Page 2990 - Week 07 - Thursday, 7 June 2012

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(2) Given the Environment Protection Act 1997 does not refer to an Australian Standard “as updated from time to time”, do wood heaters in the ACT need to comply with updated versions of the AS4013 to be sold legally.

(3) Is the Minister able to say whether it is an offence under ACT legislation to sell a wood heater, as “solid fuel-burning equipment”, if the wood heater has not been issued with a certificate of compliance by an entity authorised under the Environment Protection Act 1997.

(4) What is the penalty for selling a wood heater that has not been issued with a certificate of compliance referred to in part (3).

(5) Have any retailers in the ACT been sanctioned for committing this offence since the Act commenced; if so, how many.

(6) What is the “authorised entity” for the purposes of subsections 2.4(1)(b) and 2.4(3)(b) of the Environment Protection Act 1997 and (a) under what instrument is the entity authorised and (b) how many compliance certificates have been issued by the authorised entity since the Act commenced.

(7) Can the Minister provide data on the number of complaints regarding smoke from domestic chimneys, by year, from 1999-2012.

Mr Corbell: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:

(1) For a brand new heater it is AS4013 (1999). For a second hand heater it can be either AS4013 (1999) or AS4013 (1992) depending on when the heater was first certified.

(2) No, the tighter standards in AS4013 (1999) are not retrospective,

(3) Yes it is an offence.

(4) A maximum of 30 penalty units (currently $110 per penalty unit).

(5) No. The Environment Protection Authority has never had a complaint brought to its attention about retailers selling non-compliant heaters. The standard was first introduced in 1992.

(6) The Australian Home Heating Association is currently the only body in Australia that can certify wood heaters.

(a) information on the certification status of heaters can be found on their website at www.homeheat.com.au/certified.php.

(b) due to the ongoing work of the Standing Council on Environment and Water on national wood heater emissions management they have not been authorised under Section 2.4(1)(b) of the Act.

(7) Complaints regarding smoke from domestic chimneys

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