the chain of custody between the two.
Can you help after a positive result rather than before?
Yes. A significant part of this work is leading the response to a detection — containment, decontamination, re-sampling and clearance — and dealing with the regulator while it happens.
Related
See this work in practice in our case studies, or read more on:
Concerned about a water system?
Whether you need a plan built, a system reviewed or a detection responded to, start with a short conversation about the facility and the timing.