HMAS Cerberus

Latest updates

All actions within the PFAS Management Area Plan for HMAS Cerberus have now been completed. Defence will continue to monitor PFAS on and around HMAS Cerberus and take further action if required.

Further information about the actions undertaken can be found in the PFAS Management Area Plan Completion Report and Next Steps Factsheet below.

Important information for communities around HMAS Cerberus.

Investigations and findings

In October 2018, Defence completed detailed investigations into per- and poly fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination on and around HMAS Cerberus. 

The investigations found that PFAS are mostly concentrated in areas where firefighting foams were previously disposed of, used or stored. These are called source areas. PFAS at these locations can be found in soil and in water flowing through the source areas. PFAS moves in surface water flowing through drains, creeks or groundwater that flows underground through soil and rock.

Initial investigations identified 7 potential source areas. The fire training ground was determined as the main source area on base, with the other 6 areas considered low risk due to low PFAS concentrations in soil within these areas.

Human Health Risk Assessment

The investigations found the PFAS contamination from HMAS Cerberus has a low exposure risk to human health. More details on Defence’s risk assessment can be found in the HMAS Cerberus Detailed Site Investigation Findings factsheet under the 'Recent reports and factsheets' section.

Additional investigations

Defence conducted a PFAS movement assessment that tracks how and where PFAS are moving from and how many PFAS are leaving the base. The assessment found that PFAS mainly moves off the site via groundwater, surface water and a series of drains that discharge into surrounding tidal creeks and ultimately Hanns Inlet.

Remediation and management

The aim of remediation is to minimise PFAS leaving the site by focusing on the remediation and management of the source areas where required. Over time, this will contribute to the reduction of PFAS in the management area. Defence prepared a PFAS Management Area Plan that outlined actions to manage, remediate and reduce the risk of PFAS exposure for the community living and working at HMAS Cerberus and surrounding areas.

Soil remediation

Defence focused on soil remediation works at the fire training ground. The soil at this location contained more than 8 kg of PFAS. Remediation works included the excavation and placement of the contaminated soils into an engineered containment cell.

The cell is specially designed to prevent rainwater from reaching the contaminated soils. The cell holds approximately 11,000 m3 of PFAS-contaminated soil and 4,500 m3 of lead-impacted soil that was remediated as part of the site redevelopment. Clean soil and topsoil have been placed over the cell to a depth of more than half a metre. The remediation works were completed in 2023.

Completion of remediation actions

Defence has completed the remediation actions set out in the PFAS Management Area Plan. An independent technical adviser was engaged to assess and document that remediation has been completed to the extent practicable. The technical adviser determined that the long term ongoing monitoring and management measures Defence has in place are appropriate. The report and factsheet are available to download under the ‘Latest updates’ heading above.

Ongoing monitoring

Defence continues to monitor PFAS on and around HMAS Cerberus through sampling of surface water and groundwater.

Monitoring results to date have found no significant changes to how PFAS are moving in the management area. However, the completed remedial works are expected to reduce PFAS from leaving the site, and over time, this will contribute to the reduction of PFAS in the management area.

All future updates regarding the management of PFAS on and around HMAS Cerberus, including ongoing monitoring results, will be made available on this webpage.

Recent reports and factsheets

Detailed reports from the PFAS Investigation and Management Program are available to download. Appendices to these reports can be found in the document archive. To discuss these reports, contact pfas.enquiry@defence.gov.au.

Document archive

The HMAS Cerberus document archive contains information that Defence has published about the management of PFAS, including older community presentations, investigation reports, risk assessments and factsheets.

Some archive information has been superseded by the recent reports and factsheets.

Documents Archive - Cerberus (PDF, 219.5 KB)

Last review: 16 May 2025