AS3798 – 2007 Guidelines On Earthworks For Commercial And Residential Developments – Recent Revision

The paper presents an outline of the recent revisions to AS 3798 – Guidelines on earthworks for commercial and residential developments.

AS 3798 – Guidelines on earthworks for commercial and residential developments – was first released in 1990. This was followed by a “roadshow” wherein Standards Australia sponsored an afternoon of presentations in most capital cities; these were well attended and, partly, led to the early adoption of the standard by many practising civil engineers. The Standard was revised in 1996 to account for many changes in AS 1289 – Method of testing soils for engineering purposes. More recently the third edition was released in February 2007. It is the authors’ opinion that the Standard has been a useful document and aged well, both revisions introduced only minor changes. This paper provides a commentary on the changes introduced in the latest revision of AS 3798.

Unfortunately, most professional’s contact with the Standard appears limited to Table 5.1 – Minimum relative compaction – with the advanced professional referring to Table 8.1 – Frequency of testing – in their black periods. This is a shame as these two tables, while important, are only a minor part of the Standard. It is hoped that this paper will make a wider group of professionals conversant with more of the Standard.

The authors are respectively a member and the chairman of the Standards Australia committee responsible for drafting the Standard and have been so since the committee was form in the 1980s.