When does a council require a contaminated land investigation for a DA?

A council requires one when the site’s history or its mapping raises a question. Old fill, past industry and land mapped for contamination or acid sulfate soils are the usual reasons. It may sit in the DA conditions or arrive after lodgement as a request for further information. The scope follows the risk the condition names, so send the condition itself with the address, not a summary.

How much does contaminated land testing cost in Sydney?

Contaminated land testing is quoted per site, as a fixed fee in writing within one business day of receiving the address. The scope is set to the risk the site carries, not to a template. Laboratory testing is applied when the site warrants it, not by default. For a stockpile, that means sampling, testing and classification to the NSW EPA guidelines, with the paperwork the facility needs.

Can one site visit cover both geotechnical and environmental testing?

Yes. Both scopes can go out on one mobilisation. SFGEO drills its own geotechnical investigations across Sydney, so the environmental sampling can be done on the same visit. Samples for both scopes are logged in the field by the engineer who took them. Consultants running their own assessment programmes can use the same crew for drilling and sampling only.

Environmental & Soil Testing · Engineer-Led · Sydney

Environmental Testing Sydney. What’s In The Ground.

Geotechnical tells you how the ground behaves. Environmental tells you what it’s carrying: contaminated land investigation, acid sulfate soil assessment and waste classification across Sydney, from one crew that drills, samples and reports on both.

Call 0423 483 555 Scope A Site Investigation

Quoted per site · Chain of custody on every sample · Response within one business day

Geofabric capping laid over cleared ground on an inner-city Sydney site, with stockpiles waiting behind

01 · Contaminated Land

01 · PSI & DSI

Contaminated Land. PSI & DSI.

When a site’s history raises questions (old fill, past industry, a council condition on the DA), a Preliminary Site Investigation traces what happened on the ground, and a Detailed Site Investigation drills, samples and tests to answer it. Every sample is logged by an engineer, tracked under chain of custody and analysed at NATA-accredited laboratories. And because the crew taking the samples is the crew that drills Sydney ground every week, one mobilisation can carry your geotechnical and environmental scope together.

Scope A Site Investigation→

Drill rig and crew sampling low-lying ground beside a Sydney river

02 · Acid Sulfate Soils

Acid Sulfate Soils.

Low-lying and estuarine ground across Sydney can hold sulfides that stay harmless until they’re exposed to air, then turn acidic, attack concrete and steel, and stall an excavation under council conditions. We drill, sample and test the ground before works start, and where acid sulfate soils are present, report the findings with a management plan so excavation and dewatering can proceed with conditions settled.

Ask About Your Site→

A gloved hand holding a lump of concrete and brick rubble lifted from the fill in a Bexley North backyard

03 · Waste Classification

Waste Classification (VENM & ENM).

Spoil can’t leave site on a guess. Receiving facilities need a classification, and the wrong one is paid for twice. We sample stockpiles and in-situ ground, test at NATA-accredited laboratories and classify to the NSW EPA guidelines, from virgin excavated natural material (VENM) and excavated natural material (ENM) through to general solid waste, with the paperwork your facility and your certifier both need.

Classify Your Spoil→

Labelled soil sample bag and field tablet during sampling for laboratory testing

04 · Soil & Lab Testing

Soil & Lab Testing.

Behind every report is a laboratory program scoped to the question: CBR and compaction for pavements, Atterberg limits and shrink–swell for footings, pH, sulfate and chloride where concrete meets aggressive ground, and contamination suites where history demands them. Samples are logged in the field by the engineer who took them, and results come back interpreted: numbers with a recommendation, not a spreadsheet to decode.

Build A Testing Program→

Who We Work With

Same Ground. Different Stakes.

Buyers & Developers

Due diligence before the contract goes unconditional, and the investigations a DA condition calls for, scoped to the risk, not the template.

Builders & Contractors

Waste classifications that keep trucks moving, and answers on the fill the excavator just turned up, before it becomes a variation.

Homeowners

Straight answers on old fill, buried rubbish or a suspect smell in the ground, explained in plain English and priced fixed.

Consultants & Engineers

Drilling and sampling for your own assessment programs: clean field data, chain of custody kept. Monitoring wells go in through a bore driller under our scope.

Common Questions

We carry out contaminated land investigation (PSI and DSI), acid sulfate soil assessment and waste classification across Sydney, for buyers, builders, homeowners and consultants. Geotechnical tells you how the ground behaves. Environmental tells you what it’s carrying. One crew drills, samples and reports on both. Each site is quoted individually, with a fixed fee in writing within one business day.

A PSI reads the site’s history; a DSI tests the ground. The Preliminary Site Investigation covers the block’s history: whether old fill, past industry or a council condition has raised a question about the ground. The Detailed Site Investigation then answers that question from the ground itself: boreholes, samples and laboratory results. Buyers use them as due diligence before the contract goes unconditional.

The Ground Has A History. Know It.

Tell us the site and the question: a purchase, a DA condition, a stockpile, or something the excavator just turned up. You’ll have a straight answer on scope and cost within one business day.

Call 0423 483 555 Request A Quote