Do I need to call Before You Dig before digging in my yard?

Before You Dig Australia, formerly Dial Before You Dig, is a free national referral service. You lodge the location of the proposed work and asset owners send you plans of what they have in that area. Response is usually quick and there is no cost to a homeowner.

When it is worth doing

• Fence posts, which are the classic strike because people assume a hole is not excavation.
• Any trenching for irrigation, drainage, power to a shed or a pool.
• Footings for a deck, pergola, shed or retaining wall.
• Planting large trees, and stump grinding, which routinely hits shallow services.
• Anything with a machine, where the first sign of a strike is the damage itself.

What the plans do not tell you

They show the approximate location of registered assets, not the exact depth, and they generally do not cover private services on the property, which includes the line from the meter to the house, the run to a shed and any irrigation. Plans are the start of the process, not the end of it. Potholing by hand near marked services is what actually prevents strikes.