Mark Vender
Industry has warned that building owners and operators may face a financial burden as a result of amendments to the Gas Safety Regulation 2022 in Victoria and the new requirements for maintenance of gas-fired equipment that came into effect on June 1, 2022.
With the amendments, two major changes have taken place.
First, AS 4575 has been mandated as the prescribed standard for servicing work on Type A gas appliances that are part of a standard gas installation.
Second, gasfitters must complete an online record of servicing work, using the new VBA online portal, and provide a copy of the record to the customer, both within five days of completing the work.
It is the extra record keeping that may increase the time – and cost – for maintenance.
Maintenance technicians will need to gather additional data to carry out the service and produce the required documentation. Issuing the client with a copy may also be challenging given the typical hand-held devices used in the field, and could require further assistance from back-of-house staff.
Industry stakeholders estimate that maintenance and inspection of gas-fired equipment could now take up to 15 minutes more per appliance. This will apply to programmed maintenance and casual and quoted work where a unit needs to be tested on completion.
On top of this, an expanded records function (electronic or otherwise) would be required to keep records, and Type A boiler technicians will now need a calibrated CO meter.
Across an entire building or portfolio, it is believed this could have a significant impact. There are concerns that maintenance companies, unable to absorb the cost, will pass it back to the property owner or operator.
One large company working in this space estimated that it maintains more than 1,700 Type A items – including cookers, space heaters, water heaters and leisure appliances. This could represent an increase in cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.
For more information on the changes, click here.
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