The Australian tap water guide

Is Australian tap water safe?

For the most part, yes. Mains water in Australia is treated to meet the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines set by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Utilities disinfect the supply — usually with chlorine or chloramine — to keep it free of harmful bacteria all the way to your tap.

"Safe to drink" and "tastes great and is free of every trace contaminant," though, aren't the same thing. The disinfectant that keeps water safe also gives it a smell and taste many people dislike, and water can pick up other things on its journey through ageing pipes and home plumbing.

What's actually in it

Even in a well-run system, your glass of water can contain:

• Chlorine and chloramine — added to disinfect, they leave the familiar "pool" smell and aftertaste.
• Sediment, rust and flakes — shed by older pipes and hot-water systems, especially after mains work.
• Microplastics — tiny plastic particles now detected in water supplies worldwide.
• Trace heavy metals — such as lead or copper that can leach from older household plumbing and fittings.

None of these necessarily make compliant tap water "unsafe," but reducing them improves taste and gives many households extra peace of mind.

PFAS — the "forever chemicals"

PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) are a large family of synthetic chemicals nicknamed "forever chemicals" because they break down extremely slowly — lingering in water, soil and the body for years.

It's a serious enough concern that in June 2025 the NHMRC tightened the PFAS limits in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, lowering the allowable levels for several common PFAS. That's a clear signal regulators are taking them seriously.

Activated carbon — the heart of PureFlow's cartridge — is one of the most accessible ways to help reduce common long-chain PFAS such as PFOA and PFOS at the point of use. Reduction varies with water quality and PFAS type, so a point-of-use carbon filter isn't a guarantee of complete removal — but it's a practical extra layer where it matters most: the water you actually drink.

Reducing what you take in, where you reasonably can, genuinely matters with chemicals that don't break down.

How a tap filter helps

PureFlow mounts to the tap you already have and filters water on demand as it flows. Its multi-stage carbon block traps larger particles, adsorbs chlorine and the chemicals behind bad taste and odour, and helps reduce microplastics and common PFAS — for noticeably cleaner, crisper water without bottles, jugs or a plumber.

It's a point-of-use filter for taste, odour and contaminant reduction — not a treatment for unsafe, untested or non-mains water.