❓ Hon. Simon Ehrenfeld questions the Health Minister regarding water quality at Perth Children's Hospital, specifically concerning heavy metals and microbiological contamination. The Minister assures water safety, details testing frequency, exceedances, remediation, and tables the Water Risk Management Plan.
AnsweredQoN 562Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to Microbiological and Chemistry Water Testing across Perth Children's Hospital (PCH), undertaken between 2024 and 2025, and I ask: (a) have there been any testing samples taken from PCH which returned traces of heavy metals such as lead or microbiological material such as legionella at levels higher than the safety benchmark set by the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines; (b) if yes to (a), please provide the dates these were detected; (c) how frequently are water samples tested at PCH; and (d) can the Minister table the Water Risk Management Plan that contains the testing schedule and the remediation steps required?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
16 October 2025
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health
Response time
7 days
(a)
The health and safety of patients, families, and staff at Perth Children’s Hospital is a critical priority. The water at PCH is safe to consume.
When any exceedance is detected, immediate remediation occurs which may include flushing, pasteurising, and retesting before fixtures return to use.
Between 1 January 2024 and 10 September 2025, 1,237 samples were taken across the hospital as part of scheduled routine testing. Of these samples, 83 exceedances were recorded.
WA Health’s Chief Health Officer has reviewed recent incidences and determined that there was no risk posed to patients, staff or visitors at any time. Typically, exceedances are isolated to specific outlets or fixtures.
All fixtures were remediated and cleared before being returned to use. In the case of pathogens, a bacteria filter is added to the waterpoint until it passes retesting.
(b)
Sample dates of positive results.
17-19 April 2024
22 May 2024
30-31 October 2024
12-13 June 2025
16 June 2025
5 August 2025
1-5 September 2025
(c)
The Child and Adolescent Health Service undertakes a rigorous testing regime. At the Perth Children’s Hospital, approximately 740 samples are taken across 238 locations annually. This testing is done in accordance with the Perth Children’s Hospital Facility Water Safety Plan and Drinking Water Quality Management Plan. These documents were developed in line with the Australian Government’s Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and Health Guidelines for Legionella Control.
(d)
Please see tabled paper XXXX
The health and safety of patients, families, and staff at Perth Children’s Hospital is a critical priority. The water at PCH is safe to consume.
When any exceedance is detected, immediate remediation occurs which may include flushing, pasteurising, and retesting before fixtures return to use.
Between 1 January 2024 and 10 September 2025, 1,237 samples were taken across the hospital as part of scheduled routine testing. Of these samples, 83 exceedances were recorded.
WA Health’s Chief Health Officer has reviewed recent incidences and determined that there was no risk posed to patients, staff or visitors at any time. Typically, exceedances are isolated to specific outlets or fixtures.
All fixtures were remediated and cleared before being returned to use. In the case of pathogens, a bacteria filter is added to the waterpoint until it passes retesting.
(b)
Sample dates of positive results.
17-19 April 2024
22 May 2024
30-31 October 2024
12-13 June 2025
16 June 2025
5 August 2025
1-5 September 2025
(c)
The Child and Adolescent Health Service undertakes a rigorous testing regime. At the Perth Children’s Hospital, approximately 740 samples are taken across 238 locations annually. This testing is done in accordance with the Perth Children’s Hospital Facility Water Safety Plan and Drinking Water Quality Management Plan. These documents were developed in line with the Australian Government’s Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and Health Guidelines for Legionella Control.
(d)
Please see tabled paper XXXX
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.