ASC NEPM: the national site-contamination measure
The ASC NEPM 2013 is Australia's national site-contamination measure, setting the HIL/EIL/GIL investigation levels every state contamination regime screens against.
Ask Chalkline about this →The ASC NEPM is the National Environment Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure 2013, Australia’s national technical standard for assessing contaminated land. It is the document that sets the investigation levels a contaminated-land assessment screens a site against, and every state and territory contamination regime references it as the common benchmark.
The investigation levels
The NEPM’s core output is a set of screening benchmarks for contaminants in soil, water, and vapour:
- HIL (Health Investigation Levels): soil contaminant concentrations screened for human health, set by land use (the residential/garden category is the strictest, commercial/industrial the most relaxed).
- EIL (Ecological Investigation Levels): levels protecting soil ecology.
- GIL (Groundwater Investigation Levels): levels for contaminants in groundwater.
These are screening (trigger) levels, not pass/fail limits. Exceeding an investigation level does not automatically mean the site is “contaminated” or unbuildable; it means the contaminant warrants further assessment (a site-specific risk assessment), which may still find the site suitable, suitable with management, or in need of remediation.
Where it fits
The NEPM is the how-to-assess standard; it does not, by itself, decide whether you can build. Each state layers its own law on top (when an assessment is triggered, who signs off, and the planning consequences). A contaminated-land investigation, prepared by an environmental consultant and tested through a NATA-accredited lab, compares the results to the NEPM levels; the state regime then decides fitness for residential use.
For a builder
- It is a trigger, not a verdict. An exceedance of an investigation level means “investigate further”, not “the deal is dead”. The site-specific risk assessment is the next step.
- Land use sets the level. The residential HIL is stricter than the commercial one, so a site fine for an industrial use may still need work for a house.
- Leave it to the consultant. The NEPM is applied by a contaminated-land specialist; your job is to budget the assessment and read the conclusion (suitable / suitable-with-management / remediate).
Also known as: ASC NEPM 2013, NEPM (site contamination), Assessment of Site Contamination Measure.
Related
See also
Last updated: 2026-05-26. Verified: 2026-05-26. Quarterly review for currency.