The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) has released a preview of the National Construction Code (NCC) 2019 Amendment 1, expected to be adopted by all states and territories from July 1, 2020. The NCC sets the minimum acceptable standards for all new construction work in Australia. Since 2005, it has included provisions in Section J for energy […]
At the beginning of this year, a new licensing framework was introduced in Queensland. Workers will now require a Queensland Building and Contruction Commission (QBCC) licence for mechanical services work. This includes not just air conditioning and refrigeration but also plumbing and medical gases. To help industry understand and transition to the new framework, the […]
The NSW government has finalised the Building and Development Certifiers Regulation 2020. Published on the NSW legislation website, the regulation brings the Building and Development Certifiers Act 2018 into force. As part of the overhaul of the building and construction industry, both the act and regulation are intended to simplify the certification system in NSW, […]
As reported previously, fire safety rules are changing in New South Wales from April. For HVAC practitioners, the major change at this stage is that only those who are accredited as competent fire safety practitioners (CFSPs) under the Fire Protection Accreditation Scheme (FPAS) will be authorised to conduct the annual assessment of essential fire safety […]
The Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) has called out Queensland for putting consumers at risk with a “sub-standard RAC licence”. The licence is part of the new mechanical services regulations that came into effect on January 1 this year. “The major issue is that one of the qualifications required for the Queensland licence does not specify […]
A new licensing framework has been introduced in Queensland. Workers now require a Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) licence for mechanical services work. According to the QBCC, “improperly installed and maintained heating and cooling systems can lead to dangerous bacteria growing and spreading through systems in facilities such as aged care, hospitals and shopping […]
Rules are changing for fire safety practitioners in NSW. From April 2020, only accredited persons under the Fire Protection Accreditation Scheme (FPAS) will be authorised to endorse plans and specifications of some fire safety systems. While this will initially apply to the design of wet and dry fire safety systems, HVAC design is expected to […]
In March and April, the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) will be presenting seminars on the National Construction Code (NCC) in capital cities around the country. The 2020 NCC seminars will focus on answering common technical enquiries concerning the application of the NCC Volumes One and Two, and information relating to the changes contained in […]
Last year the government ran information training sessions on the new energy labels that will soon start appearing on air conditioners. It has now placed a suite of information related to the content of the information sessions on the Energy Rating website. This includes a series of videos based on the information sessions. The videos […]
Chemours has suspended the supply of refrigerants with a high global warming potential (GWP) in the European Union, including R404A (GWP 3,922) and R507A (GWP 3,985). The move supports the European Union F-Gas Regulation to lower-GWP alternatives and prepare for the next quota phase-down in 2021. On January 1, 2020, a prohibition came into effect in […]