Better water saving standards

Water is one of our country's most precious resources. With droughts becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change, conserving water is more important than ever.

One of the ways we can do this is by choosing more water efficient products, like washing machines, dishwashers, toilets and shower heads. 

The government's Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme refers to the water rating stickers you see on the front of these products and is designed to help us make informed choices. But there's scope for the system to be improved so that it better reflects how people actually use their appliances.

With the WELS scheme currently under independent review, we have an opportunity to push for better water saving standards making it easier for people to save water and keep water guzzling products off the market.

Did you know?

Current water efficiency standards don't take into account the amount of water used during the drying cycle of a washer dryer. In 2017, CHOICE testing revealed that a Samsung washer dryer used a whopping 149L of fresh drinking water to dry 3.5kg of clothes, with the cycle taking more than 6.5 hours.

Big-name products like this highlight the need for the WELS scheme to discourage appliances that use excessive amounts of water from being sold in Australia.