Commonwealth launches $2b PFAS case against 3M over Williamtown contamination

30 May 2026

newy.com.au – The Commonwealth has commenced Federal Court proceedings against 3M Australia Pty Ltd and 3M Company, seeking more than $2 billion in damages over PFAS contamination at 28 Defence bases across Australia, including RAAF Base Williamtown.

The case relates to the historical storage and use of 3M aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF, containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. The government is seeking to recover past and future costs from investigating, managing and remediating affected Defence sites.

For communities around Williamtown, the case adds a national legal front to a contamination issue that has shaped local land, water and health concerns for years. Defence says it completed investigations into PFAS on and around RAAF Base Williamtown in October 2018 and recognises contamination from the base as “a significant issue for the local community”. Remediation began in 2018 and remains ongoing, with monitoring continuing across surface water, groundwater, sediment and biota.

The Commonwealth alleges 3M withheld information and misrepresented the effects of its AFFF, including what it knew about environmental risks. It also alleges 3M did not fully disclose what it knew about those risks and gave assurances about disposal and environmental safety that were inconsistent with what the company knew at the time.

The allegations are yet to be tested by the court.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said the Commonwealth was pursuing accountability through the Federal Court and seeking recovery of costs borne by taxpayers in responding to PFAS contamination at Defence bases. She said “the Government is committed to holding 3M to account”.

Assistant Minister for Defence Peter Khalil said he had visited affected communities across Australia and that they “need action”. Mr Khalil said Defence had spent more than $1.3 billion in taxpayer money supporting affected communities, including about $408 million in legal settlements. He said Defence had treated or removed more than 200,000 tonnes of contaminated soil across Defence sites, operated seven water treatment plants and treated more than 13 billion litres of water since PFAS contamination was identified in affected communities.

At Williamtown, Defence says PFAS is mostly concentrated in areas where firefighting foams were previously used, stored or disposed of, and can move away from those source areas through surface water and groundwater. Current work includes a pump-and-treat system along Cabbage Tree Road designed to prevent significant volumes of contaminated groundwater entering Leary’s Drain and Fullerton Cove, while an upgraded treatment plant is expected to treat up to two million litres of water a day.

Mr Khalil said the claim was focused on environmental, economic and cultural impacts and the costs incurred by the Commonwealth and Defence. He said it was not a personal injury or health claim, a distinction likely to be closely watched in communities where PFAS exposure concerns have persisted for years.

3M has said it will defend the proceedings. The company said it had never manufactured PFAS in Australia and had ceased sales of the products at issue in Australia about two decades ago, while also pointing to Defence’s continued use of PFAS-containing firefighting foams after those sales ended.

Member for Paterson Meryl Swanson said the announcement was “a massive victory for the people of Williamtown and other PFAS affected communities across Australia”.

“I want to thank them for their tenacity and forbearance,” Ms Swanson said.

“This announcement is a culmination of 10 years of hard work and fighting. It’s an example of a government standing up for its people and holding a multinational company to account. It’s about time these companies were held accountable for withholding a range of information and misrepresenting their product.

“PFAS contamination is one of the reasons I ran for Paterson, and yesterday’s announcement was another step forward.”

The proceedings will now move through the Federal Court, where the Commonwealth will seek to prove its allegations and attempt to recover costs it says have been carried by taxpayers.