Dial Before You Dig, Explained (and Where It Stops)

Before we dig a footing or set a post, we check what's underground. It's free, it's quick, and it's the difference between a clean job and hitting a gas line. Here's how it works — and, just as importantly, where it stops.

What it does

Before You Dig Australia — the service most people still call “Dial Before You Dig” — gives you plans of the registered underground services in your area (gas, water, electricity, comms), so we know what's down there before a shovel goes in. Every responsible contractor lodges an enquiry before excavating.

Where it stops — and this matters

The plans generally cover the network's assets up to your property boundary — not the private services running inside your property. The line from the street to your house, the pipe out to a shed or pool pump, a private power run — those often aren't on the plans. If we're digging away from the boundary, a private service locator may be needed to find them.

This isn't a technicality. We've seen insurers decline claims after a service strike because the proper protocol — a Before You Dig enquiry, and a private locator where one was needed — wasn't followed. Doing it right protects you as much as us.

What we do on every job

• Lodge a Before You Dig enquiry before excavation.
• Read the plans and pothole carefully near marked services.
• Bring in a private locator when we're digging away from the boundary or the plans are unclear.

It's unseen work that never makes the photo — which is exactly the kind we take seriously.