Permeable concrete in New South Wales

What NSW councils are actually asking for

There is no single stormwater rule in New South Wales. Every council runs its own DCP chapter, and the requirements shift as you cross a boundary. Through Sydney's established catchments, on-site detention is the usual condition, sized by council or by the catchment handbook they reference. Permeable concrete works on the other side of that equation. It cuts the volume arriving at the pit and slows what does get there, which can shrink an OSD tank or take load off a system that was never sized for the extra roof and paving.

Councils also set minimum landscaped or deep soil area and cap site coverage, which bites hardest on infill lots and dual occupancies. A permeable driveway can help balance those numbers. BASIX sits alongside all of this rather than replacing it. It deals with water and thermal performance for housing, while drainage stays with the council DCP and your hydraulic consultant.

Coastal storms, sandstone and shale

NSW rain arrives in short heavy bursts. Peak flow is the design problem, not annual totals. Sandstone ridge sites shed water quickly; the shale and clay soils through western and south-western Sydney hold it, so we build the base as a storage reservoir and control the release rather than assuming infiltration will do all the work.

Our NSW jobs run through the national team. Metro Sydney, the Central Coast, Newcastle and Wollongong are routine for us. Further inland we plan pours around travel and batch nearby work, and we say so at quoting stage instead of promising a date we can't hold.

Where it earns its place

• Residential driveways on tight infill blocks with an OSD or landscaped area condition.
• Car parks for commercial and community developments chasing WSUD outcomes without a tank.
• Footpaths and public realm where council wants water reaching street tree roots.

Send through the DA drainage plan and the area you need covered. We'll tell you what the pavement and base would look like and where permeable concrete does or doesn't stack up. Start the conversation here.