Latest updates

All actions within the PFAS Management Area Plan for Singleton Military Area are now complete. Defence will continue to monitor per- and poly-fluoroalkyl (PFAS) on and around Singleton Military Area 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.

Investigations and findings

In December 2021, Defence completed investigations into PFAS contamination on and around Singleton Military Area. Defence is committed to working with the NSW Government to manage and monitor PFAS contamination in the area.

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 in these locations can be found in soil and in water flowing through the source areas. PFAS moves in surface water flowing through drains and creeks, or groundwater that flows underground through soil and rock.

Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessment

As part of the investigations, Defence conducted a Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessment. This assessment measured the PFAS exposure risks to people living, working and undertaking recreational activities within the management area and to local plant and animal life.

This assessment found the PFAS contamination from Singleton Military Area presented a low exposure risk to human health and to local plant and animal life. More details can be found in the Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessment factsheet.

Remediation and management

In 2021, Defence published a PFAS Management Area Plan setting out the actions to manage risks presented by PFAS.

In 2022, Defence closed down the former fire station and demolished the buildings. Defence removed and treated PFAS-impacted waste at an off-site licenced facility.

In 2024, Defence completed an assessment to determine how PFAS moved from the base. It found that the total amount of PFAS leaving the base in the main surface water drain was very low and there were no remaining source areas that required remediation. 

Completion of remediation actions 

The remediation actions set out in the PFAS Management Area Plan are complete. An independent site auditor has assessed that remediation is complete to the extent practicable and 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’ above. 

Ongoing monitoring

Monitoring of PFAS continues on and around Singleton Military Area through sampling of surface water, groundwater, sewage and sediment annually. Monitoring helps Defence understand if PFAS contamination is changing over time.

Results are published in an Ongoing Monitoring Report and factsheet. Defence will inform the community if changes to the management approach are required.

Monitoring results to date have found no significant changes to how PFAS are moving in the management area.

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 Singleton Military Area 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.

Singleton Military Area document archive (PDF, 214.42 KB)

Last review: 2 September 2025