Inner West · AS 3660.1
Collars, membrane and perimeter barriers installed on Burwood apartment developments near the station and knockdown rebuilds on the suburb's leafier streets toward The Appian Way and Burwood Park.
Quick answer
A new home or apartment building in Burwood needs a termite management system under the NCC, since the suburb is termite-prone whether the site is a tower near the station or a rebuild on a quiet street. AS 3660.1 sets how it is installed, with collars fitted before the pour. The Municipality of Burwood will not sign the Occupation Certificate without a durable notice and a matching certificate.
Termite barriers in Burwood
Burwood is a major centre about 9.9 km west of the Sydney CBD, in postcode 2134, and the seat of the Municipality of Burwood. Burwood Road runs through the middle, with Westfield Burwood, Burwood Plaza and the busy restaurant precinct often called Burwood Chinatown. Apartment towers have grown around the station, which serves several Sydney Trains lines, and that is where most new residential building is happening now. Away from the centre there are Victorian and Federation houses, including The Appian Way, known as one of Australia's finest streets of Federation homes, and the open ground of Burwood Park, and it is on these older streets that knockdown rebuilds are the more common project.
That contrast between tower and terrace shapes the barrier work as much as anything else. Around the station, apartment buildings share car parks, garbage chutes and service shafts, and a new tower needs its termite management system planned across a much bigger footprint with far more penetrations than a house. On the leafier residential streets, older homes on large blocks with mature gardens and timber floors are the ones most likely to already have active termites nearby, so a rebuild there has to treat the surrounding soil as carefully as the new slab. Getting the system right before the pour matters whichever side of Burwood the project sits on.
Reviewed by Ismail, founder · Inner West coverage · Updated September 2026 · More Inner West suburbs
Get my fixed quote
Local conditions
Three things change how termite risk plays out across Burwood, and each one shapes the barrier plan.
Buildings around Burwood station share car parks, garbage chutes and service shafts across many more penetrations than a single house, so a termite management system for a tower has to be mapped across the whole footprint rather than treated as one continuous edge.
Westfield Burwood and the Burwood Chinatown dining strip generate constant food waste, which mainly drives German cockroach and rat pressure rather than termites, but it does mean a new residential building nearby is going into an area already carrying heavier pest activity overall.
Streets like The Appian Way and those around Burwood Park have decades-old trees and established gardens, and a knockdown rebuild on one of these blocks is likely to be going into soil where termites have already been active in old stumps or garden timber.
What we install here
We install termite management systems on Burwood apartment developments near the station, knockdown rebuilds on the older residential streets, and renovations that add a new slab or extension to an existing Federation or Victorian house. Multi-dwelling sites need collars mapped across a large number of penetrations and staged to suit a builder's program, while house rebuilds are more straightforward slab-on-ground jobs. Either way, collars go on before the concrete truck arrives, and we provide one written quote covering every stage from the plans.
Local knowledge
Most new apartment work in Burwood clusters around Burwood Plaza and Burwood station, where food waste and rail drainage keep general pest pressure high across the precinct. Streets further out toward The Appian Way and Burwood Park see more knockdown rebuilds on established, well-gardened blocks, where old timber in the soil is the bigger factor. Woodstock Park and Graham Reserve add pockets of garden cover on the residential side of the suburb.
The Municipality of Burwood certifies building work in the suburb, and two pieces of paperwork have to reach them before they will grant an Occupation Certificate: a durable notice for the meter box, and an installation certificate spelling out what products went in, which areas they cover and our licence number. Apartment developments get this paperwork broken down per building or per stage to match how the project is being certified, while a single house rebuild gets one straightforward set of documents.
Burwood at a glance
| Suburb | Burwood, NSW 2134 |
|---|---|
| District | Inner West |
| Distance from Sydney CBD | 9.9 km west |
| Certifying council | Sydney CBD Council |
| Standard applied | AS 3660.1 termite management systems |
| Installed | Before the slab pour, then staged through the build |
| Documents supplied | Installation certificate and durable notice |
| Typical builds covered | New homes, knockdown rebuilds, granny flats, duplexes, townhouses |
Systems we install
Every photo below is from one of our own Sydney jobs. We look at your slab design, site and budget, then recommend a system or a combination.
01A termite-resistant sheet laid over the whole prepared footprint before concreting, so termites can't come up through the slab anywhere.
02A sealed collar on every pipe, conduit and service that passes through the slab. These gaps are the most common hidden way in.
03Protection at the slab edge and into the wall cavity, which stops termites building hidden tunnels up the outside of the slab.
04An APVMA-registered termiticide zone in the soil, with an optional pipe network under paving so it can be recharged later without digging.
05Barriers for bearers, piers and raised timber floors on sloping or elevated blocks, where there's no slab to protect.
06Detailing for sandstone cuts, block retaining walls, step-downs and cut-and-fill sites, which are common across Sydney.
Why during construction
A retrofit can only treat around a finished house. A pre-construction system protects the parts nobody will ever be able to reach again.
A barrier put in during the build costs a fraction of a post-construction system, and far less than repairing termite damage.
New houses (Class 1) and outbuildings (Class 10) with termite-susceptible framing need a compliant termite management system.
Pipe penetrations and slab joints can only be fully protected while they're still open, before the concrete goes in.
An under-slab system covers ground that no treatment from outside the finished house can ever reach.
Your certifier needs the certificate and durable notice before issuing the Occupation Certificate. We supply both together.
Documented, compliant protection gives buyers, building inspectors and lenders confidence when the home is sold.
Installation stages
A termite barrier isn't a single visit. Each part goes in when the site is ready for it, and we fit around your plumber, concreter and bricklayer.
Send your plans and slab details. We recommend a system and give you one fixed price that covers every stage.
Collars go on every service once the plumber has set out, then the membrane or soil treatment is installed across the prepared site.
Perimeter and cavity protection is fitted as the brickwork or cladding goes up, so there's no unprotected gap at the slab edge.
Where it's specified, the chemical perimeter or reticulation system is completed around the building before paths and gardens go in.
A durable notice goes in the meter box, and the installation certificate goes to your builder and certifier.
The owner gets simple care instructions and an inspection schedule so the system keeps doing its job for years.
Compare systems
Both can meet AS 3660.1. The best choice depends on your slab type, what surrounds the house and how much ongoing upkeep the owner wants.
Physical protection
Entry-point protection
Soil protection
Top-up protection
Most of the Sydney builds we work on use a combination: physical collars on every penetration plus a physical or chemical perimeter.
For builders & developers
Builders, developers and owner-builders get a fixed quote from plans, a technician who turns up when the site is ready, and paperwork that never holds up sign-off.
Consistent pricing across lots, one point of contact and a full document set for every dwelling.
Missing durable notices and unclear install records are a common reason Occupation Certificates get held up. We hand everything over together so your certifier has it all in one go.
Paperwork
A complete document set for the builder, the certifier and every future owner of the property.
A permanent notice in the meter box showing the system, install date, installer, any chemical's life expectancy and inspection advice.
For: certifier, owner, future owners
Written confirmation of the system and products used, the areas protected and our licence details.
For: builder, certifier, owner
Details of the physical system or termiticide installed, including safety data sheets for any chemicals.
For: builder, owner
How to keep the system working, plus the recommended inspection frequency under AS 3660.2.
For: homeowner
From real jobs
Photos from our own Sydney sites, not stock images. Tap any photo to see it larger.
Membrane barrier across a large residential slab
Barrier work on a Sydney Harbour site
Installation through sandstone excavation
Perimeter barrier and sleeves on a new slab
Waffle pod formwork with collared penetrations
Membrane detailed against a retaining wall
Membrane sealed around a column
Protected slab edge with collar in place
Collared penetrations before the pour
Perimeter barrier on a completed slab edge
Pipe penetrations sealed into the membrane
Collars fixed through mesh before concreting
Google reviews
Real, verified reviews from homeowners and businesses we've worked with.
Pricing
Every build is different, so we don't guess. We price from your plans and give you one fixed written quote. Quoting is free.
After handover
A barrier only works while it stays intact and visible. Pass these on to the owner.
Free fixed quote
Tell us about your build and get a clear, fixed price, fast. We usually reply within 30 minutes during business hours.
Get a fixed quote
Burwood questions
Still unsure? Call and talk it through with a licensed technician.
+61 450 515 215The standard is the same, AS 3660.1 under the NCC, but the scope is different. A tower has far more plumbing and services penetrations spread across a larger slab, so the collar count and the mapping of the perimeter take more planning than a single house, even though the underlying system works the same way.
Established gardens on older Burwood blocks often carry old stumps and buried timber that can already support termite activity, so a rebuild there needs soil treatment around the footprint as well as the usual slab-edge system. We look at what is being cleared and what is staying before finalising the plan.
They want two things on file before granting the Occupation Certificate: a durable notice screwed into the meter box, and a signed installation certificate that names the products, marks out the protected zones and records our licence number. We supply these as soon as the system is complete, matched to whether your project is being certified as a single dwelling or part of a larger development.
In most cases, yes. The National Construction Code requires a termite management system for new houses and outbuildings in termite-prone areas where the primary building elements can be damaged by termites. Sydney is termite-prone, so the system is installed to AS 3660.1 and your certifier asks for the installation certificate and durable notice before the Occupation Certificate is issued.
It depends on slab area, perimeter length, the number of pipe penetrations, the system chosen, site complexity and how many visits the build needs. Send us the plans and we return one fixed written quote covering every stage. Quoting is free.
Nearby
Same crew, same staging and the same certifier-ready paperwork, right across the Inner West.
Service areas
From the Eastern Suburbs and Inner West to the Hills, the Shire and the western growth corridors. Every suburb has its own page with the local ground conditions, the council that certifies the work and the questions builders there ask us.
Slab pour coming up?
Send us your plans today for a fixed quote, or call and talk to a licensed technician about your site.
