Page 2720 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 16 September 2014
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The bill requires the gasfitter to provide a certificate of compliance to those people prescribed under the regulations. The certificate of compliance replaces a compliance indicator and certifies that the gasfitting work was carried out in accordance with the gas safety legislation and any consumer piping system or appliance that is part of the work is safe to use and complies with the gas safety legislation.
The bill amends the gas product approval processes. The current legislation does not make it clear, but there are two types of gas appliances that must be approved and certified. Type A appliances are generally smaller, mass-produced consumer appliances that are certified by external bodies. Type B appliances are generally custom or large commercial and industrial appliances that are approved by technical regulators in each jurisdiction. This bill makes it clear which appliances require approval, how they are approved and who they can be certified by.
The bill removes the current declaration process and replaces it with the ability to declare prescribed appliances in a corresponding law or in a safety standard under regulation if required. The default position would be to accept the approval of an appliance which complies with the Australian standards for gas appliances. However, the registrar would retain the power to prevent the sale of an unsafe item.
The bill removes the accreditation of gas appliance workers from the Gas Safety Act. Gas appliance workers will now be administered under the occupations regulatory framework established under the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act. Accreditation of gas appliance workers is regulated by a code which requires revision. Instead of duplicated provisions in the licensing act in a new code for gas appliance workers, they will now be accredited under the same licensing act as other construction occupations.
In conclusion, the opposition will be supporting this bill today. We believe it is a sensible bill which updates the regulation provisions and we hope that it will reduce complexity in the sector.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (11.53): The Greens will be supporting the Gas Safety Legislation Amendment Bill. The bill brings the accreditation of gas workers in under the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act—the last occupations to be brought in under the same regime as other construction occupations—and repeals the code under which gas workers are currently accredited—the Gas Safety (Appliance Worker Accreditation Code) Approval 2007. Accreditation of gas workers under COLA will be easily managed, as the same people are already responsible for managing this under the licensing act. It will make it easier for workers too who have licences under COLA for other occupations, as they will now only need to hold one licence with one licence number.
There are a number of transitional arrangements in the bill that ensure continuity for those who are, for example, in the process of applying for a licence or have a pending decision on a suspension or cancellation of a licence. The licensing act gives a clearer process for rights of review and obligations of accredited gas workers. Then there are amendments to the Gas Safety Act 2000 and the Gas Safety Regulations 2001. A few
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