Sanitation and personal hygiene requirements for non-residential facilities

Owners of particular types of premises are required to provide sufficient and suitable sanitary fixtures such as toilets, hand basins, baths or showers, laundry facilities, kitchen sinks or such other provisions as are necessary to maintain sanitation and personal hygiene.

The Code of Practice for the Provision of Facilities for Sanitation and Personal Hygiene (PDF 47KB) has been developed to assist the relevant authorities charged with the administration of the South Australian Public Health Act 2011, to ensure sufficient facilities are available for the maintenance of adequate standards of sanitation and personal hygiene within their area.

In February 2018 the Code was updated to include more stringent requirements in relation to the management of sharps disposal in community settings.

The Code is applicable to all premises developed before or after the commencement of the South Australian Public Health Act.

General requirements

General sanitation and personal hygiene requirements include:

  • the number of facilities
  • when the relevant authority may require additional facilities
  • plumbing and drainage
  • floors, walls, partitions and ceilings
  • fixtures and fittings
  • lighting
  • ventilation
  • disposal of sewage, effluent and greywater (sullage)
  • alternate toilet facilities – reduced water requirements

For detailed information on each of the requirements, see Section 3 of the Code (PDF 47KB)

When providing facilities for the public it is recommended that vandal-resistant easily cleaned and maintained materials and fittings be provided which will withstand frequent use.

Additional requirements for non-residential premises

Section 4 of the Code (PDF 47KB) looks at the additional requirements that non-residential premises are required to comply with.These additional requirements include:

  • the provision of soap and hand drying facilities
  • external showers
  • infant care facilities
  • facilities for the disabled
  • maintenance and cleaning
  • solid waste disposal.

Non-residential premises include, but are not limited to the following:

  • shopping centres
  • bus depots
  • restaurants
  • commercial buildings
  • stand-alone toilet blocks.

Sharps disposal facilities

Section 5 of the Code (PDF 47KB) looks at the provision of appropriate sharps disposal facilities in public toilets, including:

  • sharps collection containers
  • outer housings
  • installation heights
  • monitoring and management

Resources

As we transition to digital materials, the ordering of print materials will be reduced. As of 1 October 2019, you will no longer be able to order print materials for this area. Downloadable versions of the materials will be made available on the relevant pages on the SA Health Website.

This document is able to be downloaded and sent to a professional printer. The documents should be set up ready for print. The Printing Instructions (PDF 187KB) will help guide you to be able to print the materials in a similar way to what they are provided by SA Health.